With the passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment in November of 2008, the funding for the arts will be greatly enhanced for the next 25 years! 19.75% of the funds collected from the new sales tax will be put in a newly created Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to be spent only for arts, arts education, and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage (approximately $48 million in FY 2010 and $54.5 million in FY 2011).  SMAHC will be receiving a portion of these funds for arts programming!

Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund will support activities in three key areas of Arts Access, Art Education, and Arts and Cultural Heritage.  Application forms for these new grant opportunities are being developed and will be available on our website soon.  Workshops will be conducted throughout the region for artists and organizations to learn more about the process.  Since this is a new grant program you are strongly encouraged to attend the workshop or to call the office prior to starting your proposal.  See the list of informational sessions on the right.  If you plan to attend one of the sessions, please email SMAHC to register:  smahcinfo@iw.net or call the office at 1-800-622-5284 or 507-537-1471.  All sessions are free.

Some of the new programs that will be available through the arts & cultural heritage funds are as follows:

Forecast Public Art Grants:  $2,000 planning grants plus additional $750 in consultation and video documentation from Forecast for artists or organizations in FY2010.  The deadline for these grants is February 6, 2010. 

Legacy Grants for Individual Artists:  Up to $7,000 grants for Career Artists for projects that incorporate a community component that would provide an opportunity for the community to benefit as a result of the project.  Grants could be open to higher limit if the artist can make the case that additional funds would make a big impact.  The deadline for these grants is April 1, 2010 (earliest project start date is June 1, 2010). 

Legacy Grants for Organizations:  Up to $2,000 for planning and up to $25,000 for projects that will instill the arts into the community.  Applicants must demonstrate that their project will be new or build on previous projects and build the arts in their community.  Projects can include arts activities including public art, capacity building, operating support, arts and learning activities, and, for arts organizations only, the purchase of equipment or facilities improvement.  Schools are not eligible for planning grants, equipment purchase or facilities improvement.  The 2 deadlines for these grants are March 1, 2010 (earliest project start date is May 1, 2010) and May 3, 2010 (earliest project start date is July 1, 2010).  The earliest project start date is July 1, 2010.

Remaining Informational Sessions to be

held in February.

Public Art Toolkit:  To be developed by Forecast Public Art and made available to SMAHC constituents.  Toolkit will include resource information, sample documents, visual aids, a on-line links.  It may include materials such as contract templates, sample Calls for Artists, sample budgets, best practices in the field, lists of fabricators and resources in the region, examples of successful proposals, FAQs, and other tools.

Public Art Workshops:  Forecast Public Art will conduct a minimum of 2 “Public Art 101” workshops in the SMAHC region.

Additional Workshops & Trainings:  SMAHC will design and conduct workshops and collaborate with other organizations to present workshops for SMAHC constituents. Topics could include organizational development, board development, marketing, fund raising, arts & education, public art, career development workshops for individual artists, networking opportunities for artists and arts organizations.  Scholarships will be available to subsidize the costs of attending workshops and conferences.

SMAHC Website Development:  SMAHC website will be redesigned to include easier access to information, links to regional arts organizations and the potential development of a region wide calendar that local arts organizations can add to.

Please watch for more announcements and details on these new programs on our website at www.smahc.org

Posted 1-13-10