MRAC is pleased to announce our Flexible Support grantees for 2025. From all seven metro counties, the following groups and organizations will bring art, music, dance, and much more to our region all year long!
Anoka County
10th Wave Chamber Music Collective
Creating concerts and a recording session featuring underrepresented, local Minnesotan composers.
AAPI Youth Voices Inc.
Presenting a workshop series to grant underrepresented youth free access to diverse arts and cultural heritage activities.
Minnesota Winds
Supporting the professional concert band, including public performances and education for current students.
Northern Starz Theatre Company
Piloting a program for the very young with special needs to foster social skills, self-expression, and confidence on and off the stage.
Rise, Incorporated
Creating an accessible clay arts program for adults with disabilities to foster self-expression.
Carver County
Art, Heart and Hoofbeats
Presenting free art and yoga with horses workshops and collaborating on public art projects for a new art garden with twelve partnering groups.
Drama Interaction
Establishing new relationships and providing artistic resources to adults with special needs.
Dakota County
Dakota Center for the Arts
Continuing the Art as Experience program with a community project hosted by local artists identifying as LGBTQ+ and/or BIPOC and creative demonstrations.
International Festival of Burnsville
Celebrating the cultural diversity of Burnsville and surrounding communities with live music, dance, art, cultural exhibits, and art activities for kids.
Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Tribal Community
Celebrating the 28th Annual Wacipi, a traditional, three-day Indigenous social gathering with artists, dancers, drummers, stories, and song.
Minhua Chorus
Presenting an annual concert choir highlighting songs that tell the story of life from birth to death.
MNK (Minnesota Krump)
Hosting Krump performance, workshops, and a Krump Exchange (battle).
Queer Voices Minnesota
Providing queer writers with opportunities for artistic and professional development.
Sea Others Foundation
Continuing the support of local song leaders through community singing events, open mic nights, and recording opportunities.
South St. Paul Arts Council
Supporting free little art galleries (FLAGs), take home art kits, library art events, professional arts programming, and performances in South St. Paul.
Hennepin County
Afoutayi Haitian Dance Music and Arts Company
Supplementing Afoutayi’s main leadership staff to ensure organizational sustainability and continuity.
Alive & Kickin
Presenting fifteen community concerts by the Seniors Rock Ensemble and fifteen community sing-alongs for adults with all abilities.
The Aliveness Project
Creating a series of local LGBTQ+ artist-led workshops for members of the Aliveness Project.
All City Music
Supporting All City Music’s capacity to expand staffing, boost outreach, upgrade systems, and enhance policies and procedures.
Amez Dance
Supporting growth for operations and organizational capacity.
An Opera Theatre
Supporting key administrative positions vital to ongoing operations.
Ananta: Works by Aparna Ramaswamy and Musical Ensemble
Leading a week-long advanced Bharatanatyam workshop with a focus on music commissioning/recording, original choreography, and professional development.
April Sellers Dance Collective
Fostering the collective’s audience engagement between shows with in-person and online activities.
ARENA DANCES
Developing a repertory company during the 30th anniversary season.
Art Buddies
Producing free in-person arts education and creative mentoring for scholars who attend schools in communities experiencing poverty.
Art Shanty Projects
Creating a vibrant, multidisciplinary winter village on a frozen lake with more than 200 artists.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities
Supporting an addition to the Free Arts team to increase programming quality and number of youth served.
The Bloodbath Ball
Presenting an annual drag pageant celebrating bold, unconventional artistry that creates a space for queer joy and creative expression.
Breanna’s Gift
Presenting arts programming for seriously ill, hospital-bound children, providing support for their overall physical/mental health, quality of life, and healing.
CASTLES
Creating collaborative projects to develop relationships and exchange skills between the community and group artists.
Catalyst Arts
Supporting operation and a two-day festival of new work centering BIPOC and queer changemakers.
CAYO
Supporting key leadership positions and resident artists.
Center for Performing Arts Minneapolis
Creating a south Minneapolis cross-cultural artist’s residency and fall festival celebrating the center’s 30th anniversary.
Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL)/Center for Workers United in Struggle
Supporting a printed comics zine that collects first-person stories of Latina construction workers’ resilience.
Centro Tyrone Guzman
Engaging low-income Latines of all ages (preschool through elders) in creating and celebrating culturally inspired art for an intergenerational community.
Cha-Ami Japanese Cultural Center
Preserving Japanese heritage and fostering community through hands-on arts and cultural exchange.
Chromatic Collective
Exploring the lives of South Minneapolis residents with a fantastical puppet show led by BIPOC artists.
City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Showcasing the diverse groups of people who call Brooklyn Center their home through a people-powered mural.
Commutator Collective
Presenting the 2025–26 season, including a queered take on farce, experimental theater, and more.
Cow Tipping
Teaching, publishing, and celebrating writing by BIPOC authors with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Curiosity Studio
Supporting the free, two-hour open studio sessions for community members to explore artmaking and healing.
Dance TV
Producing Dance TV 2! to celebrate the LGBT+ community in northern MN.
DanceCo
Creating a new, interactive family-focused dance work by Karla Nweje, engaging artists and production staff in venues across the Twin Cities.
DanceMN
Streamlining digital communications and expanding connections with youth, communities beyond the Twin Cities metro, and dance aesthetics outside of the Western canon.
The Dial Group
Sustaining after-school digital media arts programming for underserved youths of color.
DisabiliTease Festival
Presenting the 2025 festival, showcasing disabled burlesque, drag, cirque, and cabaret performers.
Division of Indian Work
Connecting artists with Native youth, elders, and mothers through several art projects.
DJ-U
Hosting a drop-in workshop and mentorship program for learning and experimenting with DJing.
The Dream Songs Project
Recording two previously commissioned works and concert performances.
DRKRM MPLS
Providing film developing facilities, a digital darkroom, and community events.
Fortune’s Fool Theatre
Presenting a free, 20-year anniversary show with a revival of a past hit and a world premiere.
Friends of Global Market
Supporting artist residencies and performances to offer visual arts and local music events at Midtown Global Market.
Full Circle Theater Company
Sustaining pay for staff and artists in a new era of leadership, strategic planning, and growth.
Full Moon
Supporting the creation of eight new, original puppet shows culminating in a final production.
The Givens Foundation for African American Literature
Supporting operations for literary arts programs for youth, podcast production, mentorship programs for writers, and more.
Grapevine Collective
Developing a literary arts program, including writing classes and public readings with the teaching artists and students.
Green Card Voices
Supporting a multimedia collection of twenty first-person narratives of Ukrainian immigrants and refugees, and publishing a bilingual graphic novel memoir.
Hatch Dance
Touring a new presentation that combines dance, theater, and music in an original production.
Hope Community, Inc.
Supporting evaluation, adaptation, and improvement of the Transformational Creative Strategies training program.
Hopewell Music Cooperative North
Supporting music enrichment programming for the North Minneapolis community.
House of Dance Foundation
Providing Minnesotans access to world-renowned hip hop dance learning, competitions, and performances.
Industrial Arts Mentorship for All
Providing accessible industrial arts learning experiences for underrepresented youth in the Twin Cities.
Indigenous Peoples Task Force
Supporting the Ikidowin fashion show and the training of Native teen Ikidowin actors in an intensive arts and cultural program.
Indian Music Society of Minnesota
Presenting a concert series with world-class artists of Indian classical music and lecture-demonstrations.
InspireMSP
Creating experience-based arts opportunities for BIPOC youth to learn about the creative industry and develop skills.
Iraqi & American Reconciliation Project
Supporting community-based Iraqi art projects, including prints, poetry, and visual art.
Journey North Opera Company
Producing four OperaTease performances in partnership with local cirque and burlesque organizations.
Kairos Alive!
Supporting an integrated arts project and webcast with Centro Tyrone Guzman and neurodivergent/LGBTQ+ allies.
Katha Dance Theatre
Sustaining arts access through rental and renovation costs, dancer and artist fees, and staff salaries.
