FY 2014 Grantees
Artist Initiative
Project grants for artists at all stages of their careers, to support artistic development, nurture artistic creativity, and recognize the contributions individual artists make to the creative environment of the state of Minnesota
Awards grouped below by discipline.
Dance
| Number of grants awarded November 6, 2013 |
5 |
| Total dollars awarded November 6, 2013 |
$ 50,000 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| Mathew J. Janczewski, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Janczewski will select two to five Minnesota towns to develop "Main Street," a dance that looks at how technology is changing the face of American towns and our ability to connect to each other. He will present a public showing in each location. |
| Rosy Simas, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Simas will develop "We Wait In The Darkness" within the Minneapolis Native community through two gallery performances, post-performance discussion, a ten-day residency, and an archival/promotional video. |
| Megan E. Mayer, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Mayer will create "Soft Fences," a dance performance installation that mines the emotional states of astronauts during space travel and reentry and uses orbit as a metaphor for personal transition. |
| Leslie B. O'Neill, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | O'Neill will produce a dance film in collaboration with filmmaker Gregg Holtgrewe, framing the movement language and design that marks the unique style of this choreographer. |
| Deborah Jinza Thayer, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Thayer will create an evening-length work that is designed to tour in greater Minnesota; teach 'In-Company' class, a physical training system designed to both train and heal dancers; and develop new audiences. |
Media Arts
| Number of grants awarded January 8, 2014 |
14 |
| Total dollars awarded January 8, 2014 |
$ 135,700 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| John M. Akre, Minneapolis | $ 6,500 | | Akre will build a bicycle-transported, battery operated, portable Street Animation Station that will allow the public to participate in the production of large scale animation projects at Open Street and other public events during the summer of 2014. |
| Allison L. Bolah, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Bolah will expand Tell Me About Your Mother, a multimedia, print and text series built from filmed interviews that explore how subtle expressions shape narrative meaning. The resulting exhibition will take place in diverse, community-based venues in Minnesota. |
| Patrick Coyle, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Coyle will edit and complete postproduction on a feature film entitled The Public Domain. The film is set against the collapse of the 35W Bridge, and its impact on four individuals. A public screening of a rough-cut will take place in Minneapolis. |
| Mike Hazard, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Hazard will complete A Happy Collaborator, a poetic portrait of the Johnny Appleseed of documentary film, George Stoney. The film will be screened in various locations in Minnesota. |
| Natalie Jennings, Saint Paul | $ 9,200 | | Jennings will create twenty new micro-documentaries adding to A Face Project to share the stories of Minnesotans. She will also create two photo books that offer the public access to the project in hard copy format. An exhibition and book launch is scheduled for Fox Egg Gallery in Minneapolis. |
| Laska Jimsen, Northfield | $ 10,000 | | Jimsen will complete the experimental 16mm film Circles & Arrows, Matrices & Trees. She will screen cuts of the film at colleges, universities, and arts centers and conduct workshops on the photochemical process of 16mm hand processing. |
| Alberto Justiniano, Saint Louis Park | $ 10,000 | | Justiniano will create The Lesson, a short narrative film about an undocumented immigrant man who refuses to be defined by his job, and discovers his true calling. He will screen the film at El Centro, a Minneapolis social service agency that serves new immigrants. |
| Teresa L. Konechne, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Konechne will gather and edit at least six stories of Minnesotans engaged in urban gardening. These films and an online companion project will seek to be a powerful resource to reimagine a connection to the earth. Screenings and discussions will take place in various locations around the state. |
| Susan Marks, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Marks will complete Her Miniature Life of Crime, a one-hour documentary film about an unlikely grandmother, Frances Glessner Lee, who changed the course of forensic history through the creation of miniature crime scenes. A public screening of a rough-cut of the film will take place in the Twin Cities. |
| Kathy McTavish, Duluth | $ 10,000 | | McTavish will expand her media installation and performance project, "høle in the skY" for the Zeitgeist New Music Quartet, develop a companion Web site, and bring them to Duluth for an open rehearsal, performance, and workshop. |
| Michael A. Rivard, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Rivard will complete a documentary about In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre's MayDay Parade and Festival using footage he has taken of the event from the last forty years. A public screening will take place in Minneapolis. |
| Thomas L. Schroeder, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Schroeder will create a short impressionistic, observational, hand-drawn animated film about a middle-class family vacation spot. Several screenings are planned for metro area locations. |
| Norah L. Shapiro, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Shapiro will create a new cut of her feature length documentary, Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile for broadcast television. She will also develop a discussion guide for educators. A public screening will take place at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. |
