On June 21, 2022 the MRAC board approved $1,344,880 in funding for the following organizations to receive grant awards in Round 2 of the Flexible Support grant program for FY22.
We received a record number of applications in this round of Flexible Support: 64% more than the first round, and nearly twice as many as we received at this time last year. Our available funding, however, has not increased with this demand, which means many worthy projects were not awarded. Of the approximately 350 applications received, 93 groups and organizations became recipients of the MRAC Flexible Support Round 2 grant awards.
The Flexible Support grant provides up to $15,000 in funding to help groups create access to the arts and stay connected to audiences/community across the seven-county metro area. Funding can be used for organizational support or projects that bring the arts to the local communities.
Note that the county designations indicate where the organization is located; Minneapolis and Saint Paul are listed separately from their counties.
Anoka County
10th Wave Chamber Music Collective
10thwave.org
$13,500.00
Funding for operational and production costs for a percussion ensemble program featuring works by female composers; two performances in Fall 2022, one of which will be live streamed for accessibility.
City of Anoka
http://www.anokaminnesota.com
$15,000.00
Funding to bring the community together through art. The art will be painted murals within the City of Anoka.
Carver County
Drama Interaction
http://cokartscenter.com/dramainteraction501c3.html
$15,000.00
Funding for Drama Interaction to introduce dance as a means of creative expression to students aged 7-17 with Down Syndrome at Gigi’s Playhouse.
Dakota County
AFOUTAYI HAITIAN DANCE, MUSIC, AND ARTS COMPANY
http://www.afoutayidmaco.com
$15,000.00
Funding to produce a booklet and CD as an anthology documenting the artistic achievements, spiritual journey, and Haitian folkloric songs adapted from the Vodou tradition by Florencia “Fofo” Pierre.
Dakota Valley Symphony
http://www.dakotavalleysymphony.org
$10,320.00
Funding for a free family concert on 10/16/22 at the Ames Center in Burnsville featuring Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead, a mystery that offers an entertaining introduction to the orchestra.
Eagan Parks and Recreation
http://www.eaganarthouse.org
$15,000.00
Funding to continue ArtSpark! that includes monthly neighborhood outreach programs and after school programs for middle school students.
Lakeville City Ballet dba Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota
http://www.twincitiesballet.org
$15,000.00
Funding for TCB’s professional dancers & staff, enabling TCB to produce Coppélia Nouveau & related outreach activities, creating opportunities for Minnesotans to experience & participate in ballet.
Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community
http://mendotadakota.com/mn/
$14,500.00
Funding to modernize our equipment for operations and arts programming, and to digitize over 800,000 documents.
Velvet Tones
http://www.velvettones.org
$5,000.00
Funding for nine vocal performances for groups with limited arts access. Retirement centers, care homes, assisted living centers, nursing homes, and hospitals are eagerly anticipating our return.
Minneapolis
Ananya Dance Theatre
http://www.ananyadancetheatre.org
$15,000.00
Funding to stream live and recorded online dialogues with Twin Cities artists and cultural activists from the Shawngram Institute for Performance & Social Justice.
Black Storytellers Alliance
http://www.blackstorytellers.com
$15,000.00
BSA will provide an interactive class on The art of Oral Storytelling from an African/African American Perspective to create a cadre of authentic African/African American storytellers.
Bohemian Way
http://www.listen2vie.com
$11,000.00
Funding for The Playground Experience will support a creative residency for 3 performers, community workshop series, performance experience and round trip shuttle service for community members.
Cow Tipping Press
http://www.cowtippingpress.org
$15,000.00
Cow Tipping Press seeks funding to reduce the cost of creative writing classes for five organizations serving people of color with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
DisabiliTease Festival
http://www.disabilieasefestival.com
$15,000.00
Funding to curate the 3rd annual DisabiliTease Festival by selecting entertainment, boosting advertising, creating an accessible space, producing three shows, and promoting the recorded shows.
DJ-U
dj-u.xyz
$15,000.00
Funding to provide a supportive, equitable and accessible studio space for 5 BIPOC artists for 1 year and host 2 pop-up events at the Ivy.
