City Of Minneapolis: Grants Awarded For Artist-Led Community Healing And Well Being

Press release from the City of Minneapolis:

September 8, 2021

The City of Minneapolis Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (ACCE) has approved funding for 15 artist-led working teams for projects that provide creative healing and support to Minneapolis communities that continue to be directly impacted and affected by the stress and trauma of the past year. Along with the lasting effects of the pandemic, communities continue to grapple with ongoing challenges related to the murder of George Floyd.

These projects are intended to provide creative healing and support to communities directly impacted and affected by the trauma, stress and violence caused as a result of the long and painful history of police brutality disproportionately experienced by Black communities for generations. These grant dollars are also intended to recognize the often-unpaid labor of artists as they respond to multiple health and racism emergencies and mobilize their creative resources to address community needs.

In 2021 the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy mobilized one time City dollars, funding allocated to the City’s new Cultural Districts and repurposed resources provided by Kresge Foundation to create a resource pool of $245,000 in the Creative Response Fund. These new grants are intended to continue to mobilize the unique and specialized skills of artists and designers to respond to community needs and engage with and expand the impact of community healing and support.

In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent community uprisings, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy repurposed resources provided by the Kresge Foundation to support the work of local artists and designers on urgently needed community healing focused projects. ACCE funded 10 project teams and supported a total of 63 artists. The funded projects ranged in nature from pop-up healing and beauty stations, filmed performances projected onto damaged and destroyed spaces, painted murals that share native medicinal knowledge, community healing through art-making, and engagement events involving storytelling and deep dialogue.

2021 Grantees and projects

2021 Grantees and projects A Budget is a Moral Document Archway Healing Art + Nature Ayeeyo Youth Stories Brujería for Beginners CellFilms Forgotten Souls Mamas Ignite Fireside Circle Resiliency Through Soliloquy Rise Up Cinderella Serenading the Wounded Spaces Star Girl Clan Story Circles The Rock Royalty Experience UNSCRIPTED

 All of the events will follow the State’s COVID-19 safety protocols.

Arts Midwest will disburse the grant funds. Arts Midwest believes that creativity has the power to inspire and unite humanity. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest grows, gathers, and invests in creative organizations and communities throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six nonprofit United States regional arts organizations, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 30 years.

The Creative Response Fund is a program of The Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy at the City of Minneapolis. Funding is provided in part by the Kresge Foundation.

The City of Minneapolis Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (ACCE) provides the funding, manages the artist selection process and provides project support.  The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy supports artist entrepreneurs, creative businesses and arts and culture nonprofits to ensure the growth and sustainability of cultural expression and creativity throughout the City of Minneapolis. This work helps strengthen the health and well-being of every neighborhood by elevating underrepresented creative workers and engaging underserved communities; supporting creative entrepreneurship and collaborating with city departments. ACCE also researches the economics of the creative sector and develop arts and culture policy.

For more information visit: minneapoliscreates.org

Learn more about the Creative Respond Fund and artists.

This press release was produced by the City of Minneapolis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.