Mark your calendar to visit with Cole and see his work at an Artist Reception from 5-7pm on Thursday, July 11.  

Stay to listen to ZACHARY PLOEGER   of Pipestone, who will be performing from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Ploeger is quickly emerging as one of the most promising musicians of his generation. As an active conductor, trumpeter, and composer, he is constantly in demand. At 24 years of age, he has already performed for audiences all around the world. Zachary is also a 2018 SMAC Individual Artist grant recipient.

Regular gallery hours to visit the exhibit are M-F 8 am-12 pm and 1-4:30 pm

These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Additional 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.

SMAC Welcomes Three New Board Members

Please help us welcome Carisa Clarke of Slayton to the SMAC board as a co-representative for Murray county. Clarke is a visual artist and the project director for the Slayton Community Mural, founder of the "Challenge the Art" Facebook group, has assisted in multiple art classes such as "Paint & Sip" and "Chalk Couture", taught jewelry making classes, is a board member for the DAC of Murray county, has been a member of the Prairie Music Association and is a volunteer for Relay for Life, Lunch Buddies, Meals on Wheels, various church positions and been a part of many other fundraisers. When asked why she was interested in becoming a member of the SMAC board, she said "I look forward to networking with fellow artists, but mainly I'm excited about bringing arts awareness to the county I live in, and encouraging youths." We are very excited to have you, Carisa!

Please also help us welcome co representatives for Swift county, Alison Nelson of Kerkhoven (pictured right with her son) and Lynette Swenson of DeGraff.

Alison Nelson is involved with many arts disciplines, including a studio art degree, music (piano and saxophone), writing a weekly column published in four local newspapers, dance throughout her life, as well as choreographing local musicals on occasion. When asked why she was interested in serving on the board, she said "I think it is important to have our county represented in the region and be up to date on SMAC offerings and activities, as well as have the inside track as to how grant dollars work to be able to utilize them to promote the arts in the region. We do 'okay', but we could always improve!" We agree, Alison, there is always more that can be done to make sure our dollars reach a wider variety of arts programming and artists!

Lyn Swenson is a visual arts teacher and folk artist, especially in rosemaling. She teaches community education visual arts classes, is a member of the Swift county food shelf advisory board, teaches religious education, volunteers with the Prairie Five Action Council and is a teacher at the Milan Village Arts School. When answering why she was interested in becoming part of the SMAC board, she said because it would be "a way to strongly advocate for the arts within the area."

SMAC is still seeking board representatives for Lincoln and Meeker county. To learn more and to fill out an application, go to www.swmnarts.org/about/become-a-board-member/

SW MN Arts Council Offering Rural Arts and Culture Summit Scholarships

Scholarships are available for individuals from the SW MN Arts Council region to attend the 2019 Rural Arts and Culture Summit in Grand Rapids, MN on October 3-5, 2019 . Funding is made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Organized by Springboard for the Arts, the Summit is a practitioner-driven gathering that celebrates and expands the field of rural arts-based community development by providing a space for learning, relationship building and celebration about the role of art and creativity in building strong, healthy and resilient rural communities. For more information, visit  www.ruralartsandculturesummit.com .

Applications go through our online grants system, which can be accessed here or through our website by logging in under "Grants" .

SMAC accepts Scholarship applications through July 15, 2019 at 4:30 pm.

What you need to know:

Limited funds are available.  Applications will be scored on the likely impact of the goals applicants have described, including what they hope to take back to apply to their own art and/or community and how they plan to measure their success. Equity and geographic distribution of the scholarships will also be taken into consideration.

Scholarship Application Deadline: July 15, 2019

The Fiscal Year 2020 Grant Calendar is HERE!

Click here to view, print, or save.

July 15, 4:30 pm, 2019: Rural Arts & Culture Summit Scholarship Applications Due

Scholarships are available for individuals from the SW MN Arts Council region to attend the 2019 Rural Arts and Culture Summit in Grand Rapids, MN on October 3-5, 2019 . Funding is made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Click here to find out more!

