Individual Artist Project Grant

The benefit of this project to the community of the Arrowhead Region will be twofold. First, our general community will learn more about a fascinating time in Minnesota's history when our artists were valued enough to be put to work on creative projects by the federal government. Additionally, readers will be entertained at the same time they are learning about this fascinating time period. Second, our artistic community will learn more about Minnesota artists who practiced in our region back in the 30's and 40's in a wide variety of artistic disciplines, including visual arts, writing, theater, and music. Today's artists will realize how these early artists laid the framework for them to flourish and thrive today.With this work, I am attempting to create a comprehensive, entertaining and educational history book about Minnesota artists of the Arrowhead Region who were able to practice their craft during the Federal Art Project that focused on putting writers, visual artists, theater artists, and musicians to work after the Great Depression. I will be using the grant to fund our travel expenses throughout the Arrowhead Region of our state as we document the art pieces that have survived through the years, interview people who had a connection to the specific art piece and/or the artist who created the piece, and conduct thorough research on that specific period of time (1935-1943) for all artists and projects utilizing Federal Art funds in our state. My measurable outcome is to gather enough material to start work on a complete, specific book proposal that will be submitted to publishers, including the University of Minnesota Press and the Minnesota Historical Society Press. When I get a creative idea that intrigues me, I see it through to completion. Examples of this would be the Out of the Hat Plays I created for Renegade Comedy Theater (the first theater company I founded) and the Chicken Hat Plays that I created for Rubber Chicken Theater (the second theater company I founded). These Hat Plays consist of eight writers, eight directors, and a whole bunch of actors who create eight original one-act plays in 24 hours. I also created The Renegade Radio Hour and The Rubber Chicken Radio Hour, which were local versions of Prairie Home Companion, featuring local musicians and original comedy sketches. These shows aired live on KUWS Radio. Over the years, I have also researched, produced, wrote and performed original comedy shows for groups looking for entertainment. When working for a local ad agency, I conducted interviews and wrote long-form video productions for various clients.I will be sharing the research with test audiences of teachers of Minnesota history in middle and high schools, as well as regional artists in theater, writing, visual arts, and music. If the majority of these people feel the stories are interesting and have the potential to inform and entertain, we will have been successful and those specific stories will be included in the future book proposal. I will also work to utilize any suggestions they may have for us about the book. This feedback will further enable me to put together a specific book proposal that I can then submit to publishing houses throughout the state of Minnesota. The ultimate test of success will be when the proposal leads to a contract from a publishing company that would like to publish it as a full-length book.