| Britni West, Golden Valley | $ 10,000 | | West will complete post-production on a feature film, which follows six characters through the splendor and isolation of living and growing in a small town. Several in-progress screenings, open to the public, will take place in the Twin Cities. |
Music
| Number of grants awarded November 6, 2013 |
23 |
| Total dollars awarded November 6, 2013 |
$ 214,090 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| Paul B. Boehnke, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Boehnke, a classically trained harpsichordist, will develop his improvisational skills by studying with Michael Gold, a jazz master now living in Minnesota. A public concert in Saint Paul will complete the project. |
| Jeffrey Brooks, Minneapolis | $ 9,700 | | Brooks will compose a new piece suitable for high school bands called "Five Places in Minnesota." The composition will be in five movements, each one named after a geographical/historical location. The work will be premiered in the fall of 2014. |
| Mary Ellen Childs, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Childs will expand her interdisciplinary work into a new and innovative area by researching and creating a new work that pairs live music with scent. The work will be premiered in the fall of 2014. |
| Gao Hong, Northfield | $ 10,000 | | Gao Hong, Chinese pipa player and composer, will create the first-ever Double Concerto for Pipa and Violin with Symphony Orchestra to be performed with the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra. |
| Annie Enneking, Minneapolis | $ 6,850 | | Enneking will create a performance installation that uses video, and both live and recorded music, to explore the mythology surrounding Sirens. In addition to the installation, she will hold a free songwriting workshop for young women. |
| Linda Tutas Haugen, Burnsville | $ 10,000 | | Haugen will research and study various forms of Norwegian folk songs to incorporate and compose vocal and choral settings and collections of these tunes. She will also record and present concerts to increase awareness, accessibility, and performances of this music. |
| Asako Hirabayashi, Falcon Heights | $ 10,000 | | Hirabayashi will orchestrate and compose additional music and lyrics for her opera, Yukionna (Snow Witch,) to be presented for the Japan America Society of Minnesota's Harukaze Festival. |
| Deborah Huke, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Huke will restore three parlor guitars from the 1800's with the purpose of enhancing her career as a luthier. The restored guitars will be used in various performances around the state. |
| Julie A. Johnson, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Johnson will compose and perform four new compositions inspired by Minnesota writers and visual artists. The work will be premiered at the MacPhail Center for Music in the fall of 2014. |
| Brian Laidlaw, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Laidlaw will produce Amoratorium, a vinyl record of songs about Bonnie and Clyde, followed by a series of songwriting workshops and performances around the state. |
| Jeffrey C. Lambert, Saint Louis Park | $ 10,000 | | Lambert will compose a 15-25 minute piece for Zeitgeist, a Twin Cities new music group. The work will be presented in concert and a studio recording will also be produced. |
| Cody C. Lee, Brooklyn Park | $ 10,000 | | Lee will create her first professional album that blends a mix of Hmong and English; with concepts that cover love, the history of the Hmong, and contemporary versions of Hmong traditional songs. |
| Chris Lomheim, Minneapolis | $ 8,200 | | Lomheim will produce a CD of original jazz compositions with the Chris Lomheim Trio, consisting of piano, bass, and drums. He will introduce the CD with a live music performance at a local theater in the fall of 2014. |
| Laura A. MacKenzie, Northfield | $ 10,000 | | MacKenzie will study Scots Gaelic music as field recorded in Minnesota during the 1930s. She will arrange the music for voice, Scottish smallpipes, and mid-nineteenth century wooden flute, and record a CD. She will give concerts in Duluth, Saint Paul, and Northfield. |
| Matthew McCright, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | McCright will produce The Messiaen Project, designed to expose audiences to the music and life of one of the twentieth century's greatest composers, Olivier Messiaen. Lecture recitals will take place across Minnesota upon completion of the recording project. |
| Sarah E. Miller, Minneapolis | $ 9,500 | | Miller will compose Gained in Translation: Wild Swans, for a quartet and singer/narrator based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale. This piece will be used by Young Dance's All Abilities Dance for performances at both a dance and a music venue. |
| Samuel P. Miltich, Grand Rapids | $ 10,000 | | Miltich will produce a new jazz album Sam Miltich and Friends: Live at the VFW, featuring his collaborations with Minnesota musicians, and recorded live during the weekly Jazz Night at the Grand Rapids VFW club. |
| Paul J. Rudoi, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Rudoi will compose a new work for mixed choir to complete a two-piece set titled "Spheres of Influence." He will record the completed set in a live rehearsal, for a broadcast premiere, in collaboration with Minnesota Public Radio's Choral Stream. |
| Timothy C. Takach, Minneapolis | $ 8,340 | | Takach will develop as a composer and get exposure in the wind ensemble world when he writes an original 5-6 minute piece for The Saint Olaf Band, to be performed in November 2014. |
| Tria Vang, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Vang will utilize social media to create an eleven-track musical album with Hmong refugee artists who were separated upon immigrating to the United States. A concert at a Saint Paul venue is planned. |
| Zosha Warpeha, Milaca | $ 3,500 | | Warpeha will develop and perform original works and solo arrangements of jazz and contemporary pieces using an array of acoustic and electronic instrumentation that is appropriate for solo performance. |
