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- SMAC has a new Arts Ambassador!
- Upcoming In-Person Grant Info Session in Litchfield
- Upcoming Virtual Grant Webinars
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SMAC's website has a new look! | |
Please join us in Tyler at the Danebod Folk School Gym for our Annual Celebration of Arts & Artists on Saturday, October 14th! We will be honoring our new Prairie Disciple, Lee Kanten of Ortonville. | |
In the Gallery: Jason Frank | |
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Help SMAC welcome our next gallery artist, Jason Frank of Ortonville. This exhibit, described as "Abstract Elementals: A Prairie Wetland Portrait Series Printed on Handmade Paper", will be in the SMAC Gallery in downtown Marshall at 509 West Main Street from July 6 - August 25, 2023. Jason received a SMAC Individual Artist Grant in 2022 specifically for this project.
The SMAC gallery is open weekdays 9 am to 12 pm and 1-4 pm. If you would like to view the exhibit outside of these times, please email info@swmnarts.org.
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Artist’s Statement
Five years ago, along the eastern shore of a modest pothole lake, not far from the Minnesota River headwaters in Big Stone County, a weary congregation of cottonwoods, a few arthritic box elders, and one snarled snag of sun-bleached cedar found themselves swallowed up by rising waters. Successive years of heavy precipitation had filled their basin past its brim, and by the next summer, 2019, the trees were all swamped and dead. Through seasons of wind and rain, shifting ice and erosive decay, I sought to memorialize the sculpted personalities that began to emerge from the remnants of those once-great trees. From driftwood snags dancing the tango to lakeside reflections reminiscent of Japanese marbling, these Abstract Elementals range from starkly minimalist “stump portraits” to psychedelic renderings of entropy in motion—framed as dreamlike snapshots of equilibrium in decline, of atoms liberated from their rigid, individual containment—then cycled back into the watery continuum of eternal recurrence.
Bio
Jason Frank is a photographic artist and naturalist based in Ortonville, Minnesota. His work is deeply influenced by Taoist philosophy and Jungian analysis of mythic imagery, focusing less on explicit documentation of his subjects and more on the poetic impact of landscapes translated through the subtle corridors of the subconscious mind.
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Please let us know of any accommodations needed for you to enjoy any of our events, virtual or in-person: info@swmnarts.org. Visit SMAC's Access Page for more information and resources. | |
These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Funding provided by the McKnight Foundation. Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive. The McKnight Foundation supports working artists to create and contribute to vibrant communities.
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Help us welcome our new Arts Ambassador! | |
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Greetings! My name is Latisha Wade. I was born in St Thomas, and raised in Boston, MA by a village of many mothers. First came the mother who named me. Then the mother who gave birth to me. Followed by the many mothers who’ve nurtured and delivered me to the next mother. My current mother is the earth. I feel deeply seen, supported and held through her guardianship as I transition fully into adulthood.
The footprints of my lineage thus far have not been recorded. Sometimes I feel pressure to claim a particular land because it is how the dominant Western culture understands home, place and belonging. Grounding my sense of security into the earth is helping me feel at home wherever I am on the planet. I’ve come to honor the ambiguity of displacement as a part of my origin and present-day story. It is challenging for me to reconcile with the violence and grief associated with displacement. At the same time, I am learning to accept the truth of a migratory past and present. My last name, Wade, means to go or to ford. I’m learning to surrender to movement as intrinsic to my purpose and life journey. When I arrived in Minnesota, I felt held, as if the trees and water from Massachusetts whispered to its siblings here that I was coming. I remain in honor and respect to the original stewards and keepers of this land.
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 |  | For the next year, I have committed to serving as an AmeriCorps Vista member through the host community engagement fellowship, Move for America. I will be working alongside the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council as an arts ambassador. As a painter and storyteller, I am entering this work eager to connect with local artists. My relationship to creation has always been a way to practice being present in my body. It wasn’t until high school that I got the opportunity to take an art class. Having access to quality materials, skilled practicing artists as teachers, and most importantly a community of other creators deeply transformed my relationship to making. Being in a community that valued the arts expanded my own appreciation for and understanding of art as a sacred practice to be treasured. At heart, I understand myself as a multimedia record keeper, collecting and creating fossils to maintain our shared memory. My growing relationship with farming, birth work and herbalism inspire my interest in practicing art as medicine and medicine as art.
I look forward to learning the specificity of how the earth expresses itself in Minnesota and I’m excited to connect with the Southwest Minnesota art community.
