In March 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act, an economic stimulus bill intended to help speed up the recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The act included $135 million, allocated to the National Endowment for the Arts, to support the arts sector as it recovers from the devastating impact of COVID-19.
The Arts Endowment provided American Rescue Plan funds to the Minnesota State Arts Board and to Arts Midwest to support small and midsized nonprofit arts organizations and arts affiliates in Minnesota. Funds can be used to support costs related to employees or contractors, facilities, health and safety, and marketing or promotion.
A joint application process was used. The Arts Board will make grants to 56 organizations; Arts Midwest will make grants to 10 organizations.
| Grantee, City |
Grant Amount |
A Center for the Arts, Fergus Falls | $ 15,000 | | The mission of Fergus Falls Center for the Arts is to connect artists, patrons, and community by providing the best possible arts experiences that inspire creativity, curiosity, imagination, and learning. |
Albert Lea Art Center, Albert Lea | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the Albert Lea Art Center is to educate, create, promote, and showcase the arts in Albert Lea and the surrounding area, and to provide a nurturing environment to encourage developing artists alongside those who are already established. |
Arts Center of Saint Peter, Inc., Saint Peter | $ 15,000 | | Based on the conviction that the arts play an essential role in vibrant communities, the Arts Center of Saint Peter stimulates a broad range of artistic activity through exhibitions, performances, education, and meaningful community outreach. |
ArtStart, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | Founded in 1988, ArtStart's mission is to inspire creativity and illuminate the connections among people, ideas, and the environment through quality experiences in the arts for youth and adults. |
Bella Voce Young Women's Choir, Rochester | $ 15,000 | | Sing Out Loud's mission is to create an inviting and supportive community to share musical experience, build confidence, and gain perspective about the world through the gift of choral music for treble voices. |
Brownbody, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | Grounded in African diasporic perspectives, Brownbody's mission is to build artistic experiences that disrupt biased narratives and prompt audiences to engage as active participants in the journey. |
Chatfield Center for the Arts, Inc., Chatfield | $ 15,000 |
| Chatfield Center for the Arts' mission is to serve as a regional hub for advancement of the arts by fostering creative expression, social engagement and lifelong learning. |
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center inspires hands, hearts, and minds through art forms produced by heat, spark, or flame. |
Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester, Rochester | $ 15,000 | | The mission of Choral Arts Ensemble is to inspire, educate, and enrich the community at large through outstanding choral performance. |
Contempo Physical Dance, Shoreview | $ 15,000 | | Contempo's mission is to create vibrant new dance that ignites intersections of contemporary dance and traditional movement of the African diaspora, and to perform work that challenges human physicality while invigorating audiences. |
Copper Street Brass, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the Copper Street Brass (CSB) is to represent the evolution of the brass quintet. Through inventive concerts, engaging educational programs, and original musical arrangements, CSB brings a fresh perspective to instrumental music. |
DalekoArts, New Prague | $ 15,000 |
| DalekoArts works with professional theater artists to pursue impactful, live performance in the community of New Prague and the surrounding region. |
Drama Interaction, Chaska | $ 15,000 | | Drama Interaction is a creative and performing arts organization that fosters expression and empowerment in children and adults who are differently-abled (special needs), inner-city youth and seniors, including those with dementia and Alzheimer's. |
East Side Arts Council, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the East Side Arts Council is to collaborate with its community and artists to celebrate and experience the arts. |
Exposed Brick Theatre, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | Exposed Brick Theatre is dedicated to telling untold stories, centering omitted narratives, and creating art at the intersection of identities. |
Flying Foot Forum, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Flying Foot Forum (FFF) has a mission to reimagine the potential of percussive dance and percussion, and to investigate the full range of dramatic and musical possibilities. |
FOCI Minnesota Center for Glass Arts, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | FOCI gathers people to explore the creative potential of glass. |
