Small Towns/Rural Areas

SEMAC wishes to support and encourage the creation and development of artists and arts organizations in Southeastern Minnesota communities with populations under 7,500 by offering $5,000 grants for arts-related programming. Three distinct funding categories are defined as follows.

• Local Production Projects – must develop an art form, or promote the artistic growth of artists and arts-producing organizations. The project may be a single activity, a sequence of closely related activities, or an exhibition curated by the applicant. These grants may be sponsored by arts organizations, local government entities, and public or non-religious private K-12 schools, either individually or in cooperation. These grants cannot be used to cover costs of school residencies.
• Administrative Support – promotes artistic growth through the administrative development of arts-producing organizations that do not qualify for general operating support through either SEMAC or MSAB. The end result is increased resources to support arts-producing activities, e.g., developing administrative or fiscal capabilities, new resources for arts producers, or planning and research.
• Equipment Purchase – may be used for costs directly related to the infrastructure of arts-producing organizations, such as Web site development, or the purchase of printers and other equipment.

Small Towns/Rural Areas grants are offered twice a year to qualified arts organizations and, in the case of Local Production Projects, to other entities as noted above.