Funders' Collaborative Launches ArtsLab
Jan. 22, 2008
To bolster community vitality and cultural life, five major arts funders — the F.R. Bigelow, Bush, Mardag, McKnight, and Saint Paul foundations — have united behind ArtsLab, a $1.85 million, multiyear venture. This summer, the collaborative will identify 16 small arts organizations for three years of support to build program and operational capacity.
"In each region, this initiative's value will extend beyond the individual participating organizations," said Kate Wolford, president of The McKnight Foundation. "From local economic benefits to broad impacts on the quality of life, Minnesota's robust cultural sector serves all of us. It is one of our greatest assets, well worth preserving and strengthening."
Program participants will be selected from two regions that were chosen because of relatively high concentrations of local arts engagement: the seven-county Twin Cities metro and 26 counties in northwest Minnesota. Going beyond traditional grantmaking, ArtsLab will provide participants with tools and activities to achieve three primary objectives:
- Maximize the depth and stability of smaller, visionary arts organizations in Minnesota's urban and rural communities.
- Strengthen the arts leadership pool for tomorrow, infusing participating organizations with leadership and management skill building to promote long-term community impact.
- Improve the quality of life in communities served, by making use of the power of the arts in community development that is responsive to the changing demographics of our region.
Minnesota's small arts organizations play a key role in the state's cultural life, engaging increasingly diverse audiences through innovative work and unique community relationships. Often artist-led and built to serve specific audiences, Minnesota's smaller institutions are hothouses for nurturing current and future cultural leaders. By focusing resources in specific geographic areas with high concentrations of existing arts organizations, the collaborative hopes to foster an engaged peer community, consolidate group resources, and achieve measurable regional outcomes within the program's three-year timeframe.
"While ambitiously producing their own works, these underserved leaders also give voice to other emerging and mid-career artists," said Peter C. Hutchinson, Bush Foundation president. "Despite the size of their organizations, many of these cultural partners have proven track records of engaging artists and audiences in high-quality arts opportunities. ArtsLab will allow us to rightly support and strengthen a handful of these organizations as invaluable regional assets."
To promote shared learning and best practices while strengthening organizational infrastructures, the 16 selected participants will divide into two peer groups — one comprising the Twin Cities-based organizations and one made up of organizations in the state's northwest quarter, each addressing the unique challenges and needs of the communities they serve. In addition to modest operational grants, the comprehensive program will provide an in-depth organizational assessment process, quarterly peer learning gatherings, consultative support, and opportunities for distance learning.
"As a collaborative, ArtsLab benefits from the shared knowledge, relationships, and financial backing of some of our region's most dedicated arts advocates," explained Carleen Rhodes, chief executive officer of The Saint Paul Foundation. "Joining forces with such committed colleagues is exciting, capitalizing on years of combined investments to help vital arts leaders do their best work to support all our communities."
The ArtsLab collaborative expects to release guidelines and begin seeking applications in May 2008, and to select eight organizations in each target region by late summer 2008. Applicants must be 501(c)(3)-designated nonprofit organizations with mission-directed or demonstrably sustained arts programming. The collaborative is interested in supporting holistic effectiveness by enhancing capacity in leadership, change management, governance, and administration.
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