FreeWriters, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | FreeWriters provides inmates in the county jail system with creative writing opportunities that improve mental health, reduce recidivism, and inspire hope about life after incarceration. |
Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais | $ 15,000 | | The Grand Marais Art Colony serves as a catalyst for the arts in the Great Lakes region, supporting artists through residencies, intensive tutorial studio opportunities, and signature events. |
Grand Rapids Players, Inc., Grand Rapids | $ 15,000 |
| Grand Rapids Players is dedicated to building a stronger community through volunteers in the world of theater arts. Active on stage, behind the scenes, and throughout our area, we bring our community together at all stages! |
Great Northern Theatre Company, Cold Spring | $ 15,000 |
| Great Northern Theatre Company's mission is to foster, encourage, and develop an appreciation of theater, particularly musical theater, by enriching the lives of the people of central Minnesota by engaging them in the power of live theater. |
Great River Chorale, Sauk Rapids | $ 15,000 | | Great River Chorale enriches the community through choral excellence. |
Hallberg Center for the Arts, Wyoming | $ 15,000 | | Hallberg Center for the Arts is an alliance of artists, musicians, performers, photographers, and writers with a goal of enriching the quality of life in the Wyoming area by facilitating inspirational venues where cultural activities can illuminate, educate, and entertain. |
Historic Holmes Theatre, Detroit Lakes | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the 800-seat Historic Holmes Theatre, in Detroit Lakes, is to foster the development of a vibrant arts community that inspires all ages to learn, grow, and play in the performing and visual arts. |
Hopewell Music Cooperative North, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Hopewell's mission is to improve access to music education in north Minneapolis through affordable, inclusive, and engaging music programs. |
In Progress, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 |
| In Progress's purpose is to diversify cultural dialogue and pave the way for new voices in the field of digital artmaking, by providing access to space, tools, and mentorship from professional filmmakers, photographers, and musicians. |
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | HOBT's mission is to bring people together for the common good through the power of puppet and mask performance. HOBT strives to build creativity, empathy, interconnection, and equity in south Minneapolis. |
Kulture Klub Collaborative, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Kulture Klub Collaborative (KKC) engages art and artistic practice to provide enriching multidisciplinary opportunities for youth experiencing homelessness and professional artists to grow individually and to transform community. |
La Grande Bande, Gaylord | $ 15,000 | | La Grande Bande is a Minnesota based nonprofit orchestra with a mission to bring high quality arts programming and arts education to rural communities. |
Lakes Area Music Festival, Brainerd | $ 15,000 | | The Lakes Area Music Festival connects the nation's best artists and audiences through excellent classical music and inspiring education. |
MACMH's Fidgety Fairy Tales-The Mental Health Musicals, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | Fidgety Fairy Tales - The Mental Health Musicals reimagine familiar fairy tales to raise awareness and reduce the fear and understanding around mental health. |
Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association is to bring the power and pleasure of live orchestra concerts performed by professional musicians to the Twin Cities community, free of charge. |
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | MCBA's mission is to ignite artistic practice, inspire learning, and foster diverse creative communities through the book arts. We envision a world in which creative expression through the book arts is accessible to all. |
Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the Minnesota Marine Art Museum is to engage visitors in meaningful visual art experiences through education and exhibitions that explore the ongoing and historic human relationship with water. |
Monkeybear's Harmolodic Workshop, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Monkeybear's Harmolodic Workshop supports Native, Black, IPOC in developing creative and technical skills in contemporary puppetry. |
New London Little Theatre, New London | $ 15,000 | | The Crow River Players (CRP) / Little Theatre Auditorium's mission is to offer a platform for cultural exchange via the presentation, development, and experimentation associated with the creation of new artistic works. |
Northern Lights Music Festival, Inc., Gilbert | $ 15,000 | | NLMF has four missions: To provide 1. The Iron Range with live, self-produced classical music; 2. Educational opportunities to young people; 3. Income for professional musicians, and 4. Economic benefit to the Iron Range main streets. |