Fireweed Community Woodshop
https://www.fireweedwoodshop.org
$15,000.00
Funding to support space rental and the hire of a facilities technician, in order to provide communal space, large power tool access, and an expanded breadth of woodcraft education classes
Folktopia
http://www.parkergenne.com
$15,000.00
Funding for Folktopia to present Ms. Luisa Eats, a new cabaret highlighting and elevating the work of artists with disabilities and older adult artists for both live and digital audiences.
Green Card Voices
http://www.greencardvoices.org
$15,000.00
Funding to record 30 stories of Afghan refugee youth, coach them to write their stories and publish them in an anthology Green Card Youth Voices: Stories of Afghan Refugees in Minnesota.
Hopewell Music Cooperative North
http://www.hopewellmusic.com
$15,000.00
Funding for Hopewell’s Community Engagement Program to train a dedicated Community Engagement Coordinator, improve current activities, and establish a new engagement plan.
Iglesia Piedra Viva UMC
http://www.ipvmn.org
$15,000.00
Funding for Guitarra en el Barrio unites Minneapolis Latinx families with the arts through guitar and shares a life-enriching activity that strengthens families and community.
Intro to Success
$15,000.00
Funding to execute ITS FEST— an annual North Minneapolis community arts festival that creates space for community healing and connection, bridging generations and cultures.
Iraqi & American Reconciliation Project
http://www.reconciliationproject.org
$15,000.00
Funding for art core mission support, staff professional development, and planning a Day of Reflection and virtual exhibition to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
Japan America Society of Minnesota
http://www.mn-japan.org
$14,825.00
Fund for Bon Odori workshop and Obon festival in summer of 2022
Journey North Opera Company
https://www.journeynorthopera.com/
$15,000.00
Funding for Proving Up, an opera and theater production that challenges the idea of the American Dream.
Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota
http://www.laocenter.org
$15,000.00
Funding for capacity building for traditional & modern Lao refugee arts among emerging artists in 4-8 disciplines (dance/performing arts, literature, visual arts, film) before its 50th anniversary.
Longfellow Community Council
https://longfellow.org/
$15,000.00
Funding to create an interactive art experience showcasing Longfellow’s community resilience, strength and recovery through art, music, food, and fun. We are Longfellow Strong. Motivated by love.
Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery
http://www.maahmg.org
$15,000.00
Funding for a youth creative writing and spoken word workshop for youth ages 14 – 18.
Monkeybear’s Harmolodic Workshop
http://www.monkeybear.org
$15,000.00
Funding for a weeklong Puppet Performance Intensive, a Shadow Puppet workshop, renting our studio and funding staff for running the programming and some day to day operations.
Poetry for People
$12,500.00
Funding to partner with TPT to host an evening of film, poetry, and music inspired by our city-wide project, “Free the Deeds”, at the Parkway Theater in south Minneapolis.
Praxis Photo Arts Center
https://www.praxisphotocenter.org
$15,000.00
Praxis Photo Arts Center (PPAC) requests MRAC funding to support operational infrastructure at the center.
Public Functionary
http://www.publicfunctionary.org
$15,000.00
Funding for an artist residency program in which PF Studios artists spend a week away at Grand Marais Art Colony in rest, work, practice, and community building.
Salsa Fiesta
http://www.mnsalsafiesta.com
$15,000.00
For correcting music parts and investing in sound equipment, engaging audiences online with new content, and improving processes and organizational capacity for future activities.
Sanguine Arts
$15,000.00
Funding to produce and release a Twin Cities BIPOC artist interview series.
She Rock She Rock
http://www.sherocksherock.org
$15,000.00
Funding to hire approximately 10 Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) community music teachers/mentors so that they in turn can empower youth campers at the Girls Rock & Roll Retreat (GRRR).
Soomaal House of Art
https://www.soomaalhouse.com
$15,000.00
Funding to sustain space for arts access through operations and building our capacity.
Speaking Out
$15,000.00
Funding for 4 elementary classes to receive a storytelling residency centering truth-telling and activating the pursuit of justice by examining our past and present, while dreaming of the future.
Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater
htp://www.stuartpimsler.com
$14,500.00
Funding for The Stories We Hold / Capturing Memories through Movement, a series of movement/story workshops for those impacted by memory loss and their caregivers
Tangible Collective
tangiblecollective.org
$10,750.00
Funds will support our studio space in NKB, administration, stipends for curators and artists, and Teaching Artist Cohort. Our events and use of our studio space is available on a sliding scale.
The Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts
http://www.semillacenter.org
$15,000.00
Funding to offer free public art workshops to Phillips neighborhood residents in the Semilla Center’s updated, multi-disciplinary studio/workshop and in neighborhood partner spaces.
The Wildling
http://www.thewildling.org
$14,600.00
Funding to create a 3-year development strategy and to pay a part-time Director of Operations to bolster The Wildling’s sustainability and infrastructure.
TigerLion Arts
tigerlion.org
$15,000.00
Funding for TigerLion Arts’ outdoor production, The Buddha Prince, will celebrate His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s life and teachings with Minnesota’s Tibetan community and audiences at large.
Tubman
https://www.tubman.org/
$15,000.00
Funding for the creation of a performance event and workshop collaboration between Tubman and Crossroads Panorama.
Twin Cities Carifest
http://www.carifest.org
$15,000.00
Funding for equipment to process transactions at outdoor festival. Support for relaunch of pan drumming program. Funding to review and improve operations to better impact our community.
UNPRISON PROJECT
http://www.unprisonproject.org
$15,000.00
Funding to launch a pilot podcast series, the unPrison Podcast, a 6-episode podcast that engages storytelling from women impacted by the justice system, both in prison and returning citizens.
Viva La Pepa
$15,000.00
Funding for Power Hour: The Drag Story Hour Show will be used to support the creation of a performance piece for children featuring the characters Doña Pepa, Sid Sity and Old Man Zimmer.
Saint Paul
(Neo)Muralismo Mexicano en Minnesota
$15,000.00
Funding for start-up costs associated with Organizational Capacity and some Operations activities (strategic planning, training, program development, website, workshop development, and equipment).
Alanna Morris-Van Tassel Productions
http://www.alannamvt.com
$15,000.00
Funding for a women’s retreat/residency program to assist mid-career women creatives with resources to thrive, and operating expenses for staff to expand our mentorship program in FY 2022/2023.
Arts-Us
https://www.arts-us.org/
$15,000.00
Funding for Timbuktu after-school program to support social, emotional, cognitive, and academic support, reduce negative behaviors, encourage physical well-being.
Borikén Cultural Center
borikenmn.org
$15,000.00
Funding for this project will allow our community to participate in both virtual and in-person events free of charge. This allows community accessibility; a variety of ways to participate for free.
CAAM Chinese Dance Theater
http://www.caamcdt.org
$15,000.00
Funding for CAAM Chinese Dance Theater’s 30th Anniversary performance, a live original dance story, to connect community, enlighten and explore new connections with Minnesotans.
Change Inc.
http://www.thechangeinc.org
$13,950.00
Funding to create an arts education experience for young adults ages who are immigrants, refugees, and English Language Learners, culminating in a live performance to share their journeys and views.
Cumar
$15,000.00
Funding to produce a full-length music and dance performance featuring a fusion of the traditional music and dance of West Africa and Ireland at the Southern Theater.
Flip the Script Festival
https://www.flipthescriptfest.org/
$15,000.00
Funding for a 2SLGBTQIA+ film festival celebrating multidimensional representations of the Queer community.
Frogtown Gardens D/B/A Frogtown Farm
http://www.frogtownfarm.org
$15,000.00
Funding for an arts activity engaging artists and the community in creating large-scale, vibrant murals with images symbolizing the energy, capacity, creativity, and empathy of the community.
Grace Minnesota dba Don’t You Feel It Too?
http://www.dyfit.org
$15,000.00
Don’t You Feel It Too? seeks funding for “Next Generation Readiness,” the final phase of a three-year transition toward becoming a significantly more sustainable organization and our own 501c3.
Hmong Cultural Center
http://www.hmongcc.org
$15,000.00
HCC seeks flexible support to be able to maintain all of its arts programs in 2022 in year 3 of the pandemic – a time of continued funding uncertainty and discrimination against Asian Americans.
