Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant for Organizations
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education
As a result of Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference's effort to bring professional writers/teachers to Bemidji to deliver a high quality literary experience to our outstate community, Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference will broaden a diverse group of over 100 attendees’ awareness, knowledge and appreciation of creative writing and the literary arts. In addition, as a result of Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference's ongoing effort to document aspects of the conference online, we will reach a broader national audience and enhance the cultural and artistic stature of the Bemidji area. Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference uses registration questionnaires, informal interviews, video interviews, event surveys, exit surveys, and evaluations. Evaluation forms (developed in collaboration with members of Bemidji State University’s social work and psychology departments) are distributed at conference end. They remain anonymous and we have nearly 100% compliance. We scan and compile to disseminate to our planning committee. Responses tend to be overwhelmingly positive. We use suggestions for planning and evaluation.
Based on 47 surveys of our workshop participants, the conference was a success with high marks for workshops, craft talks, and the reading series. Auditor and faculty surveys were also very positive. We read these surveys carefully and consider all suggestions. For instance, there were some problems in the fiction workshop due to different experience levels. Housing was okay with some problems. Food received low marks, a situation we struggle with due to our contractual duty to Aramark at BSU.
Other, local or private