CMAB awards grants
to area organizations
Thirteen regional organizations were recently awarded grants from the Central Minnesota Arts Board totaling more than $77,000. Ten local projects include the following: St. Cloud Arts Commission, $6,000, for the research and development of a public art project that would connect Lake George to Downtown St. Cloud through the 10th Avenue Viaduct and Minnesota Highway 23; Great River Educational Theatre, $8,000 for the musical “Peter Pan,” to be held Jan. 9-18 at Escher Auditorium at the College of St. Benedict; The Center for Service Learning and Social Change, $6,000, to engage spoken-word artist Julia Dinsmore to hold a series of workshops with area youth empowering participants to give voice to issues of homelessness, hunger and diversity through Spoken Word Poetry; St. John’s University – Fine Arts, $8,000 for performances and residencies with Black Violin that work primarily with incarcerated youth from Prairie Lakes Youth Detention Facility and Veterans from the St. Cloud VA March 26-28; Visual Arts Minnesota, $5,765, for the 15th annual Essential Art Exhibition and Celebration for artists from throughout the state of Minnesota to exhibit high quality artwork in 2D and 3D. The exhibition will run from Jan. 5-Feb. 15 with an art reception and community celebration from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Paramount Theatre Lobby Gallery in St. Cloud; St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, $6,000, “Moments in Time” Concert conducted by Dr. Clinton Smith at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 in Ritsche Auditorium, St. Cloud State University; Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota, $2,695, ” A Choral Community” concert that features a variety of Central Minnesota community and church choirs Sunday, Oct. 26 in Ritsche Auditorium, SCSU; Paramount Arts Resource Trust, $6,000, to host a ceramic workshop with nationally acclaimed ceramic artists Kathy King and Julia Galloway June 15-19 at the Paramount Visual Arts Center. Participants from the workshop will exhibit their final pieces during the August 2015 Art Crawl; Minnesota Center Chorale, $3,870, “A Civil War Portrait” featuring folk music from the Civil War era with special guests Cristina Seaborn and Paul Imholte that will include a pre-concert presentation at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 in Calvary Community Church, St. Cloud; and Chamber Music Society of St. Cloud, $6,000, the Schubert Ensemble Concerts and Residency. A formal concert will be held 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 at the First United Methodist Church with a free family concert held at 1 p.m. in the St. Cloud Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The residency will provide elementary through high school students with an introduction to and instruction about classical and contemporary chamber music, specifically string quartets. Three other grants were awarded to the Elk River Arts Alliance, and the Buffalo Community Theater and Orchestra.
Three criteria are used in evaluating applications: artistic quality and merit; ability of the organization to carry out the proposal; and the needs of the community.
Organizations may apply for up to $6,000 with a 30-percent match requirement for any one project or combined projects totaling no more than $6,000 in any one grant round. Organizations may apply for up to $8,000 with a 50-percent match requirement one time in any of the three grant rounds. Funding for these CMAB Grants is provided through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the state’s general fund, and its arts and cultural heritage fund created by the voters of Minnesota.
The Central Minnesota Arts Board supports collaborative and innovative arts opportunities through partnerships and financial investments in Stearns, Benton, Sherburne and Wright counties as one of 11 Regional Arts Councils designated by the Minnesota State Arts Board. We work with community partners to increase access to the unique cultural assets of Minnesota.
Visit www.aroundthecloud.org Arts and Events Click and Go Guide to see a full listing of these arts events and more.
For more information about the Central Minnesota Arts Board visit www.centralmnartsboard.org or call the office toll free at 1-866-345-7140.
Clara Kroska, a native and current resident of St. Joseph, is preparing to leave on a mission in Bahai Blanca Argentina for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. She will serve as a missionary in south-eastern Argentina for 18 months. She will be totally immersed in the Argentine culture. She will teach religious principles and provide service to the people of Argentina.
Kroska graduated from Albany Senior High School in 2013 where she participated in swimming, speech and choir. She is interrupting her college education at the University of Minnesota, Morris where she is majoring in Spanish.
Clara’s parents, Susan and David Kroska, and her siblings are supportive of her mission and anticipate it will be a rich and rewarding experience.