Kulture Klub Collaborative
Creating multidisciplinary arts programming by local artists for youth experiencing homelessness.
Light in the Well
Supporting signature programing and developing a new music program for students that do not have access to general music education.
Lost Kite Editions
Launching a book publishing contest for incarcerated individuals, including publishing and marketing of winning submission.
Maia Maiden Productions
Creating artist engagement experiences for performing or visual artists who are practitioners of hip hop and street culture.
Make a Scene Scenario Festival
Hosting a three-day curated festival of live-action role play and playable theater scenarios with original commissioned works.
Mamá Papaya
Facilitating a screenwriting fellowship for emerging BIPOC LGTBQ+ filmmakers.
Minneapolis Choir Co-Op
Presenting choir concerts showcasing Minnesota artists: early-career composers, emerging conductors, and vocalists.
Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association
Presenting a concert series at the Lake Harriet Bandshell with free admission.
The Minnesota Freedom Band
Hiring a small group director and supporting small group performances in the Twin Cities area.
MNprov
Hosting a series of free improv classes for neurodivergent adults at Twin Cities community centers.
MOVO Space
Supporting programming and creative space for the dance, movement, and performance communities.
Mudluk Pottery
Expanding access to clay making for marginalized populations through workshops, artists residencies, and creative retreats.
Mutha Art Collective
Launching the Mutha Art Collective with a retreat and a live performance event that centers Black artists and mothers.
New Arab American Theater Works
Supporting operations through salaries and rent.
Nimbus Theater
Sustaining operations of the Crane Theater.
Off-Broadway Musical Theatre
Purchasing a portable truss rigging system for front lighting of performers.
Open Eye Theatre
Supporting operations through venue rental and replacing audience seating platforms.
Open Flame Theatre
Presenting a work-in-progress showing of a new, original surrealist opera.
Our Streets
Hosting a hyper-local arts and culture festival engaging artists and community members to envision a vibrant future for the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods.
The Paper Lantern Project
Supporting narrative campaign programming that will culminate in an AAPI centered literary and arts publication.
The Park Place
Creating arts programming to increase access and consistency of cultural arts for Latine youth and families.
Partnership Resources Inc.
Building capacity to expand arts access for individuals with disabilities by increasing self-advocacy skills.
Picture Book Parade, LLC
Hosting exhibits and events featuring Minnesotan children’s authors and illustrators, including talks and story times.
Poetry for People
Commissioning LGBTQ+ and BIPOC poets to create new works for the summer solstice and producing a winter poetry and music walk.
Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
Bringing the 13th annual Powderhorn Porchfest music festival to life in South Minneapolis.
Purple Playground
Teaching youth to collaboratively write, record, and perform songs with the help of professional music teachers.
The Qalanjo Project
Strengthening organizational capacity to provide arts programming that preserves MN Somali culture and uplifts community storytelling.
Raison d’Etre Opera
Producing an allegorical opera with a paid artistic director and increasing educational outreach to more diverse audiences.
Reach for Resources
Offering inclusive and person-centered music therapy to individuals with developmental and physical disabilities or mental health challenges.
Red Eye Collaboration
Supporting artists through performance showcases, idea exchanges, work-in-progress reviews, and other programs.
Red Thread
Presenting new music written in Yiddish and Bulgarian folk traditions through concerts, workshops, and music videos.
The ReEntry Lab
Supporting a monthly series of readings by five artists, including system-impacted artists.
Ring Out!
Presenting public performances of diverse handbell music for LGBTQIA+ people and allies.
Rough Magic Performance Company
Presenting a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Running Errands
Producing a dark comedic play about five female cousins brought together/torn apart on an annual scrapbooking trip.
Sandbox Theatre
Presenting a cabaret for trans and non-binary theatre artists in the Twin Cities.
Sanguine Arts
Producing the third season of an interview podcast featuring local BIPOC artists.
Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts
Hosting multidisciplinary, intergenerational, bilingual arts workshops, culturally relevant community events, and public art.
