Partners in Arts Participation

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2012 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$25,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
The Advocates for Human Rights
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
October 2011
End Date
September 2012
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Hennepin
Project Overview
Partners in Arts Participation
Project Details
In two 10-session courses, Iraqi refugees in Minnesota will gain the skills needed to write books and create documentary videos on their experiences. Their work will augment other educational outreach in Minnesota.
Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications
Judson Bemis Jr., Actor, arts administrator, founder and principal of Clere Consulting. Secretary, Minnesota State Arts Board., Ardell Brede, Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002., Peggy Burnet, Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board., Michael Charron, Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board., Sean Dowse, Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies., John Gunyou, City manager, Minnetonka., Benjamin Klipfel, Executive Director, Alexandria Area Arts Association, Inc. Director and arts educator.,Ellen McInnis, Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board., Pamela Perri, Executive vice president, Builders Association of Minnesota., Margaret Rapp, Former educator, Saint Paul Academy and Summit School. Officer at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board., Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University.
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Judson Bemis Jr., Actor, arts administrator, founder and principal of Clere Consulting. Secretary, Minnesota State Arts Board., Ardell Brede, Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002., Peggy Burnet, Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board., Michael Charron, Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board., Sean Dowse, Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies., John Gunyou, City manager, Minnetonka., Ellen McInnis, Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board., Pamela Perri, Executive vice president, Builders Association of Minnesota., Margaret Rapp, Former educator, Saint Paul Academy and Summit School. Officer at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board., Anton Treuer, Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University.
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2011, First Special Session, chapter 6, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2012 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$25,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$25,000
Administration costs
$7,525
Number of full time equivalents funded
0
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Partnerships are developed between social service organizations and arts organizations to better serve underserved communities. More Minnesotans are able to participate in the arts. Social or human service organizations use arts to help achieve their service goals. Perceived or real barriers to participation are addressed. This outcome was evaluated by talking to participants and community members, who felt that their concerns were heard and dealt with in a respectful way. Some participants would not have been able to be a part of the workshops if we had not made the accommodations we did.

Measurable Outcome(s)

This project addressed language, cultural, and economic barriers to arts participation. The project involved Iraqis and Iraqi-Americans in the process of creating books and videos about their own stories, an artistic process in which they would not otherwise have been able to participate. We identified these barriers through our experience working with the Iraqi refugee community, and in soliciting advice from social service organizations and our refugee mental health liaison. We recruited participants through social service agencies and using local Iraqi community leaders. Where necessary, we provided Arabic translation to participants and made clear in our recruiting efforts that participants did not need to be fluent in English to participants. We reimbursed participants for transportation costs, provided culturally appropriate food at workshop events, and provided rides to participants and traveled to participants' homes when necessary. We took care to offer participants anonymity, and spent a good deal of time talking with participants about the concerns they had in sharing their art with the broader public in Minnesota. Finally, we had an on-call counselor with experience in working with refugee mental health issues. 2: The Advocates for Human Rights, the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project, and two independent artists came together to give voice to Iraqis living in Minnesota through art that they created in workshops. The art and stories were used to produce educational resources for students. All parties worked together well, and by virtue of the end results of the grant and the fact that the process was smooth, we consider the project to have been very successful. The organizations and artists will host a reception this fall for the participants and the broader public, and will continue to use one another as a resource. All materials online cross-link to the other organizations' websites and materials. In general, a healthy relationship has been established that can continue to flourish in order to ensure that Iraqi refugees' human rights are respected and their voices are heard.

Description of Funds
Recipient Board Members
Eddie Bahadir, C. Christopher Bercaw (Chair), Carolyn Chalmers, Amy Crawford, James E. Dorsey, Meghan M. Elliott, Wood R. Foster, Jr., Susan Hols, David Kistle, Mark Lee, Kathy Lenzmeier, Anne M. Lockner, Alan H. Maclin, John P. Mandler, Howard S. (Sam) Myers, III, Hung Nguyen, Mary Parker, Hon. M. Jacqueline Regis, Jonathan Sage-Martinson, Ellen Sampson, Max J. Schott, II, Jean Thomson
Project Manager
First Name
Sarah
Last Name
Herder
Organization Name
The Advocates for Human Rights
Street Address
330 2nd Ave S Ste 800
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55401
Phone
(612) 341-3302x 126
Email
sherder@advrights.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency