Central MN Arts Board awards Project Grants to area organizations

by September 24, 2019 0

At the September 19, 2019 meeting, the Central Minnesota Arts Board (CMAB) awarded $99,653 in support of seventeen regional arts projects. Applications are scored by a panel of volunteer artists, administrators and members of other community groups. Panel scores are provided to the Board of Directors and used in determining how to allocate funds. Criteria used in evaluating applications include: artistic quality & merit, demonstrated need, outcomes & evaluation and ability to complete the proposal.

Organizations may apply for up to $7,000 with a 25% match requirement for any one project or combined projects in a grant round. Funding for these CMAB Grants is provided through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the state’s general fund, and its Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund created by the Voters of Minnesota.

  • 510 Art Lab, $4,558, to purchase equipment to offer the community classes and opportunities to use clay to create artistic products.
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Central MN, $7,000 for the Youth Arts Initiative’s 2019 Holiday Showcase, “Global Wonderland” that will explore how different cultures celebrate the holidays around the world at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club in Saint Cloud on Wednesday, December 18th at 6:30 p.m.
  • Buffalo Community Orchestra, $7,000 for “Brass Spectacular!” featuring guest artist Robert Baca performing with the orchestra and leading a day of brass and jazz clinic sessions for local high school musicians and orchestra members at the Buffalo High School Performing Arts Center October 26 & 27, 2019.
  • Buffalo Community Theater,$7,000 for the production of “Go Back for Murder” that will involve artists, technicians and volunteers from Buffalo and surrounding communities October 25-27 and Nov. 1-3, 2019 at Discovery Auditorium in Buffalo.
  • Chamber Music Society of St. Cloud, $3,955 to present the Mill City String Quartet outreach programs with local schools, family concert at the Great River Regional Library and formal concert at Atonement Lutheran Church in Saint Cloud May 22-23, 2020.  
  • Holdingford Public Schools, $5,017 for Collaged Identities II residency with artist Sarah Drake who will lead South Junior High and Holdingford Public Schools’ eighth grade students in mixed media collage and two-dimensional art projects.
  • Kennedy Community School One Act Play, $2,525 to provide a theatre experience for their performance through the rental of the Gorecki Family Theater at College of St. Benedict.
  • Minnesota Dance Ensemble, $7,000 for the performance of “The Snow Maiden” “Снегурочка”a Ballet/Opera directed by Samantha Collen, with guest principal dancers from around the country and local corps de ballet at the Paramount Theater on Saturday, January 18th, 2020.
  • Paramount Center for The Arts, $6,598 for the Juried High School Art Exhibition to offer youth in Central Minnesota the opportunity to create and showcase their visual art at the Paramount Gallery St. Germain March – April 2020.
  • St. Cloud Film Festival, St Cloud Film Fest $7,000 to host monthly film screenings of independent cinema at The Black Box in downtown St Cloud beginning in the fall of 2019.   
  • St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, $7,000, for “Horizons” diverse symphonic music concert inspired by nature in collaboration with Munsinger Clemens Botanical Society 20th anniversary of “Music in the Gardens” at St. Cloud State University Ritsche Auditorium February 22, 2020.
  • St. John’s University, Fine Arts, $7,000 for “Scrap Arts Music” performance and outreach residency activities November 11-16, 2019 that introduce participants to a unique and innovative genre using instruments crafted from reclaimed industrial scraps.
  • STMA Music Boosters, $7,000 for Voces8 vocal masterclass for local high schools and formal concert at the St. Michael – Albertville High School Performing Arts Center February 19, 2020.
  • The St. John’s Boys’ Choir, $7,000 for KidSing 2020 – Music Changes the World concert with Jim Papoulis, who with local choral organizations, will engage more than 500 Central Minnesota youth in a series of song-writing workshops and a Festival Concert January 9-11, 2020.
  • Wirth Center Performing Arts, $3,500 for the Spring Gala 2020 ensemble concert with 200+students of all ages performing multiple disciplines on a professional stage at Sauk Rapids Rice High School in Spring 2020.
  • Wirth Center Performing Arts, $3,500 for School of ROCK 2020, a 6-day camp where students are formed into bands, learn the ins and outs of being in a rock band, and end with a large scale, professional rock concert in August of 2020.
  • Youth Chorale of Central MN, $7,000, “All Is Well” collaboration with the St. Cloud String Quartet featuring a commissioned piece by Isaac Lovdahl December 8, 2019 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Saint Cloud.

The Central Minnesota Arts Board supports collaborative and innovative arts opportunities through partnerships and financial investments in Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright counties as one of eleven Regional Arts Councils designated by the Minnesota State Arts Board working with community partners to increase access to the unique cultural assets of Minnesota.

Visit aroundthecloud for a full listing of these arts events and Everything Arts in Central Minnesota.