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NOTICE
SMAC Office & Gallery will be closed on the following upcoming days:
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July 3rd & 4th for Independence Day holiday
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July 13 & 14 for the Minnesota State Arts Board Annual Meeting taking place in Worthington
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SMAC's new fiscal year started on July 1st, which means all our round one grant applications are LIVE.
Start your applications today
We look forward to supporting your art projects and artistic endeavors!
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Upcoming In-Person Grant Info Session in Litchfield
Join us on Tuesday, July 25 from 7 to 8 pm at the Litchfield Opera House, 136 N Marshall Ave, Litchfield, MN. Learn about SW MN Arts Council (SMAC) grant opportunities for the coming year (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024), including updates to guidelines and deadlines. SMAC funding is available for organizations, cities/tribal nations, artists, schools, and youth in the SW MN region. Learn more about our grants & see the current Grants Calendar
This session is free, but registration is preferred: Litchfield Grant Info Session Registration
This session is taking place at the Litchfield Opera House in Litchfield, MN. This facility has wide, accessible entrances and accessible bathroom (no use of stairs is needed to attend). Please let SMAC staff know if you request any accommodations to attend this event: info@swmnarts.org or 800-622-5284. Visit SMAC's Accessibility Page
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Looking forward: Will a SMAC grant session be coming to your town?
In-person grant info sessions are being planned for Kerkhoven, Slayton, Fairfax, and Montevideo. To keep up to date on all our upcoming sessions, watch for our emails and stay tuned to our social media (SMAC Facebook & SMAC Instagram), as well as the SMAC Website! For more assistance options, visit SMAC's Workshop & Assistance page.
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Upcoming Virtual Grant Workshops
visit SMAC's Workshop & Assistance page for more info
**Workshops are free, but registration is required**
Thursday, July 6, 5:30-6:30 pm
All Individual Artist Grants (Register Here)
Learn about all of SMAC's Individual Artist grants for the coming year (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024), including updates to guidelines and deadlines for the following grant programs: Artist Growth, Artist Equity, Quick Support for Artists, and Advanced Artist Fellowship
Tuesday, July 11, 5:30-6:30 pm
Quick Support for Organizations Grant (Register Here)
Learn about SMAC's Quick Support for Organizations grants, available to cities, organizations and Tribal Nations.
Tuesday, July 18, Noon (12)-1 pm
Arts in the Schools Grants (Register Here)
Learn about SMAC's Arts in the Schools grants, available to public schools.
Thursday, August 10, 5:30-6:30 pm
Operating Support Grant (Register Here)
Learn about SMAC's Operating Support grants, available to arts organizations.
Monday, September 18, 7-8 pm
Virtual SMAC Grants Q&A Session (Register Here)
Get questions answered about any of our grant programs or your project ideas.
Thursday, November 2, Noon (12)-1 pm
Public Art Grants (Register Here)
Learn about SMAC's Public Art grants, available to cities, organizations and Tribal Nations.
Tuesday, December 5, 7-8 pm
Virtual SMAC Grants Q&A Session (Register Here)
Get questions answered about any of our grant programs or your project ideas.
Monday, December 11, Noon (12)-1 pm
Equipment & Facilities Improvement Grants (Register Here)
Learn about SMAC's Equipment & Facilities Improvement grants, available to arts organizations.
Thursday, March 7, 7-8 pm
Virtual SMAC Grants Q&A Session (Registration coming soon)
Get questions answered about any of our grant programs or your project ideas.
Thursday, February 15, 5:30-6:30 pm
Art Study Opportunity for Youth Grants (Registration coming soon)
Available to students entering grades 5 through 12.
**Workshops are free, but registration is required**
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Other options for Grant Assistance:
Visit SMAC's Workshop & Assistance page
SW MN Arts Council grants administrator Caroline Koska is available to meet with you by phone, web conference or in person to answer your questions on grant eligibility and using the application system or to review a draft of your application. Schedule a time with Caroline Koska.
Every month on the 2nd Tuesday of the month we hold "Open Office Hours" for grant support. The office hours are from 10 am to 2 pm and the next one will be Tuesday, July 11th. You can use this time with SW MN Arts Council staff to talk through project ideas or get help with finding the right grant program, filling out your application, preparing work samples or budgets, or completing your final report.
Call 800-622-5284 or email us info@swmnarts.org with your questions. Please let us know of any accommodations needed for you to attend any of our events, virtual or in-person. View SMAC's Access page for more information.
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Would you like to help SMAC review and score grant applications?