| Chizzo Yang, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Yang will create a fifteen-track hip-hop and R&B instrumental album to be freely distributed among low-income, at-risk youth for performance and recording purposes. |
| Ying Zhang, Edina | $ 8,000 | | Zhang will compose four Chinese classical orchestral works that build an artistic bridge between West Lake in China, and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, exploring the powerful beauty and mythologies of both lakes. |
Photography
| Number of grants awarded January 8, 2014 |
17 |
| Total dollars awarded January 8, 2014 |
$ 169,898 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| Sara A. Belleau, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Belleau will publish a book titled The Consequences. She will blend image and text so that each art form is informed and enhanced by the other. An exhibition of the photographs will be held at Gallery 801 in Minneapolis. |
| David Bowman, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Bowman will continue photographing along the Saint Louis River, the second largest freshwater estuary in the United States. He will also study bookbinding and present his work-in-progress at various public locations. |
| Priscilla Briggs, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Briggs will complete Market | Minnesota, a photographic exploration of unique marketplaces that reflect the rich diversity of the state, and self-publish a set of books that include both image and text. |
| Chris Faust, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Faust will go back to the original sites that Henry Peter Bosse used to make his historic images of the Mississippi River in the 1880's. He will photograph from the same Minnesota locations as Bosse to provide a historic record of how the riverfront has changed in the intervening 125 years. The photographs will be displayed at various locations around Minnesota. |
| Ellen D Fitzgerald, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Fitzgerald will complete Remote, a project that features a group of women who spend time at cabins and campgrounds in northern Minnesota each summer. She will speak about the project and her process to audiences at venues in the metro area. |
| Regina M. Flanagan, Saint Paul | $ 9,898 | | Flanagan will create a photographic documentary of the Pagami Creek Fire zone in the Boundary Waters Canoe and Wilderness Area, capturing the landscape during the critical third year post-fire recovery phase. An exhibition and artist talk is planned for the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota. |
| Vance Gellert, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Gellert will photograph the changing demographics of mining on Minnesota's iron range. This includes new methods of iron and non-ferrous sulfide mining and how it impacts the people on the range. An exhibit is planned for the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids and the Minnesota Historical Society in Saint Paul. |
| Mark E. Jensen, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Jensen will publish a book of his photographs of the 1980-82 construction and the subsequent 2014 demolition of the Metrodome in Minneapolis and create an exhibit to be shown in local public libraries with accompanying lectures and presentations. |
| Ellie Kingsbury, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Kingsbury will build on the successes of her project There Are No Perfect Moments, which explores the shared life experience between people and produce. The photographs will be exhibited at numerous locations around the state. |
| Jeffrey B. Millikan, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Millikan will create a Web site spanning his work over the last thirty years. He will also develop and exhibit new work, continuing his exploration of entomology and the natural sciences. |
| Desiree P. Olson, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Olson will complete a series of portraits of her father who spent 23 years in prison. The body of work explores the complexities surrounding his recent reintegration into society. She will share her work with youth and young adults with an incarcerated parent, through a program at Volunteers of America. |
| Carla A. Rodriguez, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Rodriguez will create a series of composite photographs dealing with themes of catharsis and change, using the film negative and reversal-process technique. The work will be exhibited in the Twin Cities. |
| Areca Roe, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Roe will complete her project Housebroken, which explores odd and exotic pets. She will exhibit the work during the League of Longfellow Artists summer Art Crawl. She will also publish a book featuring the project. |
| Christopher M. Smiar, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Smiar will complete a photographic inquiry into the historical echoes and fleeting human manifestations found in the transitional landscape along the eleven-mile Green Line light rail corridor under construction in the Twin Cities. An exhibit along the Green Line is planned. |
| Xavier Tavera, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Tavera will document and photograph Mexican, Mexican American, and Chicano war veterans belonging to VFW Post #5 for an exhibition at the James J. Hill House gallery. He will also create a limited edition book, featuring the portraits, and will donate it to the Minnesota Historical Society. |
| Sarah R. Whiting, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Whiting will publish a photographic art book that showcases artists of Northeast Minneapolis. The photographs will be accompanied by stories from the artists and exhibited in Minneapolis. |
| Tom Wik, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Wik will refine, edit, and build his body of work in order to mount an exhibition, produce a book, and set up a page for print sales on his website. |
Poetry
| Number of grants awarded November 6, 2013 |
9 |
| Total dollars awarded November 6, 2013 |