One Voice Mixed Chorus, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | One Voice Mixed Chorus's mission is building community and creating social change by raising voices in song. |
Open Eye Theatre, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Open Eye Theatre serves artists and audiences by advancing adventurous and imaginative arts programming in theater, puppetry, live music, dance, and storytelling. |
Paramount Center for the Arts, Saint Cloud | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the Paramount Center for the Arts is to provide opportunities for artistic production, creative exploration, arts education, and the enjoyment of arts and entertainment. |
Pine Center for the Arts, Pine City | $ 15,000 | | Pine Center for the Arts is a resource for artists, students, and the community. We are dedicated to providing opportunities for all to create, learn, and enjoy the visual, performing, and literary arts. Our mission is "Arts for Everyone!" |
Pipestone Performing Arts Center, Pipestone | $ 15,000 | | To engage a passion for the arts in all age groups; strive to make the arts affordable to all; provide opportunities to participate in the arts; and provide a venue for the performance of the arts. |
Purple Playground, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Purple Playground inspires creativity and keeps Prince's musical legacy alive through its Academy of Prince music education programs for teens. |
Ragamala Dance, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Driven by the artistic vision of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, Ragamala mines cultural wisdom and creative imagination. On stage, in the community, and educating the next generation, Ragamala evokes a shared humanity and activates art as citizenship. |
Red Eye Theater, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | Red Eye is a multidisciplinary creative laboratory that supports the development and production of boundary breaking performance work. |
The Rourke Art Gallery Museum, Moorhead | $ 15,000 | | The Rourke educates and inspires its community through the collection, presentation, and preservation of the region's and world's artistic heritage. Its all-ages programs focus on creativity, understanding, and a deep respect for all cultural traditions. |
Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra, Saint Cloud | $ 15,000 | | The mission of the SCSO is to present high quality performances of music and educational outreach activities to central Minnesota, to encourage participation by local and area musicians, and to further the understanding and appreciation of music. |
Selby Ave JazzFest, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | Selby Ave JazzFest provides quality arts programming to an underserved market; uses arts based community development to inspire a genuinely diverse group of people to be of one community; and utilizes the arts to reposition Selby Avenue as a safe, hip, and cultural destination. |
Sidekick Theatre, Mound | $ 15,000 | | Sidekick Theatre's mission is to produce original and reimagined plays and musicals that are designed to promote new perspectives and awaken possibilities for an audience of diverse racial, generational, and socioeconomic backgrounds. |
St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls | $ 15,000 | | The mission of St. Francis Music Center is to provide high quality music education to the rural population of central MN by promoting artistic growth and encouraging lifelong involvement in the arts for students of all ages and levels of ability. |
Threads, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | The mission the Karen L. Charles Threads Dance Project is to examine, expose, and celebrate the threads that connect us. |
TigerLion Arts, Minneapolis | $ 15,000 | | TigerLion Arts celebrates the wisdom of humans and the spirit of nature through artistic works that awaken, inform, and delight communities. |
Twin Cities Film Fest, Saint Louis Park | $ 15,000 | | TCFF enhances Minnesota's visual arts community, providing local film artists with education, training, networking, distribution, and employment opportunities; providing Minnesotans with access to regional and national film, forging a rich social dialogue. |
Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 | | The mission of Twin Cities Jazz Festival (TCJF) is to bring communities together to enjoy and appreciate the art form of jazz and inspire new generations of youth. |
Twin Cities Steppers Association, Saint Paul | $ 15,000 |
| The mission of the Twin Cities Steppers Association is, through dance workshops and social events, to promote the health, wellness, and unity of diverse communities. |
Youth Dance Ensemble and School, Burnsville | $ 15,000 | | Youth Dance Ensemble and School enriches its community through dance training and performance with emphasis on artistic, technical, and creative content. |
