Individual Artist Project Grant

This project idea is a great fit with MacRostie Art Center's goals for its new Giinawind Creative Space. This new community gathering space is being used for a variety of things like movie screenings, artist talks, art exhibits, live music, and workshops. While providing a new venue for the creative community to come together, it also has the goal of making a space in downtown Grand Rapids that makes Native art and artists more visible. This project will give Grand Rapids area residents and visitors to the area a chance to connect with the arts in a new way. Except for exhibit receptions or artist talks, most of the time visual art is observed without the artist present. My open studio sessions will give the public a chance to ask questions and dig deeper into the process and meaning behind my work. I will also have materials for anyone who wants to have some hands-on involvement. Through a series of 3-4 workshops during this project time I will also host more structured classes sharing my techniques in beading, quilling, leatherwork, and more. These sessions will be free and open to the public to make them accessible to as wide an audience as possible, though I will collect free will donations to help with materials costs. My open studio project will also create an active presence for Native artists in Grand Rapids. I hope to connect with other artists and makers in the area and will encourage them to join me during open studio times to create and learn together. My main goals are to expand my creative practice by increasing interactions with the community. I hope to find inspiration for new projects and insight into my current work through connections with the people who stop by my studio sessions. My goal is for this inspiration to be reciprocal -- that my work might also inspire those who visit me. Ultimately, I hope to build community through shared art and culture. The measurable outcomes for this project will be how many people are engaged through my open studio sessions, increased awareness of Native art and artists, a greater sense of belonging and visibility for Indigenous artists in the area, and changes in my own creative practice. Some of these things can be measured with numbers, but most will be measured through stories and reflection. I have past experience working in a studio setting that was accessible to the public, so I have some idea what to expect in my interactions with people on open studio days. I know how to plan my work flow to accommodate drop-in visitors and how to engage people in conversation. I think this past experience will help me reach my goals for this project, where engagement is the aim not just a byproduct of my work. In addition, I have a strong track record of completing large projects and working within deadlines. I've assembled several solo exhibitions requiring over two dozen paintings to be completed, executed two year-long project funded by the Minnesota State Arts Board to study and create new pieces based on the beadwork designs of the 11 Native Nations in Minnesota and to create a beaded table cover. I also designed and painted a 50' x 20' mural for the Blandin Foundation. Measuring the effects of community-building activities is hard to do, especially over a short 6-month period, but I will build in as much reflection and analysis as I can so I can learn from the process and assess whether I met my goals. I expect that the evaluation process will be on-going throughout the project, so I can incorporate any observations to improve future studio sessions. I can measure the number of people who visit with me, including repeat attendees which would demonstrate a higher level of engagement. I will also note the number of people who actively participate in hands-on projects versus those who just engage in conversation and the number of Indigenous artists/makers who participate or visit during my sessions. I will document what is created during workshops with photos and collect verbal feedback from participants. To measure my personal artistic growth, will take notes on how my creative projects grow and change throughout the grant period.