July 24, 4:30 pm, 2019: Art Project Grant & Art Legacy Project Grant Applications Due  

Art project grants provide organizations in the SMAC region with up to $7,000 in matching funds to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance, and appreciation of the arts (pre-packaged theatre residencies limited to $2,500). Grantwriting webinar: June 11, 2019, for more information click here

 

Art Legacy Project grants provide organizations in the SMAC region with up to $25,000 in matching funds to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance and appreciation of the arts through large-scale projects that will leave an arts legacy in southwest Minnesota. Grantwriting webinar: June 11, 2019, for more information click here

August 1, September 1, October 1 & November 1, 4:30 pm, 2019: Monthly Arts Organization Grants (Art Legacy Project Planning Grants, Arts Organization Development Grants & Arts Organization Start Up Grants) Applications Due  

Monthly Arts Organization grants are on a first-come, first served monthly deadline until all funds have been expended. Deadline is the 1st of each month, 4:30 pm, August-November 2018 & January-April 2019. Earliest project start date is the first day of the following month after board action.

 

Art Legacy Project Planning grants provide organizations with up to $2,500 to plan for a specific large-scale project or activity that will create or advance a strong arts legacy in Minnesota.

 

Arts Organization Development grants provide arts organization in the SMAC region with up to $5,000 in matching funds to increase their long-term stability and capacity through organizational development and management projects.

 

Arts Organization Start Up grants provide arts organizations with at least two years of programming up to $2,000 to develop articles of incorporation, by-laws, and apply for their 501(c)(3) status.

 

August 14, 4:30 pm, 2019: Individual Emerging Artist Grants, Individual Established Career Artist Grants, & Individual Artist Community Collaboration Grants Applications Due    

Individual Artist grants for Emerging Artists provide up to $2,500 to aid emerging artists at an early stage of their career development with projects that will advance their career. Grantwriting webinar: July 2, 2019, for more information click here

 

Individual Artist grants for Established Artists provide up to $7,000 to aid established career artists with the advanced stage of their career development with projects that will advance their career. Grantwriting webinar: July 2, 2019, for more information click here

 

Individual Artist Community Collaboration grants provide up to $10,000 to artists to create a major new work while collaborating with the community, introducing community members to the arts in a new way. Grantwriting webinar: July 2, 2019, for more information click here

September 11, 4:30 pm, 2019: Equipment/Facilities Improvement Grant Applications Due

Equipment/Facilities grants provide arts organizations with up to $10,000 in matching funds for the purchase of equipment items and specific improvement that will strengthen the organization's capacity to serve the arts needs of the SMAC region. Grantwriting webinar: August 1, 2019, for more information click here

September 18, 4:30 pm, 2019: Operating Support Pre-Application Deadline

Operating Support Grants are two-year grants for arts organizations that have been designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) for a minimum of three years. For organizations with an average operating budget of less than $25,000, this grant provides up to 35% of the organization's average operating budget each of the two years. For organizations with an average budget more than $25,000, the grant provides up to 15% of the organization's average operating budget for each of the two years. Required Pre-Application Deadline: September 18, 2019 (Submit financial information to determine your request amount.) Grantwriting webinar: July 16, 2019, for more information click here

October 9, 4:30 pm, 2019: Arts in the Schools Grant Applications Due

Arts in the Schools Grants provide grants to schools for artist residencies or field trips that include educator training and community involvement, juried student art exhibits, and prepackaged theatre experiences. Up to $2,500 (field trips, juried exhibits, or prepackaged theatre), or $4,000 (artist residencies). Grantwriting webinar: August 29, 2019, for more information click here

October 16, 4:30 pm, 2019: Operating Support Grant Deadline

Operating Support Grants are two-year grants for arts organizations that have been designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) for a minimum of three years. For organizations with an average operating budget of less than $25,000, this grant provides up to 35% of the organization's average operating budget each of the two years. For organizations with an average budget more than $25,000, the grant provides up to 15% of the organization's average operating budget for each of the two years. Required Pre-Application Deadline: September 18, 2019 (Submit financial information to determine your request amount.) Grantwriting webinar: July 16, 2019, for more information click here

Click on the links for more information ! 

