Arts Tour Minnesota

The 2011–2013 Arts Midwest World Fest residencies were incredibly successful in Detroit Lakes. The ensembles made fast and deep connections with K-12 students during educational workshops and instrument demonstrations, with older adults in senior citizen centers, and with adult residents through informal community outreach activities and the formal public performance. During the two-year cycle, ensembles from Egypt, Israel, Indonesia, and China reached 9,437 residents in Detroit Lakes, including 6,700 youth, through 42 community and educational activities and four public performances. We evaluated the success of the residencies based on quantitative attendance figures at events, qualitative feedback from students and audience members, and conversations with our community partner, Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center. At the end of the first year of the cycle, Amy Stoller Stearns, Executive Director of the Historic Holmes Theater at the Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center, wrote: With Yamma Ensemble, as with Wust el Balad, the most successful part was the variety and depth of groups we were able to reach within a week's time. Schools and individuals from throughout our region of northwestern Minnesota were able to get involved. The impact of this is difficult to describe but basically, it helped to open more doors for us. We know that our outreach activities in the future will be better because of it. For example, we are improving how we do outreach—efficiency, hospitality, coordination factors—all are smoother because of what we're learning with World Fest. In February we had a small residency with an artist that was made better because of opportunities that arose after Wust el Balad's outreach in the fall.