Serpentina Arts
Collaborating on intergenerational and interdisciplinary programming for local Latinx visual artists to advance creativity and professional development.
She Rock She Rock
Supporting music retreats for girls and women to learn rock music and instruments, participate in workshops, and perform in concerts.
Silicate Arts LLC
Creating opportunities for lower-income, older, and/or disabled adults living in congregate housing to experience creativity and community through working in clay.
Sisters’ Camelot
Partnering with local artists to create two mobile murals with community members.
Somali Youth and Family Development Center
Teaching traditional Somali arts, including dance, henna, and cooking, to younger generations.
Soo Visual Arts Center
Supporting ongoing staffing needs.
SPARK theater + dance
Producing a live theater performance, including pay for artists, at Ellison Playhouse.
Speaking Out Collective
Helping parents and young kids understand mental health disorders through interactive puppet shows performed by high school volunteers.
Really Spicy Opera
Commissioning seven new twelve-minute operas with live readings at senior centers and nursing homes.
Step With Soul
Supporting a second rehearsal location in St. Paul to provide culturally relevant arts programming while reducing transportation barriers.
Studio Arisaema
Providing a creative studio residency for Black artists of marginalized genders.
Tapestry Folkdance Center
Producing a free series of outdoor folk-dance lessons and dancing with live music from diverse cultural traditions.
Telling Queer History
Presenting a traveling multimedia exhibition of the Telling Queer History story and organizational archives celebrating the program’s close.
Theatre Pro Rata
Supporting nine performances of The Book of Will at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis.
Tlalnepantla Arts
Presenting the annual Festival de las Calaveras, a community event celebrating Latinx cultural arts.
Tru Ruts
Mentoring and developing the next generation of Black filmmakers with an immersive, 10-month filmmaking training academy.
Turtle Theater Collective
Producing the Indigenous Play Reading Series for new plays, held in person to introduce the community to Indigenous playwrights.
Twin Cities Saxophone
Presenting a series of seven saxophone concerts and educational events in Minnesota.
UFG Project
Producing the Twin Cities Horror Festival, and 11-day, juried, live-performance festival featuring original horror-themed works.
Ukrainian Village Band
Presenting a series of seasonal Ukrainian folk music and dance events, with sing-alongs and educational programming.
Universal Dance Destiny
Presenting the 19th annual showcase of West African, modern American hip hop, and Afrobeats dances.
The Urban Spectrum Theatre Company
Developing a strong working structure to enhance the ability to present shows in a changing environment.
Veterans Telling Stories Inc.
Supporting a no-cost, 10-week, 20-hour poetry workshop for military servicemembers, veterans, and family members.
Victory Neighborhood Association
Empowering local, diverse artists to create meaningful arts access for North Minneapolis and increase community engagement.
Voices of Hope
Revitalizing choral singing in Minnesota prisons post-COVID.
Walking Shadow Theatre Company
Performing the world premiere of a play exploring the queer content of Mae West’s works.
Wavelets Creative
Supporting four outdoor, site-specific sound gardens and free community art and nature workshops.
WE WIN Institute
Presenting a showcase of local youth, artists, and activists using multidisciplinary cultural art forms to share Kwanzaa’s history and ideals.
Weavers Guild of Minnesota
Enabling education, social service, and healthcare professionals to incorporate the art of weaving into their practices.
Youth Leadership Initiative
Engaging youth leaders to explore the intersection of art, leadership, joy, and justice.
Z Puppets Rosenschnoz
Presenting a glow-in-the-dark performance of cell division at Pillsbury House Theater with improvisational vocalists.
Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre
Supporting and increase to community engagement staff.
Ramsey County
113
Presenting the annual Twin Cities New Music Festival, with local and international performers and free student workshops.
180 Degrees, Inc.
Supporting artists residences at the shelter for youth who have experienced sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and homelessness.
A Hand 4 Change
Developing a creative arts program for children to learn to be climate problem-solvers.
African Economic Development Solutions
Partnering with African and other BIPOC artists to create free African art and cultural experiences at a summer outdoor festival and community celebration.