You are invited to join us in celebration of the arts and artists of our 18 county region! This year our annual celebration will be held in Olivia at Max's Grill with a delicious meal, local entertainment, the award ceremony for this years SMAC Prairie Disciple Linda Clarksean , a review of what SMAC has done in this past year and more! We hope to see you there!

SMAC EQUITY TASKFORCE

*New Opportunity*

Do you represent an underserved community? Would you like to build relationships and increase arts access in an underserved community?

First, maybe it’s best to define what “underserved” or “underrepresented” means:

Underserved refers to a population of individuals who have historically been outside the purview of arts and humanities programs due to factors such as a high incidence of racial discrimination, income below the poverty line or to geographic isolation. Being underrepresented means to have insufficient or inadequate representation in decision-making or program support.

SMAC recognizes we can build increased connectivity and economic strength through supporting cultural and artistic expression of all social identities including race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, sexuality, religion, ability, socioeconomic background and the intersectionality of these identities.

We are starting an EQUITY TASKFORCE to work with our board and staff members on bridging the gaps and improving our systems and processes. We are searching for s ix individuals to fill paid positions that will meet 4 times over the course of a year starting in August 2019.  We are seeking arts-leaders and/or culture-bearers from underserved communities in our 18 county region as defined above.

If interested, please contact SMAC Director Nicole DeBoer at [email protected] or 800-622-5284.

Southwest Minnesota Arts Council seeks panelists to review grants 2019-2020

For grant programs in fiscal year 2020 (July 2019 - June 2020), the SMAC Board of Directors seeks panels of artists, arts administrators, arts volunteers, and arts appreciators representing multiple artistic disciplines from throughout the SMAC geographic region.

You may apply to serve on one or more of the following panels:

Grant review panel dates for 2019-2020

Art Projects / Art Legacy Projects Grant Review Panel

Round I: August 17, 2019

Round II: January 4, 2020

Round III: April 18, 2020

Equipment & Facilities Improvement Panel

Round I: October 12, 2019

Round II: March 7, 2020

Operating Support

November 9, 2019

Arts in the Schools / Art Study Opportunity for Youth Grant Panel

Arts in the Schools Round I: November 2, 2019

Arts in the Schools Round II: February 15, 2020

Art Study Opportunity for Youth: April 21 (Tuesday Evening)

Individual Artists Grant Review Panel

Round I: September 7, 2019

Round II: February 1, 2020

Individual Artist with Community Collaboration Review Panel

Round I: September 7, 2019

Round II: February 1, 2020

TO APPLY:

Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Seeks Board Representatives for Lincoln County & Meeker County

SMAC seeks a representative for Meeker County and Lincoln County to serve on it’s Board of Directors. The Board meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday evening at the SMAC office in Marshall 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. To learn more and to fill out an application, go to www.swmnarts.org/about/become-a-board-member/

Updates: What has SMAC been up to?

SMAC is keeping busy hosting events in and for our region! Check out the above photos from the Arts Organization Summit held in May, with special guest presenter DeeDee LeMier on "Owning Who We Are: Strategies for Assessing and Communicating Equity in Rural Organizations" (upper right) followed by Anne O'Keefe-Jackson & Eileen O'Keefe presenting "Honoring Indigenous Peoples & Lands" (bottom left).

The blocks of pictures below are all from SMAC's annual Artist Gathering in June. It was an inspiring night of learning and networking. This year we held it in Granite falls, the first stop being the Granite Area Arts Council where president Tamara Isfeld spoke about how their arts council formed, what is does, where it hopes to go, and what opportunities it has for artists and arts appreciators. Guests took a look at the murals in progress along the riverfront and then we traveled to the YES! House where Ashley Hanson spoke about thier projects and objectives, as well as gave tours and spoke about future plans for the building. We finished with dinner catered by The Rock to Bluenose Gopher Public house where artists were invited to network with one another.