$ 83,100 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| Rebecca Dosch Brown, Minneapolis | $ 9,720 | | Dosch will send out her completed manuscript about surviving family tragedy, to journals and select contests. She will also complete a rough draft of her second book, based on personal and public ideas about disability, and give community-based readings incorporating art from underrepresented artists. |
| Sarah E. Fox, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Fox will purchase the necessary technology, pursue collaborators and mentorship, and designate extended time and studio space, to develop interactive public performance events that will support and promote her published literary works. |
| Dobby Gibson, Minneapolis | $ 4,200 | | Gibson will research and write poems that will form a thematic backbone for his fourth book of poems, and present a public reading of the work in Minneapolis. |
| Kelly Hansen Maher, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Maher will develop a full draft of a poetic memoir chronicling the sterilization of members of her family by the state of Minnesota during the 1930's and its impact on her. She will host readings of the work-in-progress in Minneapolis and Faribault. |
| Ed Bok Lee, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Lee will complete two sections of his third manuscript of poems, while reading and holding informal workshops for the poems at established open mic venues located in or near the Twin Cities. |
| Michael D. Lee, Hopkins | $ 9,600 | | Lee will complete his manuscript, The Knife Then Water. He will run free poetry workshops for high school students in north Minneapolis, and host three public readings showcasing work from his manuscript and work written by the students. |
| Michelle M. Matthees, Duluth | $ 10,000 | | Matthees will compose poems about Minnesota's orphanages, mental hospitals, and poor farms. She will research the lives of their residents by working with case files at the Minnesota History Center and by visiting institutions. She will lead two poetry workshops at residential facilities for youth in Duluth. |
| Amy E. McCann, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | McCann will complete a second full-length collection of poetry. She will give readings of the work-in-progress and host several public workshops at the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts in Fridley. |
| Matt Rasmussen, Robbinsdale | $ 9,580 | | Rasmussen will promote his new book, Black Aperture, at readings around Minnesota. He will also work on his second book during a one-month residency at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, and for an additional two months during the summer of 2014. |
Prose
| Number of grants awarded November 6, 2013 |
23 |
| Total dollars awarded November 6, 2013 |
$ 206,933 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| Lesley Arimah, Saint Louis Park | $ 10,000 | | Arimah will produce a draft of a short story collection that explores the idiosyncrasies of contemporary Nigerian life. She will give two readings of the manuscript in Minneapolis and Mankato. |
| Frank Bures, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Bures will finish his first book, The Geography of Madness, about culture-bound syndromes and about how culture is made up of the narratives of those around us. He will engage numerous Minnesota communities in discussions about the nature of culture. |
| Paula F. Cisewski, Minneapolis | $ 8,820 | | Cisewski will revise and complete her lyric memoir, making a leap from poetry to creative nonfiction. She will give a reading from the manuscript in south Minneapolis. |
| John A. Colburn, Minneapolis | $ 8,150 | | Colburn will finish writing the stories and poems for Tales From Yellow Woods, collaborating with visual artists on several stories or poems. He will bring the resulting performed event to eight locations in Minnesota. |
| Pallavi S. Dixit, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Dixit will complete a draft of her novel, Edison, about the Indian community of Edison, New Jersey. She will hold a public reading of the manuscript in Minneapolis. |
| Anne-Marie Erickson, Grand Rapids | $ 10,000 | | Erickson will complete a manuscript about her husband's decline into dementia, inspired by his words that give unique voice to their shared journey. She will also give readings, followed by discussions, in several Minnesota locations. |
| Sally J. Franson, Minneapolis | $ 6,800 | | Franson will complete the research for her novel, What We Did Will Be Remembered, completing a publication-ready manuscript to send to literary agents by fall 2014. She will give readings in Robbinsdale and Dalbo. |
| Rachael T. Hanel, Madison Lake | $ 6,368 | | Hanel will promote her new memoir, We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger's Daughter, (University of Minnesota Press) through a statewide tour to bookstores, libraries, and university classrooms. |
| Keith P. Hollihan, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Hollihan will complete a draft of his novel, A Theory of Apparitions, about events in the lives of Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle. He will conduct several readings of his work-in-progress in the Twin Cities. |
| Kate Hopper, Minneapolis | $ 9,600 | | Hopper will promote her recently published memoir, Ready for Air, about premature birth, and work on a first draft of a novel. She will also facilitate a number of writing events for underserved populations in the Twin Cities. |
| John S. Jodzio, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Jodzio will complete a collection of linked short stories and prepare the manuscript to send out to prospective publishers. He will also hold three literary events in greater Minnesota. |
| Josina Manu Maltzman, Minneapolis | $ 6,500 | | "Maltzman will complete a manuscript of her novella, a ""mytho-biography"" that spans generations and speaks of the relationship between cultural and personal history. She will share her
work-in-progress at three public readings in the Twin Cities." |