Alliance of Minnesota Chinese Organizations
Presenting a Moon Festival and a Lunar New Year celebration at Mall of America with traditional musical and dance genres.
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Supporting arts access for older adults and people with disabilities to engage with clay, mixed media, painting, and musical experiences.
ArtStart
Bringing Hart House residents artful reuse programming inspired by naturalist-led hikes along the Mississippi River.
Asian Economic Development Association
Providing resources and opportunities for underserved Asian American cultural creators.
Atlas of Blackness
Supporting a multimedia project and immersive exhibit examining how gentrification impacts Black communities’ access to transportation, housing, and communal spaces.
BRKFST Dance Company
Expanding choreographic ideation among street style and contemporary dancers across generations with movement practices, culminating with an informal showing.
Brownbody
Supporting administrative operations for expanding programs and staff salaries.
Center for Broadcast Journalism
Supporting a festival music performances, street dance, artwork, hand-made arts and crafts sales, food, and more in East St. Paul.
Collide Theatrical Dance Company
Presenting free school performances a mental health education show to metro-area middle school students.
Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota
Hosting a two-week film media intensive for teens & adults with Ds, including storyboarding, acting, and a final film co-created by the participants.
East Side Arts Council
Supporting free, accessible workshops in poetry, visual arts, and clay for seniors in East St. Paul.
East Side Freedom Library
Exploring the histories, craft, and community of culinary arts through community food labs, public events, an artist residency, and more.
Emerging Curators Institute
Supporting curatorial learning through a focus on accessibility and community engagement for individuals in the fellowship program.
Exposed Brick Theatre
Providing play development opportunities for early career playwrights and storytellers from historically excluded communities.
Face to Face Health & Counseling Service, Inc
Supporting arts programming for youth in Ramsey County experiencing homelessness and other barriers.
Flip the Script
Supporting general operations, including an annual film festival, monthly membership program, and summer Pride programming.
Frogtown Farm
Exploring culinary arts at a series of four in-person community gatherings.
Frogtown Tuned-In Inc
Offering radio training for community members, helping them share their talents while exploring media careers.
Hmong Museum of Minnesota
Supporting general operations and capacity to offer Hmong arts for the community.
In Black Ink
Supporting Black writers with day-long workshops, financial and mentoring support, and sharing stories across cultures.
In Progress
Offering professional development for digital art makers including goal planning, guided mentorship, and group learning.
India Association Of Minnesota
Showcasing Indian heritage, art, cuisine, and traditions at India Fest, fostering cross-cultural understanding among Minnesotans.
Irreducible Grace Foundation
Providing operational support to sustain arts-based programs at the Black Youth Healing Arts Center.
The Karen Organization of Minnesota
Offering weekly workshops for Karen textile weavers and classes for Karen youth and adults to learn this traditional craft.
Keane Sense of Rhythm
Supporting additional administrative staffing.
Keystone Community Services
Presenting community-based arts programs for St. Paul youth and older adults.
Listen Up Youth Radio
Training and mentoring for Youth Media Collective members to produce content aired online and on local radio.
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
Increasing access to art for youth experiencing homelessness via multidisciplinary workshops.
Mixed Precipitation
Touring a new production adapted from Mozart’s opera to green space in the metro area, using food, story, and song to celebrate harvest.
More Than a Single Story
Sustaining Black youth mentorship to deepen connections between BIPOC artists and communities inspired by their work.
Movement Architecture
Supporting ongoing dance rehearsals, community engagement residency, and final presentation at Northrop Auditorium.
Music Mission
Supporting a three-day free music and arts festival in Saint Paul.
Nautilus Music-Theater
Supporting an intensive program designed to cultivate collaborative skills and re-imagine how theatrical stories are told through music.
Opportunity Neighborhood
Producing monthly hands-on art workshops led by professional artists for children living in a low-income housing community.
Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute
Training emerging Black literary artists from the Rondo area and publishing of two culturally authentic children’s books.