SMAC staff members attend Americans for the Arts Pre-Conference in the Twin Cities

Americans for the Arts held their national conference in Minneapolis and St. Paul this year, and a few staff members were able to attend sessions on Intercultural Leadership and Public Art. It was a valuable experience!

Above: Intercultural Leadership sessions at Indigenous Roots in St. Paul.

Below: "Why We Matter" session in Minneapolis during the Intercultural Leadership pre-conference.

Below: From the public art pre-conference tour called "Small-scale Public Art Interventions in St. Paul". The modified stop sign is one of many around St. Paul, as well as a sidewalk poetry project. Find out more here: http://publicartstpaul.org/project/poetry/#about_the_project

The honey comb sculpture is meant to be a working sanctuary for bees during the winter months, as part of the multi-faceted public art project "Bee Real Bee Everywhere", which encompassed scientific research, public awareness, a book of creative literatue and more! To learn more, visit: http://publicartstpaul.org/project/bee-real-bee-everywhere/#about_the_project

Below: From the public art tour, "Small-scale Public Art Interventions in St. Paul". These images are part of the public art project for the Arlington Community Center, including the "Alphabet of Shared Ingredients". The drawings were taken from a community event where community members were asked to draw herbs, vegetables, fruits and plants provided for visual references, that were frequently used in their own community. Then the images were made into designs for the walls and free recipe cards kept at the center. Find out more about the whole project here: http://arlingtonhillscc.com/belong-together/

Looking for public art inspiration for you community? Click on this link to take a look at the 50 works recognized as exemplary in the last year from American Citizens for the arts !

Remember to check out our regional arts calendar!

 

Click here to see the many arts events happening in our community! 

 

If you would like your arts event to be listed on our calendar, submit here .

Left: Painting from Sima Amid Wewetzer, who received a SMAC Emerging Artist grant and will be exhibiting in New York in July. Click here for more information .

Continue to keep up with news about the arts in our region!

Click the links below to read about:

Above : Pipestone Middle & High Schools received a SMAC Arts in the Schools grant for a residency with Copper Street Brass.

The following costs are ineligible for SMAC grants: “ Payment of costs for projects that will take place outside the geographic boundaries of the state of Minnesota or costs related to travel outside the state of Minnesota, including performer, artist, or consultant travel. (Does not apply to Individual Artists receiving McKnight Foundation funds.)” (SMAC General Grant Guidelines, FY2020, updated 6/17/19)

 

ALL transportation or mileage costs for bringing artists into Minnesota need to be paid for separately by your organization, outside of your grant budget.

SMAC staff held 3 general grant writing sessions around the region: Appleton, Bird Island (pictured above), and Luverne.

The monthly segment where you can hear from SMAC grantees, participants, and members about their experiences! This was a response we got from a participant at our Artist Gathering, held on June 18 in Granite Falls.

Would you like to become a contributing member of SMAC or renew your membership?

You can do so online or by mail, for an individual membership, business membership, or organizational membership. For more information, visit:

swmnarts.org/opportunities/become-a-contributing-member-of-smac/

 

Memberships

From June 1 to June 25

Contributors: Kylie Rieke, Fairfax • Gene Stukel Photography, Granite Falls • Lac qui Parle Broadcasting Co./KLQP-FM, Madison • Lac qui Parle County Historical Society, Madison •

Supporters: Anonymous Donor • Milan Village Arts School, Milan • Wilder Pageant, Walnut Grove •

Sustainers: Bob Schwoch, Lynd • Donation in memory of Bob Lindaman, Windom •

Benefactor : Rock County Commission, Luverne •

2019 SW MN Arts Council BOARD OF DIRECTORS