Operating Support
Operating Support
Operating Support Year 2, FY2019.
John White: writer, photographer, retired journalist; Georgette Jones: literature teacher, theatre actor, director, teacher; Marilee Strom: musician, former art teacher, business owner; Kathy Fransen: musician, theatre, Rhythm of the River coordinator; Janet Olney: visual artist, Willmar Area Arts Council coordinator; Joyce Meyer: photographer, retired art teacher, Canby Arts Council; Pam Blake: retired art educator, visual artist, Tyler Arts Council, Lincoln County Art Fair, South Dakota Arts Educators Association, Southwest Minnesota Weaver’s Guild; Michele Knife Sterner: theatre actor, SMSU Associate director for Access Opportunity Success program; Tom Wirt: artist, owner Clay Coyote Gallery, Hutchinson Center for the Arts, past member Hutchinson Public Arts Commission; Joyce Aakre: visual arts, writing, Discover Dassel committee, Board member for Litchfield Community Education, Exhibit committee for Dassel Area Historical Society; Kelly Muldoon: graphic artist, Prairie Music Association, Prairie Oasis Players; Dan Wahl: writer, visual artist, director, adjunct English instructor Southwest Minnesota State University; Anne O’Keefe-Jackson: human resources director, bead and quill work; Cindy Reverts: visual artist, Rock County Fine Arts Association treasurer, Council for Arts in Humanities in Rock County; Brett Lehman: Worthington International Festival, Worthington City Band, Worthington Concert Association; Reggie Gorter: vocalist, theatre, voice/dance teacher; Dana Conroy: producer/filmmaker; Claire Swanson: visual arts, arts teacher, Meander Art Crawl Committee.
Joyce Aakre: visual art, writing, Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Board; Pam Blake: visual art, Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Board; Mark Bosveld: theatre, arts administration; Steve Linstrom: writing, museum admin; Anne O’Keefe-Jackson: visual art, Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Board Board; Liz Rackl: visual art, arts administration; Tom Wirt: visual art, Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Board.
ACHF Arts Access
Our top goal, as determined by the board at their retreat, is to make the Arts Council more financially stable. Our goal is to increase membership by a minimum of 10% each year over the next two years. This would allow us to achieve our second goal of producing one new art project each year for the next two years. This would address two of the long-term strategic outcomes identified by SMAC: the arts are interwoven into every facet of community life and people of all ages, ethnicities, and abilities participate in the arts. We can easily see if we have achieved each of these goals. We keep a record of membership donations, so we can readily see if it has increased by the desired amount. We will know if we had a successful new art project each year.
Unfortunately, we did not meet our membership goals. Membership only increased by 7% in 2019. While it's not what we'd hoped for, at least it's an increase as opposed to the decreases we've seen in recent years. In 2019 we undertook a large public art project involving tile benches. We have been very pleased with the response we've received. Bill Gossman, a New London potter, made 4" and 6" tiles that we have taken out into the community to different events for people to apply glazes. Bill then fires them and applies them to concrete benches around town. We completed four benches in 2019 and hope to do another four or five in 2020.
Other,local or private