| Josh Ostergaard, Minneapolis | $ 6,770 | | Ostergaard will promote his first book of literary nonfiction about baseball, The Devil's Snake Curve, by giving readings, hosting baseball-themed meals open to the public, and blogging. He will also begin revising his second book about uranium miner, Vernon Pick. |
| Peter Pearson, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Pearson will complete two revisions of his middle-grade novel, Max and the Everywhere Machine. He will also develop a professional author Web site, and give readings for children at Saint Anne's Place, an emergency family shelter in Minneapolis. |
| Sam Guthrie, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Guthrie will complete his work-in-progress, The Sunlight and the Well (working title), a book of personal essays exploring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He will conduct several readings from the manuscript in the Twin Cities. |
| Molly Quinn, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Quinn will work with an editor to complete her short story collection Danger to Ourselves. She will offer a free, four-week class on writing about mental illness, that will culminate in a group reading at Open Book. |
| Sanaphay Rattanavong, Minneapolis | $ 8,675 | | Rattanavong will complete a short story collection that includes themes of immigration, race, class, family violence, and history. A reading of the manuscript will take place in the Twin Cities. |
| Lia Rivamonte, Saint Paul | $ 5,925 | | Rivamonte will complete a first draft of her novel, Shiny, which focuses on the complex relationships between three generations of Filipina-American women. She will read from the manuscript in Saint Paul's West Seventh neighborhood. |
| Wendy A. Skinner, Saint Louis Park | $ 10,000 | | Skinner will research and write five stories using wolves and wolf hunting as the backdrop, to explore how unique environmental circumstances affect the individuals and communities of northern Minnesota. She will give public readings of her work in the Twin Cities and Ely. |
| Claire M. Stanford, Minneapolis | $ 9,325 | | Stanford will study the craft of speculative fiction by taking online classes, with the result of producing four finished pieces of literary speculative fiction. She will teach a one-day workshop at a Minneapolis public library about the genre. |
| Therese Stanton, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Stanton will complete a final draft of her novel, All Songs Singing, about the contemporary impact of the Dakota War of 1862. She will read from the manuscript and conduct discussions at a number of locations within Minnesota with ties to this event. |
| Livy Traczyk, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Traczyk will complete a first draft of her picture book, Home Is Where You Dream, about childhood homelessness. She will also facilitate a monthly writing and illustration workshop for youth at the YWCA's Transitional Housing Program in Saint Paul. |
| Steven Woodward, Brooklyn Park | $ 10,000 | | Woodward will complete a draft of his novel, Salvage, which explores the exotic animal trade of south Florida. He will seek representation by an agent and organize a public work-in-progress reading with other local emerging writers. |
Theater
| Number of grants awarded November 6, 2013 |
9 |
| Total dollars awarded November 6, 2013 |
$ $89,500 |
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| E.G. Bailey, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 |
| Bailey will work with playwright/dramaturge and director Marion McClinton to create a second draft of his script No Longer At Ease. The public will be invited to attend the final hour of a workshop session and to a reading of the script. |
| Shá Cage, Columbia Heights | $ 9,500 | | Cage will present the N.I.G.G.E.R. Project, also known as the N Word Project, in five Minnesota communities of growing diversity, to spark cultural dialogue. (Note: the racial slur has a line through it and is pronounced in letters N-I-G-G-E-R). |
| Aaron A. Gabriel, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Gabriel will record a studio album that demonstrates the range of his music for live theater. He will also create a personal Web site and consult with an expert on how to improve the promotion of his work. He will host an album launch event that will be open to the public. |
| Paul D. Herwig, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Herwig will curate and lead the presentation of The Right Here Series, a mini-festival of contemporary performance work by local mid-career independent performing artists. |
| Zaraawar J. Mistry, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Mistry will develop a new solo comedy based on East Indian beliefs and practices that have influenced the multi-million dollar industry of spirituality and well being in America. The play will be presented as a work-in-progress in late 2014. |
| Janaki Ranpura, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Ranpura will present her new puppet play, An Ububu, a show that explores history, money, command, and faith. She will also take the show to economics classes at the University of Minnesota. |
| Rick Shiomi, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Shiomi will write a new one-person play based upon the book Message From An Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran, telling the story of why so many women in China have had to give up their female babies, many of whom are adopted internationally. |
| Aamera Siddiqui, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Siddiqui will research and develop a new theater piece, In the Presence of Absence, to explore the negative presence of the Middle East in the news media and its absence from American education and cultural arts. |
| Sandra L. Spieler, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Spieler will develop a Web site to document her visual art and performance work. She will also deliver a lecture/workshop on the inner and outer eyes of the mask. |
Visual Arts
| Number of grants awarded January 8, 2014 |
65 |
| Total dollars awarded January 8, 2014 |
$ 634,247
|