Inter
http://www.interfaithaction.org
$15,000.00
Funding for a Native American middle youth art class to design and create two murals at locations that are community gathering sites for the East Metro Native American community.
Lower Phalen Creek Project
http://www.lowerphalencreek.org
$13,650.00
Funding to support a seasonal series of programming highlighting a specific plant relative informed by Dakota cultural teachings, western environmental science, herbalism and the arts.
Mixed Precipitation
http://www.mixedprecipitation.org
$15,000.00
Funding for Mixed Precipitation’s tour of Pickup Truck Opera, a lively outdoor opera and harvest celebration, presenting a contemporary interpretation of The Magic Flute.
Moonplay Cinema
http://www.moonplaycinema.org
$15,000.00
Funding to do an organizational rebranding and to offer a class/mentorship program for emerging directors through a feminist filmmaking class.
MSS
http://www.mssmn.org
$15,000.00
Funding for MSS participants, adults with disabilities, to collaborate with COMPAS teaching artists to learn the art of mosaics.
Music Mission
http://www.musicmissionmusic.com
$13,000.00
Funding for the Lakeside Guitar Festival, building on 10 years of Lowertown Guitar Festival tradition at a new site, Como Lakeside Pavilion in Saint Paul.
One Voice Mixed Chorus
http://www.onevoicemn.org
$15,000.00
Funding will support One Voice Mixed Chorus’ January and June concert seasons, performed at the Ordway Concert Hall in St. Paul.
Saint Paul Parks Conservancy
https://www.saintpaulparksconservancy.org/
$15,000.00
Funding to produce free art programs in neighborhood parks in areas of concentrated poverty. Programs include “Clay City,” “Invention Convention,” drawing and painting for beginners, pop-up concerts.
Sounds of Hope, Ltd.
http://www.soundsofhope.org
$15,000.00
Funding for concerts of global music by young artists aged 10-16 from the Twin Cities and countries worldwide, to be presented mainly in nontraditional venues throughout the Metro area.
The Black Gate
https://www.theblackgate.org/
$15,000.00
Funding for The Black Gate Circle Gathering will foster the evolution of the conversation regarding emerging archives of Black artists in the Twin Cities with a wide range of community partners.
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library
http://www.thefriends.org
$15,000.00
Funding for the 2023 Fireside Reading Series at the Hamline Midway Library in St. Paul. This longstanding series showcases diverse literary voices that connect audiences with stories and each other.
The Full Moon Puppet Show
https://www.facebook.com/Full-Moon-Puppet-Show-122125017827333
$15,000.00
Funding to produce a puppet slam that supports artists as they create original work and provide puppetry workshops for the community at all levels.
West Side Community Organization
http://www.wsco.org
$15,000.00
Funding to hire a local BIPOC artist to manage arts projects (from murals to arts markets to Dia De Los Muertos ofrenda-making) that create arts access for West Siders of all ages and backgrounds.
Young Artists Initiative
http://youngartistsmn.org/
$15,000.00
Funding for Beehive Theatre’s 2022 Theatre Experience serving East Side Saint Paul’s at-risk and underserved youth.
Zeitgeist
http://www.zeitgeistnewmusic.org
$15,000.00
Funding for MONSTERS AMONG US, a set of commissions of new chamber works to be premiered at HALLOWEEN AT STUDIO Z 2022.
Scott County
APIA MN Film Collective
http://www.apiamnfilm.com
$15,000.00
Funding to provide mentoring, creative coaching, and filmmaking opportunities for the Asian American community. Funding to support operational capacity.
Suburban Hennepin County
Association of Sino-American Neocultural Exchange
$15,000.00
Funding to support an artistic and cultural event from 10am to 7 pm to celebrate the major Chinese traditional holiday Mid-Autumn Festival at the China Friendship Garden in Phalen Regional Park.
BIPOC Screenwriting
$15,000.00
Funding to support seven BIPOC screenwriters to develop a narrative screenplay and present to a wider audience in a public table reading.
Chinese Community Center
cccminnesota.org
$15,000.00
Funding for arts classes to be offered to empower Asian American youth, by using traditional and digital arts to tell personal stories and to voice concerns about dual identity.
