$100,000+ in State Arts Board grants to NE artists

Dawn Wing demonstrates how she uses Soft Kut, a kind of plate used for relief prints; it’s affordable and easy to cut, she says. A recent Minnesota State Arts Board grantee, Wing is also one of 11 printmaking artists at the Northrup King Building who recently held a show and open studios, with demonstrations for the public. See related story for examples of their work and descriptions of their techniques. (Photo by Karen Kraco)

The Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) has released its list of 526 artists who received grants for 2022 under the Creative Support for Individuals; A total of $3.1 million-plus was granted. This is more than tripling the amount of grants given in 2020, up from 184 artists and $1.8 Million. This year chosen artistst received up to a $6,000 grant, down from a maximum of $10,000 in previous years.

We identified 14 artists in or near the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District who will receive the funding. Congratulations to Ryan Stopera, Tia Keobounpheng, Greg Lecker, Tressa Sularz, Kao Lee Thao, Russ White, Cory Favre, Alyssa Baguss, Andrew MacGuffie, Kathryn Haddad, Silent Fox, Tomas Alvarez, Dawn Wing and Pete Driessen. Lisa Channer and Luverne G. Seifert, both of St. Anthony, and Natasha Pestich of Columbia Heights also won grants. Overall we calculate over $102,000 of the funding could flow through the community. This number of artists from our area is a little more than the average over many years.

In addition, Andy Richter plans a project that will appear in Northeast. There are nine others who were at some time in the last few decades located in Northeast Minneapolis. It is gratifying to know that so many artists’ careers had touch points with the Arts District, we consider them “alumni” wherever they venture.

We congratulate the artists for their success at receiving their grants. It is an important recognition for artists to experiment with new ideas or explore deeper into concepts they have been working on for many years.

In the MSAB statement announcing the grants, they said, “Creative Support for Individuals is designed to help Minnesota artists and culture bearers adapt to changes in their working environment caused by the global pandemic. Grantees will be able to use funds to sustain their practice and stay relevant and connected to audiences, participants, students, or communities now and in the future. This grant program aims to help Minnesota artists and culture bearers maintain their visibility and financial sustainability by using their creativity and connections to community.”

MSAB did not specify addresses – so if we missed you, please tell us and we will update this article online.

Article compiled by Josh Blanc