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
| David M. Andree, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Andree will complete four related artistic bodies of work that draw from the poetic significance of landscape, while exploring intersections between painting, drawing, sculpture, and sound, culminating in exhibition and publication. |
| Teresa Audet, Shoreview | $ 9,903 | | Audet will increase her knowledge of the paper fiber, kozo, through study with local fiber artists and courses at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. She will create a new body of sculpture using kozo, steel, and wood, and show the new work at an exhibition in a Minnesota gallery. |
| Moira B. Bateman, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Bateman will create a new series of mixed media/fiber sculptures that reflect specific landscapes and waterways of Minnesota. An exhibition and artist's talk at the University of Minnesota's College of Design will complete the project. |
| Amy Baur, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Baur will take her glass photo constructions to a larger scale, creating free-standing works of art and hinged assemblages that unfold from the wall. She will exhibit her work-in-progress during Art-A-Whirl in Minneapolis. |
| David Bowen, Duluth | $ 10,000 | | Bowen will use a three-dimensional scanner to take scans of the water surface of Lake Superior from various locations and in various conditions. The scans will be output as sculptural objects using a 3-axis CNC router. The work will be exhibited in various locations around the state. |
| Rachel B. Breen, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Breen will learn to use paint in her stencil transfer process, making her work permanent, allowing her to create outdoor murals. Using this method, she will create a public exhibition that displays her expanded practice. |
| James A. Brenner, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Brenner will hold two cast iron events that produce sculptural installations open to the public. He will also explore and document his professional practice in cast iron, exposing a broader community to this unique art form. |
| Brenda J. Brousseau, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Brousseau will create a collection of eight beaded mandalas that incorporate found objects and are framed in shadowboxes. The work will be exhibited at the Capstone Gallery in Minneapolis. |
| Andrea S. Carlson, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Carlson will develop a large-scale (60 square foot) drawing on segments of paper in black and white ink. The drawing will serve as a fictitious illustrated manual for field dressing wild game. The work will be exhibited at the Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis. |
| Kate Casanova, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Casanova will create a new body of work using a videographer to create high quality films using both time-lapse and macro technology. This new work will be featured in her first solo exhibition at the Kolman & Pryor Gallery in Minneapolis. |
| Jamie L. Cook, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Cook will create a new series of ten, large, narrative oil paintings about his family and the area that he grew up in. Two public exhibitions in Minneapolis are planned. |
| Justine M. Di Fiore, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Di Fiore will create ten to thirteen large scale portraits of hospital workers that, upon completion, will be displayed at an open studio event. |
| Duane M. Ditty, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Ditty will create eight large abstract paintings of bridges, railroad corridors, power lines, and industrial sites in Minneapolis. The culmination of his project will be an exhibition at Rosalux Gallery. |
| Jan D. Elftmann, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Elftmann will research, design, and develop a new series of different socially-themed sculptures, inspired by the cabinets of curiosities of Renaissance Europe, called Supper Clubs of Minnesota. The work will tour to at least five Minnesota locations. |
| Shannon L. Estlund, Columbia Heights | $ 10,000 | | Estlund will create a series of paintings exploring the Minnesota landscape, to be exhibited at Silverwood Park in the fall of 2014. |
| Kyle L. Fokken, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Fokken will explore the process of printing on metal, with the goal of making production 'tin-toys' of various sizes; the largest will be displayed in a public park. |
| Brian L. Frink, Mankato | $ 10,000 | | Frink will create a series of paintings based on his Memory of Water drawings. A solo exhibition is scheduled at the Carnegie Art Center in Mankato. |
| Duane L. Goodwin, Bemidji | $ 10,000 | | Goodwin will explore new sculptural techniques through the carving of four stone sculptures based on the sacred circle designs of his Anishinnabe/Lakota heritage. An open studio and an exhibition are planned. |
| Ursula Hargens, Big Lake | $ 10,000 | | Hargens will research botanical illustrations and create a body of tile work that reflects the evolving relationship between humans and the natural world. She'll exhibit the work alongside source material, at the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine at the University of Minnesota. |
| Jess Hirsch, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Hirsch will produce Spooning. She will collect wood from around Minnesota and carve that wood into spoons. She will then mail the finished spoon to the land owner. Each spoon and the location from which it was acquired will be photographed; the resulting images will be compiled into a limited edition artist book that will be released at an open studio event. |
| Alexa Horochoski, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Horochoski will complete a series of bronze and rubber sculptures, large-scale video projections, black and white, digital prints, and an artist book for a 2014 solo exhibition at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis. |