Dakhóta iápi Okhódakičhiye
https://dakhota.org/
$15,000.00
Funding to perpetuate and revitalize Dakhóta language through arts-based programming. This programming is co-created and co-collaborated with members within Dakhóta communities.
Giving Voice
http://www.givingvoicechorus.org
$15,000.00
Funding to support the general operations of Giving Voice Initiative and help ensure continued access to high-quality arts programming through dementia-friendly chorus groups in the Twin Cities.
Great Northern Union Chorus
http://www.gnusings.com/
$15,000.00
Funding for “ChoirsAlive!” a choral singing festival celebrating the resilience and common humanity of choirs as a vital part of the resilience of communities.
HoneyWorks
http://www.beritahlgren.com
$15,000.00
Funding for the production of HoneyWork’s spring season at the Southern Theater, which will premiere the evening length work, “Cedarbacke”, honoring the Southern Theater and its diverse neighborhood.
MN Zej Zog
https://www.facebook.com/MNZEJZOG
$12,100.00
Funding for 2 Hmong community artists to transform students to become resilient through the pandemic folding in mental health and a social justice lens.
Plymouth Rockers
plymouthrockers.org
$5,550.00
Funding for purchase of music, payment of an accompanist, promotion of our senior sing-outs and free holiday concert, and rental of an auditorium for our concert.
Thai Cultural Council of Minnesota (St Louis Park)
$15,000.00
Funding for the third annual MinnesoThai festival will be used to facilitate education, understanding, and community through the shared experience of Southeast Asian cuisine, music, art, and dance.
Twin Cities Community Arts
$15,000.00
Funding for All-City Drumline instructional clinics and performance opportunities during the ’22 – ’23 academic year for under-served students in the urban core of Minneapolis.
Vail Place
http://www.vailplace.org
$15,000.00
Funding to provide opportunities for individuals with serious mental illness to express themselves and their lived experiences through a collaborative theater project with the History Theatre.
Suburban Ramsey County
30,000 Feet
$15,000.00
Funding will support 30,000 Feet’s capacity to hire an Arts Program Manager. This position will support the expansion of our arts programming to serve and empower more Black youth in East Saint Paul.
Contempo Physical Dance
http://contempophysicaldance.org/
$15,000.00
Funding to create and premiere a full-length work, Lavadeiras, in April 2023.
CONvergence Events / CVG-TV
https://www.convergenceevents.org/
$14,980.00
Funding for CVG-TV will support media arts production before, during, and after the CONvergence Science Fiction convention. This content will increase accessibility and outreach for our many events.
Karen Organization of Minnesota
http://www.mnkaren.org
$15,000.00
Funding to support a collective of Karen textile weavers to teach traditional weaving workshops for Karen youth and hold weekly gatherings to practice their craft
Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center
http://www.tccdcmn.org
$15,000.00
Funding for the show “Retrospect and Outlook of TCCDC 20th Anniversary” where we look back to where the dream of dancing began and celebrate our 20th anniversary milestone in the form of dance.
UFG Project
http://www.tchorrorfestival.com/
$15,000.00
Funding for Twin Cities Horror Festival 11, an 11 day, juried, live-performance festival featuring original, horror-themed works in theater, dance, music, & more at the Crane Theater Oct 20-30, 2022.
Washington County
Film Score Fest
http://filmscorefest.org
$15,000.00
Funding for Film Score Fest in St. Paul, starting with our filmmaker/composer short film challenge in Fall 2022 and culminating in a public film screening with a live orchestra in Spring 2023.
Lao Culture Dance and Fashion Show, LLC
http://www.laodancefashionmn.org
$15,000.00
Funding for traditioanal Classical dance, Fashion for Boun Pravade Performing team to lead parade-progression for Cultural, Heritage Annual Social Festival at Temple, but not religious socialization.
Sheletta Makes Me Laugh
https://www.shelettamakesmelaugh.com/
$10,355.00
Funding to purchase new equipment for nine podcasting shows including computers, microphones, cameras and headphones along with software for editing to create better quality podcast shows.