Recent SEMAC Grant Awards

 On March 20, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council awarded 57 grants   for a total of $295,300 in funding to applicants throughout southeastern Minnesota.  This included seventeen McKnight Individual Artist Grants for $73.200, twenty-two General Operating Support Grants to arts organizations for $87,000, and eighteen Arts & Cultural Heritage Grants for $135,100.  The latter funding is made possible by the Minnesota 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.

 Grants were awarded to each of the following individuals and organizations, listed by county:

Fillmore County

  • Dreamery Rural Arts Initiative received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support, and a $3,200 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for the series Play! In the Barn.
  • Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center received a $9,200 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Stringwood Festival Concerts.
  • Elizabeth Bucheit received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Traditions in Transition: Scandinavian Influenced Filigree Jewelry.
  • Fillmore Central Schools received a $3,200 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for a residency by the Copper Street Brass Quintet.
  • Michael Seiler received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Storyjewlz: Jewelry Inspired by the Written Word.
  • Scott Dixon received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Enemy Alien, an original script.
  • Southeast MN Bluegrass Association received a $4,000 General Operating Support grant for the August Bluegrass Festival.

 Freeborn County

  • Albert Lea Art Center received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Freeborn County Fair received a $4,600 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for A Touch of Broadway.

 Goodhue County

  • Cannon Falls High School received a $3,200 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for a residency by the Copper Street Brass Quintet.
  • Red Dragonfly Press received a $4,000 General Operating Support grant to continue the Read Locally! program.
  • Red Wing Arts Association received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support

 Mower County

  • Austin Area Art Center received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Austin Symphony Orchestra received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Matchbox Children’s Theatre received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.

 Olmsted County

  • Cambodian Association of Rochester MN received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for a Cambodian Traditional Arts Presentation.
  • Children’s Dance Theatre received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Chris Delisle received a $2,500 McKnight Emerging Artist grant for From the Ground Up.
  • James Buryska received a $2,500 McKnight Emerging Artist grant for Men of the Whole Cloth.
  • Rochester Arts Council received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Rochester Chamber Music Society received a $3,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Rochester Male Chorus received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Rochester Music Guild received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Rochester Symphony Orchestra & Chorale received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Playing with the Pros: A Concerto Preparatory Experience.
  • Samaritan Bethany Foundation received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Art Access for Life.
  • Simon Huelsbeck received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for his solo exhibition Winter Prelude.
  • Sing Out Loud received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for formation of Bella Fiore teaching choir and the Sing Out Loud! Young Women’s Choral Festival, as well as a $4,000 General Operating Support grant.
  • Southeastern MN Youth Orchestras received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for a music program partnership with the YMCA, and a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Wit’s End Theatre received a $6,200 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for costuming for The Last Boy in Blue.

 Rice County

  • Boys of America Brass Band received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.
  • Carleton College received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Field Drawing From the Ground Up.
  • Cello an American Experience received a $6000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant to Draw World-Class Performers to Southeastern Minnesota.
  • Daniel Kallman received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Sonata for Trumpet and Piano.
  • Frederick Somers received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Riding Rainbows.
  • I Cantanti Chamber Choirs received a $4,000 General Operating Support grant for their 25th Anniversary Culminating Event.
  • Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division received a $6500 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Books & Stars 2012.
  • Northfield Youth Choirs received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support
  • Paul Dice received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant to produce a new composition for Gao Hong and Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble.
  • Thomas Willis received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for glaze development for pottery.

 Steele County

  • Christene Hettinga received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant to illustrate and publish a children’s story.
  • Riverland Community College received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for the Community Corrections Partnership Public Mural Project.
  • Vega Productions received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support,

 Wabasha County

  • Lake City Music Boosters received a $3,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for the Anne Drummond Artist Residency.
  • Rural America Arts Partnership received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.

 Winona County

  • David Echelard received a $3,200 McKnight Established Artist grant for a multi-media composition performance piece.
  • Frozen River Film Festival received a $4,000 General Operating Support grant for their 2013 festival.
  • John Paulson received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for a John Paulson Big Band Concert.
  • Julie Johnston received a $2,500 McKnight Emerging Artist grant for The Art of Dance.
  • Kathleen Peterson received a $2,500 McKnight Emerging Artist grant for The Ghost of an Idea.
  • Lynn Nankivil received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Rockwell, a historic play about Rockwell Kent.
  • Mary Singer received a $5,000 McKnight Established Artist grant for Significant Women in Winona History.
  • Minnesota Marine Art Museum received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Craig Blacklock’s Lake Superior and related programs.
  • Project FINE received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Cultural Art and Ancestry.
  • Theatre du Mississippi received a $4,000 grant for General Operating Support.

