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Reprinted by
permission, Worthington Daily Globe
SMAHC Brings Art to County
By Jane Turpin Moore, Daily Globe
WORTHINGTON – For a 35-year-old, SMAHC has a remarkable list of accomplishments.
As SMAHC (Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council) celebrates its 35th anniversary this fall, it’s clear this nonprofit group has more to offer than many people may realize.
“Nobles County is one of 18 member counties served by SMAHC, and although we're among the larger counties in this alliance and have benefited handsomely from SMAHC’s grants, we have a smaller membership, proportionally, than we should," opined Ellen Copperud, who began a three-year term in January as the current Nobles County representative on SMAHC’s 19-person board.
SMAHC's grants and organizational advice are often the backbones supporting many activities, festivals and arts events enjoyed by thousands of Nobles County residents. Since 2000 alone, organizations and individual artists in the county have received more than $120,000 in SMAHC funds.
"If people who care about the arts knew how much Nobles County benefits from SMAHC, I think they would jump at the chance to become annual members of it," suggested Copperud.
Remember Adrian Community Education's popular production of "Footloose," which played to large crowds last July and involved dozens of youth and adults from across the area? That musical was made possible with an arts project grant of $4,500 from SMAHC.
Have your kids or grandkids enjoyed creating things at Arts on the Shore during the Worthington Windsurfmg Regatta weekends? SMABC funds at work, once again.
Did your family marvel at exotic touring acts during the International Festival, or was a child from your family an actor in a Missoula Children’s Theatre play at Memorial Auditorium? Two more examples of SMAHC grants in action.
"We've touched a lot of lives through SMAHC over 35 years, and SMAHC has a very proud history," professed Greta Murray, executive director of SMAHC, which is headquartered in Marshall. "It's exciting to still be alive and going strong after 35 years and still be so relevant in our communities."
Murray has been a part of SMAHC for the last 25 years, and is a firm believer in its mission of encouraging the growth and development of the arts and humanities in southwest Minnesota.
“Art is something that is lifelong, and feeds a person's spiritual side," related Murray, who sometimes refreshes herself with a personal "art break" by taking time to play Bach and Handel on her recorder. "Sometimes, people will tell me they don't know what art is and I'll ask them, 'Do you whistle in the shower? That's art.'”
Margaret Hurlbut Vosburgh, manager of Worthington’s Memorial Auditorium and a SMAHC board member from 2006-08, agrees that the arts and humanities are more present in everyone’s lives than some people recognize. She believes that's demonstrated by things like the number of folks listening to iPods, checking out library materials, discussing the coverage of pop star Michael Jackson's funeral or vying for tickets to a hot play.
"The arts have a direct relationship to the life you live, maybe even a bond to the life you're living," asserted Vosburgh, who is also a fiber artist and music aficionado. “Art isn't always grandiose things - it's really just a part of our everyday activities."
That's why Worthington High School (WHS) art teacher and community arts coordinator Gail Holinka has actively used SMAHC as a resource organization and fund source for various projects over the past several years.
"The sculpture is whimsical, playful, with a kind of windsurfing theme," explained Holinka. "I thought Worthington needed some outside sculpture, and it seemed a natural fit for the grant and with the regatta."
Collaboration was the name of the game with the sculpture, which debuted in June 2008; ALC students drew the preliminary design, elementary-aged Camp Invention students helped laminate the sculpture's anchor pieces, and AOK Club and Early Risers Kiwanis Club members were involved in painting, moving and installing the sculpture. Oh - and SMAHC provided $2,500 to help pay for the sculpture and artist Reese's time and creative energy.
"The sculpture by the lake was a really exciting project," concurred Murray. "It involved education, students, community members, and it's a permanent, colorful addition to the lakefront."
Murray shared that SMAHC also maintains a central calendar and directory of arts events and organizations for the 18-coumty alliance, and grants are available for individual artists, schools and non-profit organizations.
"Bobbie' Alsgaard-Lien of Rushmore has benefited from SMAHC grants, and she's a terrific artist who was named a SMAHC Prairie Star in 1998, which is an award given by SMAHC to the most outstanding artist in the region," detailed Murray.
"That award is not necessarily given each year - there must be a stellar nominee," emphasized Murray.
Internationally renowned Minneota writer Bill Holm, who died this past spring, was a SMAHC Prairie Star in 2000. Holm was involved with SMAHC "in its earliest years," related Murray, saying Holm's death was a real loss for SMAHC as he had been a big supporter of the organization for decades.
Murray, Copperud and Vosburgh all hope others will come forward to help SMAHC continue its mission of sharing the arts and humanities in their many forms with southwest Minnesota residents, perhaps helping fill the void left when longtime arts advocates such as Holm pass on.
Murray expressed it this way: "Memberships are critically important for us because when state funding is cut - and we're looking at a big cut again - that extra income can pick up some of the slack and help us weather these storms a little better."
For more information about SMAHC, its grants, programs, services and memberships, go to www.smahc.org or call 800-622-5284.
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Holinka, who
additionally advises the WHS AOK Club, teaches 'graphic design at
the Area Learning Center (ALC) and annually organizes the Arts on
the Shore during Regatta weekends, wrote the grant request that
brought drummer Steve Turner to town two years ago and obtained the
SMAHC funding that enabled Washington, D.C., artist Kevin Reese to
help create the colorful public sculpture that now graces Sailboard
Beach.