Rural and Community Art Project Grant
Rural and Community Art Project Grant
Voices from the Flames, a Readers Theater commemorating the fires of 1918. We will publish a collection of poetry and prose telling the tale of the great fires of Carlton County with a Readers Theater performance of excerpts.
Janeen Carey: vocalist, retired Hibbing Community College librarian and information media specialist; Kate Fitzgerald: Program Director North Shore Music Association, writer; Adam Guggemos: graphic designer, art events promoter; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor of Music at University of Minnesota-Duluth, pianist; Candace LaCosse: North House Folk School instructor, leatherwork designer and crafter; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, former Children's Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Quentin Stille: student liaison, College Music Director at KUMD.
Janeen Carey: vocalist, retired Hibbing Community College librarian and information media specialist; Kate Fitzgerald: Program Director North Shore Music Association, writer; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor of Music at University of Minnesota-Duluth, pianist; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Duane Barnhart: watercolor painter, cartoonist; Mary McReynolds: arts administrator at Lyric Center for the Arts; Chris Marcotte: retired social worker, historian, writer; Maria Brown: art instructor and program coordinator at CHOICE, unlimited!; Mason Wilson: artist, illustrator.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
Our goal is to provide an enduring commemoration for the centennial anniversary of the Fires of 1918. The forest fires of October 1918 were the worst disasters ever to befall the state, both in lives lost and in property destroyed. The ordeal affected thousands, and the experience left its mark on a whole generation. The fires serve as the County's watershed: for decades afterward people spoke of the past as either before the fires or after the fires. The goal, then, is to create a volume of poetry/prose. County denizens whose ancestors perished in the fires or whose interests inspire them to participate will use stories of fire victims--using archival records and documentation--to create an original piece for the book. Writing workshops will assist participants as they work on their submissions. Artists will provide graphics for the project, which will culminate in a Readers Theater presentation and memorial ceremony open to the public. My own inspiration and enthusiasm for the project, as well as my experience as an editor and writer, will enable me to champion the project and enlist area writers and artists and community members to research and/or compile memories and accounts for the creation of original works on fire victims for the book. Our ability to solicit contributions and the high interest County communities already possess, along with a rich mine of denizens who already write and journal, will fuel the project's success. The participation of the County Seat Theater will provide a venue for the Readers Theater performance and memorial for the Centennial event. Countywide participation and interest in this compelling project will generate sales for the book during the 100th anniversary year and years afterward. An evaluation of the event will be distributed at the time of the event, garnering the community's response to our project. The sponsorship of writing workshops for people who are interested in submitting to the publication will also measure the success of our project.
Other, local or private