NW Minnesota Arts Council Monthly News

Submit your Entry for the 7th edition of Artists of NW Minnesota booklet! Submissions Due December 31 from

Artists and Organizations/Businesses!

It's time to submit an entry for the 7th edition of our Artists of NW Minnesota booklet. Email NWArtsCouncil@gmail.com or call our office at 218-745-8886, ext 1 to receive a paper form.

Cost: $20 for a ¼ page listing + you receive 20 copies of the booklet! 2,000 - 3,000 booklets are printed, plus an on-line version.  

This next booklet will be designed and printed in 2027. The booklet will be in libraries and retail locations in 2027, 2028, and 2029. Our call for entries for individual 1/4 page entries is this fall until the end of this calendar year. This is a great opportunity to promote yourself!

Submissions accepted through December

Businesses or organizations that sell local art or that serve artists can also apply for a listing at the back of the booklet. The submission deadline for arts-serving businesses and organizations will also be December 31



To learn more and to download the entry form visit this page on our website. Find our a free print edition of our current booklet Artists of Northwest Minnesota at your local library, from featured artists, or in other public spaces throughout our region.

Looking for Design/Layout Artist

We are requesting bids from area design/layout artists to complete this next edition of our Artists of Northwest Minnesota booklet. November 18 deadline to submit a design for the next booklet. Work activities happen between January - April 2027. Priority will be given for layout designers who reside in our service area of northwest Minnesota. Please note: Layout designers living outside of Minnesota and North Dakota USA will not be considered. We anticipate that the project will take about 40 hours of time. Please email our office at nwartscouncil@gmail.com to request information on the budget for the designer and more specifics on this specific contract. Or call 218-745-8666, ext 1.

Upcoming Deadlines for Arts Grants 

January 15 Individual Artist Grants

School Arts Equipment &

Artist Residency Grants OpenSchool Arts Equipment &

Artist Residency Grants Open

Free Grant Writing Session

November 12 at 4:00 PM

January 5 at 10:00 AM



Individual Artist Grants. Applications are open for arts grants to individuals from our seven county Minnesota service area including Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau counties. This year individual Artist Grants for $5,000, $3,000, and $1,500 have a January 15 deadline. These grants are awarded to performing artists, visual artists, media artists, and creative writing artists.

We offer free grant writing sessions to help you write your grant application or to answer any questions. Don’t let your questions about the grant process keep you from applying! We are here to help. November 12 at 4 PM is the next session. You must RSVP to attend.

Grants Available for Schools for

Artist Residencies & Arts Equipment

NW Minnesota area schools can apply for up to $12,000 of grant funding from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council for this next school year into next summer. Funding can be used to bring in professional artists to work with students and/or to purchase arts equipment that is used by your community and your school; and stored/used primarily in the school building. To apply, schools fill out an application showing interest in funding, then requests are made with add-on forms within our online grant software for specific project funding requests. The program accepts funding requests from July 1 until April 30 each year, but remember that it is first come, first served so applying early is best. Each add-on funding request can be for up to $3,000 in grant funds.  

Artist Residency Grants

Schools can apply for an Artist Residency grant of $3,000. Schools can initially apply for 2 residencies. Then, based on remaining funding, can request up to 4 residencies total. Each residency requires a 10% cash match. Our teaching artist roster is a great resource to view artists available to teach in our area and is available on our website at NorthwestMinnesotaArtsCouncil.org under the artists tab. We have many new artists on our list. Another resource to find teaching artists is COMPAS. Ideas also include children's theater camp and/or arts camp during the summer at your school, and community education workshop series for adults on artistic techniques.

Tips for applying... ask for the Google slide deck that takes you through our grant process.  

• Remember that most schools are already in our system as organizations, so you probably only need to call our office to add yourself as a User.  

• 1st, show interest in our funding by completing the easy Arts Grant application and hit submit. Tutorial available.  

• Next, our staff reviews your school's interest and then assigns add-ons to the teacher/coordinator/ administrator listed in the app that would like add-on forms. 

• Teachers login, complete and submit their add-on follow up form with details related to their project and their $ request. This form is short and friendly to fill out.  

• Then, as your school waits to hear back, someone needs to complete the required data collection app online and submit.  

Contact our office with questions or for help with your application. We are happy to help! Call our office at 218-745-8886, ext 1 or email nwartscouncil@gmail.com. 

Let's Talk Art Podcast

Our podcast program features artists, arts organizations, and arts events in our region. The program is broadcast weekly on Wednesday afternoons at 3 PM. To hear all of the past podcasts visit our website here.

10.28.27 Cathy Erickson There is a wall dedicated to this “Polka Queen” of Middle River in the Self-Taught Artists, Self-Told Stories folk art exhibit. The nationally recognized Cathy Erickson Band includes Cathy as the accordion player. She also played with The Alleycats. This spring she was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame and was awarded the NW Star Award from the NWMAC a few years ago. Cathy received a grant from the NWMAC to purchase radio equipment to allow her to host radio shows from home. Learn how she came to host a show on Pioneer 90.1 and more stories. Listen here.

10.21.26 Jeff Olson This Fosston Metal Artist and author has work in our folk art exhibit — Self-Taught Artists, Self-Told Stories. He is a blacksmith, owns Olson Iron Works, and co-founded Pine to Prairie Folk School. Jeff believes that we are all creative. He spoke about blacksmithing, the exhibit, his work in the exhibit, tools, mentoring, how he works, the phrase “chase the skill,” and enjoying your journey. You can find him on Instagram @Jeff Olson Artist. Listen here.

10.14.26 Xavier Tavera Castro Mexican photographer and artist teaches media/photography to youth once a year with Crookston's In Progress. He has work in the Fresh Voices exhibit at the Fournet Building. Listen to the engaging conversation. Listen here.

10.7.26 Eric Twait Visitual Artist with exhibit at Warroad RiverPlace and workshop instructor spoke about his art, journey and more. Born from grief, shaped by words, and painted into silence — Letters to the Void. Listen here.

9.30.26 Cyndy Renfrow Northern Lights Concert Series board member spoke about the concerts, the organization, and this year's offerings. NWMAC grant recipient. Listen here.

Cathy Erickson featured in Self-Taught Artists, Self-Told Stories exhibit

Horseshoe Nail Flower created by Jeff Olson

Photographer Xavier Tavera Castro

Work by Eric Twait. Workshop was Painting Your Emotions. Below is Eric.

Emergency Relief Fund

Did your gig get cancelled when you didn't expect it? Or did your car break down which impacted your art practice? The Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) provides short-term relief to individual artists facing housing, healthcare, income, transportation, legal, or property loss emergencies that impact their wellbeing or ability to work. This program offers one-time awards of $500. In general, payments for emergency assistance are considered gifts and are not taxable income. Individuals must be currently active in a creative practice and live in Region 1: (Minnesota counties of Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, or Roseau). The Artists Emergency Relief Fund Network is stewarded by Springboard for the Arts and supported by F. R. Bigelow Foundation, Jerome Foundation, McKnight Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. The application process opened May 1, 2026. Upcoming application deadlines are December 15, February 15, April 15, June 15 as funds allow. Read more and download application here. Reach out to NWMAC Executive Director Mara Hanel with questions about the program or application process at nwartscouncil@gmail.com or 218-745-8886, ext 1.