Creative Support for Organizations-Round 3

Mary Barghout: Barghout currently works for a national accounting firm in Minneapolis. She is a writer and visual artist with a focus in Arabic calligraphy and street art. She is also the coordinator of a local writing group that began with Mizna, a nonprofit centering voices from the SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) region and its diaspora.; Laurine Chang: Chang is a Twin Cities grown spoken word poet, writer, educator, arts advocate, and a modern Hmong woman. She received a BA in political science and leadership from the University of Minnesota. She was the project manager with the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood. She now prioritizes and advocates for her health and mental well-being as a woman of color.; Terri Foster: Foster currently works with the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation. Prior to that, she worked in many areas of business including marketing and sales, while working and consulting with numerous organizations. She has a vast skill set and a love for serving people and helping organizations make a difference. She has degrees in business management and graphic design from Bemidji State University, and also holds a MA in business from the College of St. Scholastica. She volunteers for many organizations, but one of her biggest passions is 4-H.; Debbie Krautkremer: Krautkremer has been an art manager for thirteen years. That position has given her multiple opportunities to serve and immerse herself into the art world. She has served at the Jon Hassler Festival in Brainerd, supervised multiple solo exhibitions and installations, served with the Crossing Arts Alliance in Brainerd as well as with the Greater Lakes Area Performing Arts in Pequot Lakes. Krautkremer's knowledge is extensive in compiling CVs, artist resumes, artist inventories, portfolios, research, bookkeeping, and mentoring artists. She has written a successful mentorship grant proposal submitted to the Five Wings Art Council of Staples.; Marjie Laizure: Laizure is a contemporary realist painter who has exhibited frequently in local juried, group, and solo shows. In 2017, she received a juror's award of excellence from the Carnegie Art Center's annual juried exhibition. She was awarded an Artist Career Development Grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council in both 2017 and 2019. Laizure is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Mankato with a BS in art education and a MS in experiential education. She retired in 2016 from teaching art in the Mankato school district and is now a substitute teacher and frequent art show judge.; Kelly Lundquist: Originally from Mississippi, Lundquist has taught writing and literature all over the United States. She has an MA in English and an MFA in creative nonfiction. In 2012, she was awarded the Milton Center Postgraduate Fellowship in Seattle. Her writing has appeared in multiple places, including Image Journal. Lundquist now teaches at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, where for the last two years she served as faculty advisor for its award winning student literary journal, Under Construction. She also is a member of the Central Minnesota Arts Board teaching artist roster, and is an active participant at Montiarts in Monticello, where she lives. Lundquist recently completed her first book-length nonfiction manuscript and will be spending the next few months revising and polishing it.; Olga Nichols: Nichols is a graduate of the University of Minnesota who majored in architecture and studio art, with continued education from the Art Institutes International in interior design. Prior to graduation, she received the Eliza A. Painting Award of the Year from Hamline University. Nichols was an associate member of the American Institute of Architects and the Assembly of Architects. From 2014 to 2015, she served as a board member on the American Chamber of Commerce, Uganda. She designed and remodeled the first state of the art dance studio space in Kampala, Uganda, in 2013. Nichols has worked on various public art projects including murals in advocation against systematic racism. Two of her murals are currently displayed at Kmart on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Nichols works to highlight breast cancer and mental health awareness.; Mark Peterson: Since retirement, Peterson has published more than 300 news, feature, and arts articles for local newspapers. He spent the last ten years before retirement as a project manager for the nonprofit housing agency Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. He has had several group and one-person shows of his own photo/collage work, including nine accepted entries in the Minnesota State Fair fine art exhibition. He has a BA in American studies from the University of Minnesota.; Spencer Wirth-Davis: Wirth-Davis is a composer, producer, and audio engineer from Minneapolis. He has worked with Lizzo, Toki Wright, Lydia Liza, Sting, and Mac Miller, and has written music for Nike, Showtime, Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, Activision, and the University of Minnesota. He is the recipient of the McKnight Composers Fellowship and the Jerome Travel and Study grant. He has a BFA in painting and photography from the University of Minnesota.; Jake Yuzna, Yuzna is a non defining queer artist and programmer whose work has been presented at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, the Berlin Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival, among others. They have received awards and grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, IFP, American Film Institute, Frameline Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. In addition, they have curated for the Museum of Arts and Design, MoMA PS1, City of Los Angeles, and the Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art. They graduate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the American Film Institute.