 On November 15, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council awarded 37 grants for a total of $192,375 in funding to applicants throughout southeastern Minnesota. This included fourteen Presenter/Production Assistance Grants for $42,000 to arts organizations, six Small Towns/Rural Areas Grants for $15,650, and seventeen Arts & Cultural Heritage Grants for $134,725.

Grants were awarded to each of the following organizations, listed by county:

Dodge County

  • Mantorville Art Guild received a $3,000 Small Towns/Rural Areas grant for Additional Operating Expense Funding.

Fillmore County

  • Chatfield Brass Band received a $2,950 Small Towns/Rural Areas grant for Music in the Park Summer Concert Series.
  • Commonweal Theatre Company received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Commonweal Post Apprentice Fellowship.
  • Lanesboro Arts Center received a $9,200 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Lanesboro Residency Project.
  • Northland Words received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Words Players Jr. Troupe and Shakespeare Theatre Events.
  • Southeast Minnesota Bluegrass Association received a $3,000 Small Towns/Rural Areas grant for May 2012 SEMBA Bluegrass Festival.

Goodhue County

  • Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies received a $3,725 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Poetry Reading by Ted Kooser, former U.S. Poet Laureate.
  • Cannon Falls Library received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for SELCO Baye Kouyate Residency Project.
  • Fairview Red Wing Health Services received a $5,400 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Sheldon at Fairview: Arts for Your Health.
  • Picaresque II received a $4,300 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for “The Story of Music, Stories from Home”.

Mower County

  • Austin Symphony Orchestra received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for Homecoming and Young Artist’s Concert.
  • Matchbox Children’s Theatre received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for “Baba Yaga and the Black Sunflower”.

Olmsted County

  • Children’s Dance Theatre received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream,” 25th Anniversary Production.
  • City of Rochester Music Department received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for World Music Pilot Project, Year Three.
  • Diversity Council received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Celebration of Diversity and Inclusivity.
  • Rochester Aria Group received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for Two Concerts of Operatic Music.
  • Rochester Arts Council received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for ARTigras 2012.
  • Rochester Chamber Music Society received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for three concerts.
  • Rochester Dance Company received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for Nikolai Morschakov performing in “The Nutcracker”.
  • Rochester International Film Group received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for 17th Annual Rochester International Film Festival.
  • Rochester Music Guild received a $6,850 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Scholarship Competition and Winners’ Recitals.
  • Rochester Repertory Theatre received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Completion of the Sitting Pretty Campaign.
  • Rochester Repertory Theatre received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for Production of Conor McPherson’s “Shining City”.
  • Southeastern Minnesota Suzuki Association received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for Student Concert Series.
  • Southeastern Minnesota Youth Orchestras received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for SEMYO Concerto Competition and Concert.

Rice County

  • Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for Administrative Expenses.
  • City of Northfield Arts & Culture Commission received a $7,100 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Sidewalk Public Poetry Project.
  • Lockwood Theater Company received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for production of “Jesse” a musical melodrama.
  • Northfield Public Schools received a $4,150 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Northfield Young Sculptors Project.
  • Paradise Center for the Arts received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Collaboration with Northfield Arts Guild of the musical “Into the Woods”.

Steele County

  • Owatonna Arts Center received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Children’s/Teen Education Supervisor.

Wabasha County

  • Wabasha-Kellogg Public School received a $4,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for The Copper Street Brass Quintet Residency.

Winona County

  • Bluff Country Studio Art Tour received a $3,000 Small Towns/Rural Areas grant for Studio Art Tour 2012.
  • Frozen River Film Festival received a $10,000 Arts & Cultural Heritage grant for Frozen River Film Festival 2012.
  • Saint Charles Youth Theatre received a $1,000 Small Towns/Rural Areas grant for “Beauty and the Beast”.
  • Saint Johns Lutheran School received a $2,700 Small Towns/Rural Areas grant for “Jack and the Bean Stalk”.
  • Winona Symphony Orchestra received a $3,000 Presenter/Production Assistance grant for their April 29, 2012 concert.

On August 16, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council awarded five Artists in Education Grants, for a total of $10,000 in funding to schools and educational institutions in southeastern Minnesota.

 By county, Artists in Education Grants were awarded to the following institutions:

 Fillmore County

  • Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Lanesboro, was awarded $2,000 toward hosting Stringwood, the annual summer chamber music program.

 Olmsted County

  • Herbert Hoover Elementary School, Rochester, was awarded $2,000 to host an artist residency literary journal project with fourth grade students.

Rice County

  • Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, Faribault, was awarded $2,000 for artist residencies in classical music of South India and quilt art.

 Winona County

  • Hiawatha Valley Education District, Winona, was awarded $2,000 toward funding the Young Writers Conference in summer 2012.
  • Winona State University Music Department, Winona, was awarded $2,000 toward hosting guest artists for the Annual High School Honors Jazz Band Residency.

For a complete guide to grant eligibility and the application process, please download the PDF.