Arts Access

2014 Fiscal Year Funding Amount

$54,384

Fund Source

Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund

Recipient

Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

Recipient Type

Non-Profit Business/Entity

Status

Completed

Start Date

January 2014

End Date

December 2014

Activity Type

Grants/Contracts

Counties Affected

Anoka

Dakota

Hennepin

Ramsey

Project Overview

Arts Access

Project Details

Iraqi Voices is a collaborative mentorship program that gives Iraqis in Minnesota support and training to produce high-quality documentary video shorts. The project will result in seven shorts, to be screened at the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival and submitted to festivals worldwide.

Competitive Grant Making Body

Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Wendy Dayton: Arts and community leader and philanthopist.; Sean Dowse: Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies.; David Glenn, Executive director of the Minnesota Project, ceramic artist; Benjamin Klipfel: Board member, Minnesota State Arts Board. Executive Director, Alexandria Area Arts Association, Inc. Director and arts educator.; Ellen McInnis: Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist; Anton Treuer: Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Maya Beecham: Executive assistant and creativity director, Youthprise; visual and spoken word artist; freelance writer; Laurel Bradley: Director and curator, Perlman Teaching Museum, Carleton College, Northfield; Gregory Bullard: Independent Management Consultant, Bullseye Services Corp.; Melissa Cuff: Director of grants and foundation relations for YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities.; Joanna Kohler: Filmmaker and Media producer, community storytelling; Sherri Pugh: Retired community economic developer and philanthropy administrator; Minnesota African American Museum volunteer; Paul Robinson: Director, James P. Shannon Leadership Institute, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, Saint Paul; Jessica Roeder: Writer, poet and teacher

Conflict of Interest Disclosed

Project Details: 2014 Fiscal Year

Legal Citation / Subdivision

Laws of Minnesota 2013, Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 3

Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2014 Fiscal Year Funding Amount

$54,384

Other Funds Leveraged

Direct expenses

$54,384

Administration costs

$5,034

Number of full time equivalents funded

0.25

Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Iraqis in Minnesota participate in the arts by writing and producing short videos. Iraqi-American audiences view art by and about their community. Success means 8-12 Iraqis worked collaboratively to produce seven short films. Artistic quality will be qualitatively assessed by the Teaching Artist, Mizna, and through audience surveys. Anonymous surveys will also track ethnic composition of audience. 2: We provide a free, yearlong documentary mentorship with on-call counselor and interpreters available to participants who would otherwise face economic, language, and cultural barriers. Pre- and post-project surveys for each participant will include specific questions about these barriers and how well they were overcome. Completed forms will be given to the independent evaluator to assess and to follow-up on.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Iraqis in Minnesota participated in the arts by writing and producing short films. Iraqi and American audiences viewed the films by and about their community. 2: We provided a free yearlong documentary mentorship with on-call counselor and interpreters available to participants who would otherwise face economic, language and cultural barriers.

Description of Funds

Recipient Board Members

Stephen Clemens, Paul Perkal, Allen Nettles, Sarah Kanan, Salam Murtada, Kathy McKay, Vanessa Cornett-Murtada, David Smith

Project Manager

Kathy

McKay

Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

416 Hennepin Ave Ste 116

Minneapolis

55414

(952) 545-9981

kathy@reconciliationproject.org