Springboard for the Arts

Save the date for Springboard for the Arts Last Minute Gifts event on Friday, December 13th from 6pm—9pm. Good Graces will have a booth alongside 24 other local makers! https://lnkd.in/gM6aFQTX

?? Today is the day: help us reach our goal to bring a new mural to Fergus Falls! With your support, Springboard is partnering with Mural OTW to engage local artists and community members in creating a vibrant new mural on Fergus Falls building. We’re asking 150 generous community members to help us reaching our goal of raising $15,000 today during Give to the Max Day. Plus, if you donate today, you will be entered into our random drawing to win a free “Artists are the G.O.A.T.” bandana inspired by artist Kandace Creel Falcón and hand-dyed by Springboard staff! Thank you for supporting Springboard’s work to help artists make a living and a life and contribute to joyful, creative, and more connected communities: https://lnkd.in/g-HhPv_a

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?? Rural and urban communities need each other. Yet, over the last decade, the so-called “urban-rural” divide has increasingly become a political strategy to provoke division and fear, rather than supporting solutions, common ground, and shared meaning across our geographical differences. Join the Creative Change Coalition for a free virtual conversation with leading organizations and artists working to dispel myths, find common ground, and create shared meaning. Featuring speakers from Springboard for the Arts, Art of the Rural, RedLine Contemporary Art Center, and CultureSource. Register at https://lnkd.in/gZuFCktN

Big news from Springboard for the Arts! - we just announced that we're extending and expanding our Guaranteed Income program for creative workers in Minnesota, making it one of the longest running pilots in the country and one of the only to focus on both urban and rural folks. It's been an honor to get to witness the impact that a small safety net provides people and the ways that artists use this support to contribute to their communities, neighborhoods and economies. And it's an honor to have this thoughtful, in-depth piece by Jenna Ross in the The Minnesota Star Tribune. https://lnkd.in/gaeYUZZb

Big news at Springboard — we are delighted to announce that our Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot is expanding to support 100 artists for a total of five years! This new stage will make our pilot one of the longest guaranteed income trials in the U.S., and the only one to include rural artists. We will add 25 new rural artists to our pilot to support 100 artists in total, 50 in Saint Paul and 50 in Otter Tail County, MN with $500 monthly no-strings-attached payments for a total of five years each. In addition, we are excited to partner with LSS Financial Counseling to provide all pilot participants with comprehensive support resources that build long-term economic stability and financial well-being including personal finance guidance, student loan debt assistance, and housing counseling. This expansion builds upon Springboard’s commitment to ensuring artists have what they need to make a living in a life and recognizing the value that artists bring to our economies and communities. Our program began as a “sidecar” pilot to the City of Saint Paul People's Prosperity Pilot, which has resulted in positive outcomes in employment, physical and mental health, and other indicators of well-being and quality of life. We are grateful for our continued partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research to conduct comprehensive studies to chart our pilot’s impact. “When artists can focus more on their work, families, and community instead of worrying about basic needs, everyone benefits.” - Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts Executive Director. Since its launch, the Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot has been funded by private foundations at different phases, including the Bush Foundation The Kresge Foundation, and the McKnight Foundation, without utilizing public funds. We deeply appreciate the McKnight Foundation’s generous support for this phase of our program expansion. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eiEJ-b6h

?? Exciting news here at Springboard for the Arts -- We are proud to announce the artists selected for the 2024-26 Rural Regenerator Fellowship! The selected Fellows are: - Hannah Breckbill (she/her/hers) - Decorah, Iowa - Megan L. Bull Bear (she/her/hers) - Mankato, Minnesota - Shelley Buffalo (she/her/hers) - Meskwaki Settlement, Tama, Iowa - Monica Cady (she/her/hers/we/us) - Hessel, Michigan 1836 ceded territory Ojibwe Nation - Lynne Colombe (she/her/hers) - Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation - Lera Hephner (she/her/hers) - Ogema, Minnesota - Regina M. Laroche (she/her/hers) - Madeline Island on the southern edge of Lake Superior, Northern Wisconsin - Chrystal A. Odin (they/them/their) - Osceola, Wisconsin - Marcella Prokop (she/her/hers) - Beaver Creek, Minnesota - Susan Mayo (she/her/hers) - Peabody, Kansas - Alejandra (Alex) Sanchez (she/her/hers) - Mondovi, Wisconsin - Stephen Robert Webster (he/him/his) - Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin These 12 artists span a diverse range of geographies and artistic practices across the Upper Midwest, from spinning wool to sustaining traditional and Indigenous foodways. While their individual practices vary, these fellows share a dedication for environmental justice, land and food sovereignty, agriculture, climate solutions, and sustainability. Over the next two years, each fellow will receive $10,000 in flexible funds to support or expand on their existing work, and participate in learning, exchange, and solidarity-building with their fellow rural artists. About the fellowship, Michele Anderson (Springboard’s Rural Director) said, “Artists in rural places are at the forefront of reclaiming and redefining how we care for our environment. We are excited to provide a space for these fellows to exchange ideas, support one another, and foster rich learning by sharing knowledge across geographies, cultures, and generations.” Learn more about the fellows at https://lnkd.in/gKteyTqz The Rural Regenerator Fellowship is supported in part by Good Chaos.

Springboard for the Arts is excited to announce the release of a groundbreaking new toolkit, Heartland, Heartwork: A Field Guide to Place and Possibility for Rural Leaders! https://lnkd.in/gbyTu6zj Developed in partnership with the Blandin Foundation, this comprehensive field guide is designed to empower rural leaders in planning and executing effective place-based projects centered in arts, culture and creativity. Featuring case studies from over 30 communities across Minnesota and original essays from rural creative leaders, the Heartland, Heartwork offers valuable insights and practical tools for fostering creative leadership in rural areas. Heartland, Heartwork was born out of a year-long Community of Practice facilitated by Springboard for the Arts, aimed at supporting rural placemaking grantees through the Blandin Foundation. Over the course of 10 months, participants engaged in shared learning, peer support, and site exchanges, all of which contributed to the development of this resource. “Rural people know art is one of many activities that build community pride,” said Mary Magnuson, Grants Program Officer for Rural Placemaking at Blandin Foundation. “The tools and success stories in the handbook get people looking at the role of art in community more holistically. If a community is looking to create a mural, for example, it’s not just about painting a pretty picture. It’s also the process a community uses to understand what’s meaningful to people, then depicting those things in the mural, so it creates a sense of well-being and belonging, as well as being beautiful.” The field guide was written and compiled by Michele Anderson, Rural Director at Springboard, and edited and designed by Mary Welcome (https://lnkd.in/gzU9uvWM). Thank you to Michele, Mary, Springboard and Blandin staff, the 2023 Rural Placemaking Community of Practice Participants, Facilitators, and Coaches, contributing writers, and ALL artists and leaders across the nation who are doing essential work to build more vibrant and just rural communities full of meaning, joy, and connection. This Fall, Springboard will take Heartland, Heartwork on tour to Battle Lake, New London, Red Wing, and Grand Marais. Each event will include readings, interactive activities, and discussions on rural leadership, featuring local creative community development projects in these communities. Find all book tour dates at https://lnkd.in/ezushak If you are a rural leader who can benefit from this book, you can get your free copy of the field guide while supplies last, or download a free PDF by visiting https://lnkd.in/gbyTu6zj

?? