What do you people really do?
Whether this is asked in jest, critique or true curiosity, “what does the Arts District do?” is a question that bears answering. Regular readers of this monthly e-newsletter know that the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District is more than a place on a map. It is all the things and events that its board of directors care about or produce.
What is not obvious, but eventually will become better known, is our deliberate, sometimes serendipitous process of getting to know other arts organizations and other players on the Northeast scene and exploring how we can work together. Board members attend events or otherwise start conversations. Supporting our institution, we’re genuinely interested in what makes other neighborhood institutions tick. We remember the advice of former Eastside Food Co-op leader Amy Fields, “institutions need to stick together.”
This approach led to the Arts District’s merger in 2020 with the Northeast Community Development Corporation (NECDC), a partnership that started with some arts community members taking an interest in NECDC’s Northeast Calendar Project. NE Sculpture | Gallery Factory got on its feet with assistance of fiscal sponsorship by NECDC.
Before that, the partnership between the Northeaster newspaper and the arts district on the Arts Insights page became reality in 2016 when former board member Betsy Gabler proposed it to then-Northeaster publisher Margo Ashmore, who eventually joined the board to continue Gabler’s term.
You’ll see an article in the Eastside Food Co-op’s next issue of The Carrot about the arts district and how co-op members can engage with the arts. The article is the first result of many impromptu conversations that Arts District chair Josh Blanc had with co-op leaders as an almost daily shopper there, and the co-op’s idea that there are many budding artists among its members. There may be more potential collaborations between us organizations, and we thank the co-op for hosting our tabling efforts during the latest Best Arts District contest.
The Ritz Theater has hosted our Vision Awards and candidate forums. We connect to Art to Change the World through several leaders in common. Our city council members came out to celebrate the second first-place win in the USA Today Best Arts District contest. Taste of Minnesota sponsored the buses during the Fall Open Studios, a responsibility which the Arts District took on in order to help Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association.
We generally don’t write about relationships until they’re far along. While we’ve probably written about most arts organizations at one time or another, we welcome any organization people to set up more in-depth meetings about potential collaboration or at baseline, mutual understanding. One of the arts district’s goals is to increase the number of arts institutions – traditional and nontraditional – and arts-related/symbiotic businesses in and near this square mile district. Another is to increase the political clout of artists and arts organizations. Knowledge is power, and we’re poised to be the catalyst by sharing knowledge.
After all, Northeast Minneapolis Arts District’s mission is: “To catalyze the innovative spirit of artists through generative community arts development.”
Article by Margo Ashmore