The SMAC Board of Directors continually seeks panels of artists, arts administrators, arts volunteers, and arts appreciators representing multiple artistic disciplines from throughout the SMAC geographic region and from all our communities including BIPOC, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. Being a grant panelist is a positive way to strengthen your grantwriting skills by understanding the process as a whole. It's also a great way to learn and support what exciting projects are happening in rural SW MN! Panelists are compensated $75 for a panel. More details on being a SMAC panelist
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SMAC is seeking representatives from five counties to serve on our board of directors: Kandiyohi, McLeod, Murray and Yellow Medicine
Do you live or work in one of these counties? Do you want to volunteer in a meaning way? Are you interested in helping your community? Are you passionate about arts awareness & funding and where & how those funds are distributed?
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SMAC's Board of Directors currently has three vacant board seats. We are seeking a representative from each of the counties listed above to serve. The Board meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday evening at the SMAC office in Marshall or on Zoom to set policies, make final decisions on grant awards with input from grant review panels, share ideas and information from their representative counties, and to design programs that enable SMAC to best serve our communities.
Other opportunities include serving on several grant panels a year to evaluate applications, attending a yearly board retreat in January, learning opportunities and trainings on Access, Equity, Inclusion & Diversity and more!
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For more opportunities and resources be sure to check out our latest news posts (updated DAILY!) on SMAC's website
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Looking for arts events to attend? Check out our regional arts calendar!
We are continuing to post both in-person and virtual arts events in our region on our website calendar. If you have events to let us know about, please email the details to info@swmnarts.org! Remember, these don't have to be SMAC grant funded events, just arts events in our 18-county region!
Have something that's not an event, but an arts opportunity, like a RFP or call for local artists? We'll add it to our opportunities posts! Send us those, too!
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Lets work together to create a robust arts calendar for our region!! | |
Outreach: Arty Parties in Renville & Rock County! | |
SMAC held it's Renville Arty Party in conjunction with the Renville Farmers & Artisans market kick-off event in Bird Island. SMAC was set up with a tent outside of the Bird Island Cultural Centre, where we handed out waters and free cake pops from Celestial Sweets! Renville board representative, Kiley Rieke, lead a chalk art event on the outdoor canvas wall and SMAC staff lead an arts activity decorating canvas bags with paint. Thanks for visiting with us in Renville! | |
SMAC held a grants information session with the Minnesota State Arts Board's Annick Dall-Desbois before our Rock Arty Party in Luverne, where there was a cash bar and food from the Bluestem Catering company. Our featured arts entertainment was acoustic duo Ewing Maine. | | |
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Where will our next Arty Parties be? Look forward to hearing news of our Swift and Redwood Arty Parties coming up in August & September! To keep up to date on all our upcoming Arty Parties, stay tuned to our social media (SMAC Facebook & SMAC Instagram), as well as the SMAC Website! | |
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Memberships
From June 1 to June 30, 2023
Contributors: Gillian Singler, Lakefield • Take Note/Joyce Reinhart, Marshall •
Supporters: Raydiant Clay Works/Kylie Rieke, Fairfax •
Benefactors: Lincoln County Commission, Tyler • Rock County Commission, Luverne •
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Would you like to become a contributing member of SMAC or make a donation?
You can help by contributing online or by mail, for more information, visit Become a SMAC member!
| THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS! | |
2023 SW MN Arts Council BOARD OF DIRECTORS | |
Big Stone - Judy Beckman
Jackson - Gillian Singler
Lincoln - Mark Wilmes
Meeker - Darlene Kotelnicki
Pipestone - Erica Volkir
Rock - Shawn Kinsinger
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Chippewa - M E (Maggie) Fuller
Kandiyohi - OPEN
Lyon - Dr. Erin Kline
Murray - OPEN
Redwood - David KelseyBassett
Swift - Jessica Mata
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Cottonwood - Anna Johannsen
Lac qui Parle - Kristine Shelstad
Nobles - Cheryl Avenel-Navara
Renville - Kylie Rieke
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Executive Director - Nicole DeBoer
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Grants & Financial Administrator - Caroline Koska
Accessibility & Marketing Coordinator - Krystl Louwagie
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The Southwest Minnesota Arts Council (SMAC) is a non-profit organization committed to promoting and encouraging the development of the arts in the eighteen counties of southwestern Minnesota by serving as a source of funds and technical services which enable local organizations, educational institutions, and individuals to sponsor and/or create and promote the arts in their communities.
SMAC receives funding from individuals, businesses, organizations, schools, cities, counties, private foundations including the McKnight Foundation, an allocation from the State of Minnesota, and a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, made possible by the voters of Minnesota.
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