| Michael Hoyt, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Hoyt's goals are to expand upon an emerging body of work and line of inquiry involving community-based social practice, representational painting, sculpture, and network-based interactive media. |
| Laddavanh L. Insixiengmay, Brooklyn Park | $ 10,000 | | Insixiengmay will create her own designs using a combination of traditional weaving and dyeing techniques to capture the architectural beauty of the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis. She will exhibit the work in three Minnesota locations. |
| Valerie S. Jenkins, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Jenkins will complete a series of large scale paintings on aluminum that engage the viewer in a dynamic perceptual experience. She will exhibit the work at the Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis. |
| Shana R. Kaplow, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Kaplow will develop a series of human scale ink portraits entitled, Close to Home, to explore the relationship between the individual and the group. The work will be exhibited at the Third Place Gallery in the Twin Cities. |
| Michael Kareken, Minneapolis | $ 9,500 | | Kareken will create a series of drawings and paintings depicting auto salvage yards imagery. The work will be exhibited at both the Burnet Gallery and the Groveland Gallery with associated public programs. |
| Bradley J. Kaspari, Minneapolis | $ 4,675 | | Kaspari will explore interactive harmonic sounds through a scattered array of large-scale tuned tubular chimes, titled Harmonic Field. The chime assemblies will function as sculptural pieces and will be tuned to create harmonic overlaps. The work will be shown at various locations in the Twin Cities. |
| Stephen Klassen, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Klassen will create a new body of work in carved wood that combines multiple separate objects with structures that contain them. The project will culminate with an exhibition at Gallery 13 that will include both wall-mounted and free standing pieces. |
| Ann Klefstad, Duluth | $ 10,000 | | Klefstad will create and install life-size bronze sculptures of wild animals that we live with in cities; animals that commonly live surreptitiously will take their places openly. Exhibitions are planned for Duluth and in Minneapolis. |
| Maren Kloppmann, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Kloppmann will create two porcelain wall installations and conduct events in her studio-gallery, including two public receptions and two presentations to art high school students. |
| Mark Lambert, Anoka | $ 9,865 | | Lambert will research historical Japanese Iga Ware flower vases, create a new body of work, and professionally document the resulting pottery. He will share his research at a public lecture or workshop and host an open studio event. |
| Christopher P. Larson, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Larson will research and develop a multimedia art installation based on the novel Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. The work will be exhibited at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis. |
| Melanie J. Lehnen, Andover | $ 10,000 | | Lehnen will write and illustrate a children's book about the Minnesota Zoo. A public event to launch the book will take place at the Minnesota Zoo in Apply Valley. |
| Tom Maakestad, Marine on St Croix | $ 10,000 | | Maakestad will develop an innovative approach to landscape painting that blends traditional techniques with state of the art technology. The work will be exhibited in three Minnesota venues during the grant period. |
| Qian Liu, Roseville | $ 10,000 | | Qian Liu will develop a new body of work, The Abstract Childhood, focusing on the enigmatic status of our consciousness. The project will be presented to the public "in progress" during open studios and via a Web site. |
| Charles V. Matson Lume, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Lume will create and document a new body of work for a solo exhibition and residency at New York Mills Regional Cultural Center. |
| Kelley A. Meister, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Meister will create and present a multimedia installation about the sources and outcomes of global climate change, to inspire dialogue about how to move forward as a community on this issue. An exhibition at the Soap Factory is planned for late 2014. |
| Liz Miller, Good Thunder | $ 10,000 | | Miller will design and create a large-scale installation at the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota in Mankato. The project will allow her to engage with a new audience, work in a nongallery space, and integrate more durable materials. |
| Christine S. Monroe, Duluth | $ 10,000 | | Monroe will complete a series of paintings and drawings outdoors, showing them in the Duluth or Virginia Library. The work will also be used for a graphic novel set in the forests, lakes, and wooded fringes of neighborhoods in Minnesota. |
| Asako Nakauchi, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Nakauchi will continue to re-purpose scrap materials to create installations that reflect her view of environmental issues. Within a visually poetic installation she hopes to impart the urgency of addressing environmental issues. |
| William Natzel, Owatonna | $ 9,984 | | Natzel will create and present wearable corrugated cardboard structures as a participatory art installation. These wearable objects will be produced on site at Northern Spark 2014 and available to take and wear. |
| Carl T. Oltvedt, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Oltvedt will create a new body of work inspired by the North Shore of Lake Superior and renew his career in the Twin Cities through studio events open to the public. |
| Edie J. Overturf, Minneapolis | $ 8,445 | | Overturf will investigate narrative and storytelling and its influence on cultural structure. She will do this while creating ten woodcut prints with screen printing color. She will exhibit the work at Public Functionary in Minneapolis. |