Polyrhythmic Arts
Highlight queer bands and artisans and presenting opportunities to connect with wellness resources at the Queer Ritual Fest.
Rabata
Supporting staff salaries and capacity building to uplift programs for Muslim women’s arts and culture for the wider Minnesota community.
Recreation Arts
Presenting a participatory sing-along group with older adults living with disabilities and chronic health conditions.
Rhythmically Speaking
Presenting the annual show with jazz and American social dance choreographers and dancers.
Saint Paul Parks and Recreation
Giving young artists the chance to gain new skills in music-making and performance with workshops and performance opportunities.
Second Shift Studio Space
Supporting studio residency and other programming.
Seev Cev Line Dance
Hosting a Hmong line dance festival, demonstrating the cultural impact for the Hmong community.
Selby Avenue JazzFest
Supporting the annual festival with live music from big bands, vocalists, and international artists, as well as arts-based activities for children and families.
Shakespearean Youth Theatre
Producing two Shakespeare plays performed by young artists for Twin Cities audiences.
Sounds of Hope, Ltd.
Hosting global concerts featuring international youth and adult singers held for underserved audiences in 15 Minnesota cities.
St. Paul Art Collective
Increasing the scope and quality of free arts and cultural offerings of the St. Paul Art Crawl.
Storydance Theatre
Supporting the performance of story, dance, and music along with arts education workshops on dealing with trauma and hate.
Teatro del Pueblo
Presenting a Gothic tango interpretation of Kiss of the Spider Woman that merges sensuality, power, and danger.
Theatre 55
Producing the award-winning musical Sweeney Todd at the Gremlin Theatre.
TriLingua Cinema
Supporting summer 2025 programming and a new youth volunteer program and film production camp.
Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center
Presenting a live performance of Chinese folk dances and songs, Hmong dances, and K-pop dances.
Twin Cities Iranian Culture Collective
Hosting an annual Fall Festival as well as year-rounds concerts and an exhibition of Iranian American artists.
United Hmong with Disabilities Inc
Presenting a photography and art exhibitions that honors the collective stories, journeys, and contributions of Hmong people with disabilities in Minnesota.
The Urban Village Inc
Creating a photo book project that will interview and photograph members of the Myanmar diaspora community of Minnesota.
Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi
Supporting the design and production of a new mural on the grounds at Wakan Tipi Center by Thomasina Top Bear.
Womens Drum Center
Developing an accessible drumming program for seniors in residential settings.
Wonderlust Productions
Presenting a community-driven play examining American culture wars by collaboration between people with different values.
Yan Pang Create
Providing compensation for singers, musicians, and composition assistants during the workshop phase a new opera.
Scott County
American Russian Center
Supporting a week of Slavic art experiences and monthly Slavic art workshops for kids and adults
APIA MN Film Collective
Developing Asian filmmakers in Minnesota with a filmmaking retreat and three public workshops.
Eagan Women of Note
Supporting a choral program allowing vocal music to inspire artistic expression and invigorate community spirit.
Generations Theatre Company
Presenting a summer musical performed by youth ages 8–18, and a smaller jukebox show presented at nursing homes and memory care facilities.
Washington County
ArtReach St. Croix
Celebrating poetry, creativity, and the Valley’s vibrant literary community through place-based poetry by five local writers.
Dance Projects by ME
Supporting free dance and music workshops, community rehearsals, and public performances on the theme of ancestry.
Lao Culture Dance & Traditional Fashion Show LLC
Presenting the King Boun Pravade Festival, featuring classical dance performances, traditional Lao dress, a fashion show, and more.
Mamas Ignite Collective
Supporting an in-person two-day creativity retreat focused on music, writing, collaborating, production, grant writing and content capture.
Open Door Community Theatre
Supporting staff salary for a part-time executive director.
Square Lake Film & Music Festival
Developing organizational capacity through website updates and bringing Square Lake Films to other venues in the Midwest.
StoryArk
Presenting storytelling camp for middle school students to explore playwriting, podcasting, visual arts, creative writing, and music.
Vets for Music
Presenting a public, two-day music festival honoring veterans.