Skip to main content

About Us

About the Southeastern Minnesota Arts CouncilHere's alt text for this image: "A map of Minnesota showing 10 numbered congressional districts. Each district is outlined and contains the names of counties within it. District 1 is in the northwest, District 2 in the central-west area, District 3 in the central-north area around St. Louis, District 4 in the west-central region, District 5 around Todd county, District 6 in the southwest including Chippewa county, District 7 covering much of southern Minnesota with multiple counties, District 8 in the southwest corner including Lincoln and Lyon counties, District 9 in the south-central area, and District 10 in the southeast corner highlighted in green. County names are clearly labeled throughout the map.

The Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) has served as the designated regional arts council for Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona counties, including the Prairie Island Indian Community since 1977. Through our six grant programs, SEMAC supports arts programming in every corner of our region by awarding close to $1,000,000 per year to individuals, arts organizations, non-arts nonprofits, schools, and local government entities.

SEMAC is one of eleven Regional Arts Councils designated by the State of Minnesota to make final decisions on the use of appropriations from the state’s general fund and from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund | Minnesota’s Legacy to support local and regional arts development.

Through partnerships with local, regional, state, and national organizations, including the Minnesota State Arts Board and the McKnight Foundation, we strive to meet the needs of the people living in southeastern Minnesota and strengthen communities. We do this by offering grant funding opportunities as well as free services such as skill building workshops, grant writing support, lists of other arts resources, networking opportunities, language services, and regional arts promotion.