Arts Experiences

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2024 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$24,100
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Citizens for Backus AB AKA Backus Community Center
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
In Progress
Start Date
May 2024
End Date
April 2025
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Koochiching
Koochiching
Project Overview

Arts Experiences

Project Details

Backus Community Center will present to the people of its region a two week Children's Summer Theater Camp, a Summer Hip Hop and Jazz Dance Workshop for all ages, and an outdoor concert for the entire community.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Uri Camarena: business consultant; Michael Charron: arts educator, arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice, former state legislator; Emily Galusha: arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner: vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Ken Martin, political strategist, campaign manager; Philip McKenzie: adjunct college faculty; Michele Sterner: higher education administrator; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Woods: executive director, Duluth Art Institute

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Eric Anderson: Eric Anderson consults on philanthropic services, family philanthropy, donor stewardship, and nonprofit capacity building. He has worked in college recruiting, alumni and development relations, and philanthropic services. Most recently at the Minneapolis Foundation (2000 to 2022) he oversaw philanthropic support to 1000+ fund advisors and stewardship of 800+ charitable funds. He provided an optimal experience for individuals, families, and organizations advancing their charitable work in the community. His responsibilities included overseeing programs and services for donor advisor engagement, assisting fund advisors in achieving their charitable goals, grant screening and selection, and facilitation of various projects as a center for philanthropy advancing an equitable community. His depth of experience is in philanthropic advising, community relations, volunteer management, strategic planning, program development, asset development, and board relations.; Emma Bohmann: Bohmann is the development officer at Arts Midwest, a nonprofit regional arts organization headquartered in Minneapolis. She is responsible for successfully developing, implementing, and monitoring Arts Midwest?s fundraising strategies and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the development department. Her portfolio includes securing federal, corporate, and foundation grants; managing donor relations and individual giving; and advancing the vision, goals, and impact of the organization. Prior to joining Arts Midwest in 2016, she was a grant writer for a development and communications firm, where she worked on fundraising efforts for more than two dozen nonprofit organizations. She has served on grant panels for the Minnesota State Arts Board and the South Dakota Arts Council; and as a member of Fourth Generation, a volunteer grant making group through The Minneapolis Foundation. She holds a MFA in creative writing from Hollins University (Roanoke, VA) and is currently working on a novel. She is also an amateur potter.; Holly Day: Day has been a freelance writer for more than 35 years with more than 7,000 pieces appearing in more than 4,000 publications internationally and more than twenty nonfiction, fiction, and poetry books published. She has been a writing instructor at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis since 2000 and at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle since 2021.; Kristopher Kobe: Kris is a freelance editor specializing in copyediting and line editing. He came to editing via a nontraditional vector: graphic design (AS) and advertising (BA). These skill sets and a knack for creativity coaching allow him to work deeply with writers to polish their creative visions and help bring them to market. In addition to editing many works of fiction and nonfiction, he designed the interior of an award-winning book on creativity and healing. He is working toward certifications that reinforce his passion: coaching writers and other creatives. He comes from a family of arts educators.; Andrew Nordin: Nordin studied art at Saint Cloud State University and has an MFA in painting from San Jose State University in California. An active artist, his work can be seen at regional art centers and museums. He teaches art and curates the galleries at Ridgewater Community College, as well as painting courses at the University of Minnesota Morris. Nordin has served on review panels for his regional arts council (SMAC), the Arts Board, and the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. He and his partner Lisa Bergh, reside in New London; they have developed and managed collaborative projects that include The Traveling Museum and ARThouse.; Kristina Tiedje: Kristina Tiedje is a German native, and dual citizen residing in Rochester, MN. She is cultural anthropologist with a specialization in the Americas. She is currently on leave from a university professor position in Lyon, France. She has a masters (ULyon 1998), and a PhD in anthropology (UOregon 2004). She did a postdoctoral fellowship at the College de France in Paris (2005), and a fellowship in Bioethics at the Mayo Clinic (2007-2010). She has done work with the Oregon Hisotircal Society working with folk and traditional artists. In her research with indigenous peoples in rural Mexico, she has studied the oral traditions related to sacred music and ritual dance. She speaks, lectures and publishes in four languages (German, French, Spanish, English). She also learned Nahuatl. In the Arts, she has a background in dance and theater, dancing and performing on stage in ballet, Flamenco, and Argentine Tango. In Rochester, she has served as a Board member and President of the Board for the Rochester Dance Company, a youth dance non profit organization for 8 years (2016-2023). She has also served as Vice President (2019), president (2020-21) and event coordinator (2023) for the Alice Mayo Society, a social event organization for spouses of Mayo Clinic physicians and researchers. She has served as a grant reviewer for the Arts board previously. ; Sessily Watt: Watt is a grant writer for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, where she is a founding member of the organization?s first LGBTQIA2S+ Employee Resource Group. She has a master in fine arts degree in creative writing from New Mexico State University and writes book reviews for Strange Horizons, a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction. She is also a sketchbook hobbyist, primarily working in pen and ink.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota, 2023 regular session, chapter 40, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2024 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$24,100
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$24,100
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Backus Community Center will use funding from this grant to bring quality programs to our area that were once outside of our budget. Backus will track attendance at events and will survey guests to gain their insight and reaction. Feedback and input will be considered for future program selections in order to develop interest and strengthen community appreciation for the arts.

Project Manager
First Name
Lois
Last Name
Lundin
Organization Name
Citizens for Backus AB AKA Backus Community Center
Street Address
900 5th St Backus Comm Center
City
International Falls
State
MN
Zip Code
56649
Phone
(218) 285-7225
Email
loislundin@backusab.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency