FY 2014 Grantees

Folk and Traditional Arts

Project grants to give Minnesotans more opportunities to experience folk and traditional arts

Number of grants awarded on September 4, 2013	18
Total dollars awarded on September 4, 2013	$ 587,340

Grantee, City	Grant Amount
Liz Bucheit, Lanesboro	$ 10,000
Influenced by her Norwegian ancestry and trained in traditional Norwegian silversmithing, artist Elizabeth Bucheit, will complete her Ibsen Adorned collection and exhibit the finished work at the Commonweal Theatre's 2014 Ibsen Festival in Lanesboro.
Jennifer L. Carrere, Savage	$ 17,933
Traditional Scots Gaelic singer, Jennifer Licko, will provide a workshop on Scots Gaelic songs in Saint Paul, and four concerts with Northumbrian piper Dick Hensold, in Albert Lea, Bemidji, Saint Paul, and Winona.
Dakota Wicohan, Morton	$ 66,232
Dakota Wicohan will create Dakota Arts Alive!, a year-long apprenticeship project that engages two master artists, six apprentices, and 100 community members to transmit three interconnected, yet endangered, traditional Dakota art forms—braintanning, beading, and quilling.
Gao Hong, Northfield	$ 53,600
Master pipa player, Gao Hong, will produce the first English language pipa instructional book and DVD. She will also give concerts and lectures in three Minnesota locations.
The Ethnic Dance Theatre, Minneapolis	$ 21,029
This lecture-demonstration will present the form and function of a number of traditional folk costumes of Europe, presented through a multimedia filter of historical and societal influences.
Hamline University, Saint Paul	$ 36,746
Hamline University will present a series of four week-long residencies in the Hamline-Midway area, consisting of public concerts, lectures, and participatory workshops by Minnesota-based, European traditional music groups.
Ann K. Heymann, Winthrop	$ 24,800
Master Gaelic harper Ann Heymann will arrange, document, and perform a traditional repertoire on a Bunworth harp. Its dramatic story and sound will be shared through concerts and workshops in ten Minnesota communities.
Hmong Cultural Center, Saint Paul	$ 15,000
The Hmong Cultural Center will create the Hmong Folk Arts Video project, to document the canon of songs associated with the traditional Qeej musical instrument and orally recited wedding and funeral songs.
Katha Dance Theatre, Crystal	$ 32,000
Katha Dance Theatre will produce an original Kathak production titled "Rubaiyat," at the Cowles Center in Minneapolis, in the fall of 2014. Leading up to the production the theatre will provide traditional Asian Indian Kathak dance lessons for the community.
Debra L. Korluka, Stillwater	$ 28,000
Byzantine iconographer, Debra Korluka, will pass down traditions and techniques of this ancient art form to apprentice Michael Etoll. The work created during this apprenticeship will be presented at The Basilica of Saint Mary Annual Icon Festival.
Pan Asian Arts Alliance, Saint Paul	$ 60,000
The Pan Asian Arts Alliance will present Hmong Wearable Folk Arts Learning and Exhibition in the Twin Cities, Saint Cloud, and Marshall, to demonstrate how Hmong textiles have been influenced by Hmong interaction with outside ethnic groups including the Chinese, Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and finally by their settlement in the United States.
Pooja Goswami, Minneapolis	$ 24,000
Scholar and musician, Pooja Pavan, will develop four lecture-demonstrations to educate and inform audiences in the Twin Cities about the wide variety of vocal forms prevalent in Hindustani music.
Project FINE, Winona	$ 33,000
Project FINE of Winona will build bridges between cultures through a series of workshops led by immigrant and refugee artists that promote cross-cultural interaction and communication through the arts.
Ranee A. Ramaswamy, Minneapolis	$ 75,000
Ranee Ramaswamy will teach three apprentice dancers in the Parampara tradition of classical Bharatanatyam dance (one-on-one learning with a master), focusing on the Margam (traditional concert) format, culminating in solo performances by each apprentice.
Russian Cultural Center, Minneapolis	$ 5,000
The Russian Cultural Center will develop a comprehensive program, Russian Cossacks, to present folk arts, crafts, and traditions of the Cossack ethno-social group, expanding opportunities for Minnesotans to learn about and engage in a unique artistic tradition.
Somali Artifact and Cultural Museum, Minneapolis	$ 5,000
The Somali Artifact and Cultural Museum will develop a program of collaborative folk arts workshops in the areas of traditional poetry and vocal music.
Tango Teacher Co-op, New Brighton	$ 5,000
The Tango Teacher Co-op will present Minnesota Tango Camp in Frontenac. Offering nightly social dances, daytime practice sessions, high-level training for students of Argentine tango, and classes focused on pedagogy for teachers of Argentine tango.
Bee X. Yang, Cannon Falls	$ 75,000
Yang will compose and record an album of Hmong song poetry for the Hmong community and those interested in the beauty and the depth of Kwv Txhiaj Hmoob. This will document his artistic contribution to an endangered art form and be an accessible resource for others.