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NEWS RELEASE
October 13, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brenda Flintrop, Executive Director
Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, Waseca, 1-800-298-1254
NEW ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR ARTS ACTIVITIES BY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY GROUPS AND SCHOOLS; PLUS YOUTH SCHOLARSHIPS
The Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council is pleased to announce the new grant deadlines for the Arts and Culture Heritage Fund, a fund created by the people of Minnesota to support the arts and preserve our heritage. The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, passed by the voters in November, 2008, created new resources for land conservation, water conservation, parks and the Arts. These funds will essentially double the Arts Council budget in 2010!
Applications from Non-profit Arts Organizations, Community Groups, Units of Government and Schools will be accepted November 2, 2009 and January 2, 2010. The Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (PLRAC) will receive approximately $290,000 in FY 2010 to be re-granted in the nine-county area. Grant programs and services will address these areas: Arts and Arts Access 80%, Arts Education 15% and Arts and Cultural Heritage 5%. Arts activities may address the areas of dance, literature, music, theater, visual art classes and exhibitions. Collaborative projects among several organizations, the school and/or city are encouraged. “We hope that groups will think creatively how to use the arts to build healthy communities in southern Minnesota and also promote tourism”, noted Brenda Flintrop, Executive Director. The maximum grants in these new categories are $4,000 and $8,000, which is double and triple the size of grants we’ve been able to offer in the past.
Another exciting opportunity this year is grants for students in grades 7–12. Youth Scholarships and Mentorships of $500 are available for artistic students who want the opportunity to study their chosen art with a practicing professional artist, attend an arts workshop, series of classes or special training opportunity or performance. Artistic areas include: dance, literature, music, theater and visual arts. The scholarship can also be used to take lessons or pay fees to a non-profit arts organization serving youth (i.e. Arts Center of Saint Peter, Dance Conservatory of Southern MN, Mankato Ballet Company, Mankato Children’s Chorus, Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra, Mankato or New Ulm Suzuki School of Music, other art centers which offer classes to youth, etc.). There is only one deadline for the Youth Scholarship Grant: November 2, 2009; and students or parents should call the office to request a form.
Grant guidelines and applications are available at www.plrac.org or by contacting Brenda Flintrop, Executive Director, at the Prairie Lakes office in Waseca, 1-800-298-1254 or plrac@hickorytech.net. Last year the Regional Arts Council awarded 91 grants for a total of $127,901. A variety of activities were funded including: arts classes for youth and adults; art exhibitions; arts and music festivals; choral concerts; dance performances; literary readings; music concerts; theater performances; etc. The Council makes policy decisions and develops the plan for the regional arts program, which is submitted to the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB). Grant funding is provided by the Minnesota State Legislature and the McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis. The Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council serves a nine-county area including Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca, and Watonwan Counties.
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Local Art Constituents Meet with Legislators at the State Capitol Feb. 2009
Members of the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (PLRAC) and local residents joined over 750 arts advocates from around the state, at the Capitol February 24th. Brenda Flintrop, Executive Director of Prairie Lakes, noted that arts advocates roamed the capitol in 39 teams and met with over 90% of all legislators. The team led by Flintrop met with seven legislators from south-central Minnesota, including Senators Dick Day, Julie Rosen, and Kathy Sheran and Representatives Laura Brod, Tony Cornish, Kory Kath, and Terry Morrow. “It was a great experience to be at the capitol with so many arts supporters. However, we are very concerned about the state deficit and know that all agencies will need to be cut to balance the budget”, added Flintrop.
Even though the voters passed the constitutional amendment last fall to increase funding for the arts, Governor Pawlenty has proposed cutting the arts by 50 percent, and eventual elimination of the MN State Arts Board after 2011, as part of a package of budget changes intended to balance the state's budget. The state currently appropriates $10.2 million to the State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils, which go out in grants and services to all 87 Minnesota counties.
Flintrop noted “We asked our legislators to keep cuts to the arts at 10%, which is similar to the average cuts to all other state agencies; and to maintain the existing, accountable and transparent MN State Arts Board and Regional Arts Councils system. This system would be the recipient of the new Arts & Culture Fund from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. We also asked legislators to appropriate at least half of the new resources to the MN State Arts Board, which should be available in two years from the Sales Tax Amendment.”
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, a non-profit advocacy group, sponsors the annual event at the capitol. The purpose is to show the state legislature that the arts community speaks with one voice. From urban to rural, from large arts organizations to small, the arts play a significant role in our lives and the Minnesota State Legislature plays an important role in continued funding.
“Public funding for the arts is very important for south central Minnesota residents. Non-profit arts groups strengthen the economic development of small towns and promote tourism. Arts availability in a community enables local employers to attract and retain higher skilled employees,” noted Brenda Flintrop. State arts’ funding is distributed to the eleven Regional Arts Councils geographically located throughout the state of Minnesota, and they provide grants to artists, small arts organizations, community groups, and schools for artist residencies and arts related field-trips. In FY 2008 PLRAC awarded 83 grants totaling $127,865 with grants ranging from $500 to $2,800 each; and about 36% of those activities focused on youth.
For more information about arts activities and grant programs contact the PLRAC office in Waseca at 1-800-298-1254, plrac@hickorytech.net or www.plrac.org.
Pictured below: Arts Advocacy Day with Sen. Kathy Sheran.
(L to R): Row 1 - Silvan Durben, Owatonna Arts Center; Sen. Kathy Sheran; Michelle Behsman, Madison Lake, Mankato Symphony Orchestra; Pat Potzler, North Mankato, MN Valley Sweet Adelines and Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council board member; and Brenda Flintrop, Waseca, Executive Director of Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council & board member of MN Citizens for the Arts.
Row 2 - Shannon Robinson, Twin Rivers Center for the Arts, Mankato; Mary Lou Kudela, Madison Lake, MN Valley Sweet Adelines; Al Behrends, Director of Fine Arts at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter. Row 3 – Scott Roberts, Owatonna Arts Center; Sara McKay, Saint Peter Choral Society; and Daniel Zielske, Mankato, musician and board member of MN Citizens for the Arts.
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