| Sarah E. Peters, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Peters will create The Floating Library as a public art project that will bring the creative genre of artist's books to unconventional places for public perusal. Displayed onboard a custom designed raft, the library's collection of artist-made publications will travel to four metro area lakes in the summer of 2014. |
| Bonnie J. Ploger, Shoreview | $ 10,000 | | Ploger will create new paintings and installations that reference caves, dreams, and prehistoric art. She will transform Robbin Gallery in Robbinsdale into an environment that investigates parallels between cave exploration and psychological journeys. |
| Nancy T. Randall, Hopkins | $ 10,000 | | Randall will present a major outdoor installation, Eschaton: Sanctuary for the End of Time at Saint John's University, to coincide with a related exhibition of her work at the University's Galleries. |
| Amy B. Rice, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Rice will create a new body of work based on the tradition of The Cake Walk. These large pieces, illustrated in her mixed media style, will be shown in exhibitions and open studio events. |
| Allison A. Roberts, Mankato | $ 10,000 | | Roberts will create new work that focuses on the emotional strain of family members who struggle with mental illness. The resulting monotypes will be exhibited at the Waseca Art Center. |
| Judy A. Saye-Willis, Northfield | $ 10,000 | | Saye-Willis will research and develop the techniques to use natural dyes to color a new body of large two-dimensional pieces for a touring exhibit to art centers in Luverne, Red Wing, and Mantorville. |
| Cecilia M. Schiller, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Schiller will acquire professional software and learn to use it for the purpose of designing mechanical sculpture. An exhibit and free workshop at the Landmark Center in Saint Paul will highlight her learning. |
| Michael D. Seiler, Lanesboro | $ 4,875 | | Seiler will purchase studio equipment that will enable him to create more technically advanced casting and gemstone faceting work. He will offer a two-day casting and stone cutting workshop to the public. |
| Stephen K. Shaskan, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Shaskan will create the artwork for a graphic novel along with other work. He will travel to events across Minnesota to give presentations about creating art for children's books. |
| Juliane B. Shibata, Northfield | $ 10,000 | | Shibata will produce a body of small-scale porcelain installations and develop new methods to hang and display the work. She will give several artist talks about her work and the learning that has occurred during the grant period. |
| Rebecca Silus, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Silus will create a new body of work, Minnesota Landscapes, a collection of paintings based on direct observation of the natural and built environments. The work will be presented in an exhibition and as a catalog. |
| Lynn Speaker, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Speaker will create a new body of process-based drawings. The drawings will be based on her experiences in nature combined with experimental materials and techniques. She will exhibit her work during Art-A-Whirl in May and later in the year in Grand Marais. |
| Brian W. Stewart, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Stewart will create a group of plein air paintings that illustrate Minnesota's geographic, ethnic, seasonal, and aesthetic diversity. He will exhibit the work to a broad audience by means of a portable exhibit system. |
| Emily Stover, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Stover will create a series of four to six temporary installations in park land along the Saint Paul riverfront. Members of the public can find the installations by accident or locate them through an online `geocaching` Web site. |
| Liza Sylvestre, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Sylvestre will create a new body of work that visually illustrates the experience of senses in the body. As a person who grew up with a progressive hearing loss, she has a specific lens through which she experiences the world which informs her work. A solo exhibition at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids is planned. |
| Scott A. Szarkowicz, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Szarkowicz will produce new viewer-activated outdoor sculptures. These community-based sculptures will be exhibited at two separate public venues in the grant year. |
| Sheryl L. Tuorila, Brooklyn Park | $ 10,000 | | Tuorila will create a body of work entitled Natural Attractions based on visits to four distinct natural attractions found in Minnesota; prairie, forest, river, and lake. All stages of creation will be presented to the public through personal interaction as she works outdoors and during regular open studio events. |
| Sara K. Udvig, Saint Paul | $ 10,000 | | Udvig will spearhead The Westside Mural Project, as a participatory mural project. The project will engage the community in creation, connection, and conversation in both physical and virtual spaces. |
| Karl R. Unnasch, Chatfield | $ 7,000 | | Unnasch will create an innovative and groundbreaking large-scaled public sculpture comprised of a combination of steel and internally lit stained glass. He will also run a stained glass workshop where participants will create their own work. |
| Caitlin R. Warner, New Hope | $ 10,000 | | Warner will develop a fleet of art vending machines, known as "Unvending" machines, and install them in a variety of publicly accessible locations across the Twin Cities. |
| Gwen Westerman, Good Thunder | $ 10,000 | | Westerman will create six new quilts around the themes of water, stone, and perception as evidenced in Dakota culture; she will exhibit the work in a variety of Minnesota locations. |
| Chris Willcox, Minneapolis | $ 10,000 | | Willcox will create and exhibit a series of paintings set on the site of historic Fort Snelling in Saint Paul. An exhibition and artist talk are planned for the Twin Cities. |
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