R2AC Awards $110,000 in Arts and Cultural Heritage Grants!

The R2AC recently awarded $110,000 in Arts and Cultural Heritage grants to artists, arts organizations, and non-profits in Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods, and Mahnomen counties These new grant programs are available as a result of Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Terri Widman (far left), Executive Director of R2AC, and Representative John Persell (back row, far left) stand with the first Arts and Cultural Heritage grant recipients.

The monies were given in two grant categories: Arts and Cultural Heritage Grants ($66,000) and Community Arts Support Grants ($44,000).

The Arts and Cultural Heritage Grants are available for individual artists and non-profit organizations. . Recipients of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Grants will use the funds to create opportunities for arts access, arts education, and build bridges between Minnesotans through arts and cultural heritage in the five-county region. Grantees were awarded a total of $66,000 for their community-based projects.

Artists and organizations benefiting from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Grants are as follows.

Representative John Persell (far left, back row) and R2AC Executive Director Terri Widman (far right) stand with Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant recipients.

Beltrami County:

Rose Heim: $3,000 to complete a photo exhibit that is a "portrait"of Kelliher, Waskish and the surrounding area.

Bemidji State University Music Department: $4,089 to commission and

Deb Steinbar, BSU Adjunct Music Instructor and Project Director, and Terri Widman, R2AC Executive Director

premier a multi-harpsichord concerto by MN composer Asako Hirabayashi written for and performed by La Musique Nomade.

Headwaters School of Music & Arts: $4,088 to purchase four potter wheels to facilitate pottery workshops for adults and children.

Headwaters School of Music & Arts: $4,820 to host a water-color workshop with internationally known artist, Paul Jackson.

Kelliher School: $1,938 to take the Holocaust Literature and English 11

Holocaust Literature and Literature 11 Classes at Kelliher School

classes to the "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, MN.

Kristin Majkrzak: $1,990 to attend an international fiber arts conference to learn new tapestry weaving skills. She will provide classes in the art form to northern Minnesotans in late 2010.

Paula J. Swenson: $2,245 to paint a mural acknowledging the beauty and wildlife of Bemidji and northern Minnesota.

Marion Reil and Grace Garland: $3,000 to host 10 watercolor workshops at assisted living facilities in Clearwater and Beltrami counties.

Boys & Girls Club of Bemidji Area Teen members: $6,000 for visual and theater arts programming. Teens will create six painted and batiked screens and six dyed screens for the teen center stage and participate in 12 weeks of theater arts classes.

Bemidji Community Theater: $4,200 for a collaborative production with the Paul Bunyan Playhouse of Disney's musical, Aladdin, Jr.

Clearwater County:

Vanessa Pulkabrek (far left) took students for a weekend of arts and culture in Minnepolis. R2AC Executive Director Terri Widman is on the far right.

Clearbrook-Gonvick High School: $4,120 for students to visit museums and theaters in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.

Northern Exposure to Lifelong Learning: $4,500 to sponsor a one-day festival of ethnic music.

Hubbard County:

Eric C. Bervig: $2,520 to provide professional quality modal jazz performances to Minnesotans in the Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods, and Mahnomen counties.

Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning: $4,945 to offer a series of sessions about cultural and folk art traditions and ethnic heritage, culminating with a multi-ethnic festival.

Lake of the Woods County:

Terri Widman (right) of the R2AC and Joanne Kellner of the Depot Preservation Alliance in Baudette.

The Depot Preservation Alliance: $2,000 to bring in art and design consultants to guide the development of the exhibit celebrating the cultural heritage of the Baudette area.

Lake of the Woods School : $4,545 to hire mosaic artist, Marsha Wolff, for a two week Artist in Residence program to teach students how to design and make mosaic art.

Lake of the Woods School: $2,000 to take the class of 2010 to see "Footloose" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater as a supplement to their usual Senior Class Trip.

Representative John Persell (left), Darby Miller from the Center of Human Environment, and Terri Widman of the R2AC

Mahnomen County:

The Center of Human Environment: $6,000 to provide opportunities for

artistic expression that will enrich residents' lives at this group home.

Community Arts Support Grants provide some measure of funding stability for non-profit arts organizations so that their energy can be better focused on increasing the quality and availability of the arts to their communities. The Community Arts Support Program granted $44,000 to nonprofits in the five county region.

R2Ac Executive Director, Terri Widman (second from left) and Representative John Persell( third from right) stand with Community Arts Support Grant recipients.

Non-profit arts organizations that benefited from the Community Arts Support Grants are as follows:

Bemidji Chorale: $3,000 to apply for 501(c)3 designation, purchase music folders, purchase music for a special concert with the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra and compensation for the conductor, accompanist and guest musicians.

Bemidji Community Arts Center: $6,000 to hire staff to assist in the implementation of existing programs.

Bemidji Community Theater: $3,000 to support rental of permanent costume storage and costume construction space as well as funds to expand our technical capabilities in order to add to the artistic quality of our productions.

Bemidji Symphony Orchestra: $6,000 to support the costs of producing the 2010-2011 Orchestra Concert season.

Terri Widman, R2AC, and Bill Zigmant, Treasurue of the Heartland Concert Association

Heartland Concert Association, Park Rapids: $4,000 to help provide necessary revenue to bring musical concerts, entertainments and programs to Hubbard County and surrounding area.

Minnesota Folklore Theater, Akeley: $3,000 to apply for 501(c)3 designation and for staffing and audience development.

Northern Artist Association, Bemidji: $4,070 to support the the marketing arm of the Northern Artist Association by assisting with monthly expenses and outreach.

North Country Museum of Arts, Park Rapids: $2,930 for operating expenses.

Northern Light Opera Company, Park Rapids: $6,000 for operating expenses and to hire a stage director and a technical director for the annual summer production.

Park Rapids Lakes Area Council: $3,000 to support projects in the Park Rapids area.

Terri Widman (left) presents representatives from the Pequana Playhouse board of Directors with their Community Arts Support Grant.

Pequana Playhouse, Baudette: $3,000 to implement arts programming in Lake of the Woods county and to repair the lighting and lightboard in the Lake of the Woods school auditorium where Pequana Playhouse productions are held.

The Region 2 Arts Council is one of eleven regional art councils in the State of Minnesota with the purpose of supporting and promoting art appreciation throughout Region 2. For more information about grant opportunities and other services provided by the R2AC stop by their offices at 426 Bemidji Avenue N in Bemidji, visit http://www.r2arts.org or call 218-751-5447 or toll-free at 1-800-275-5447.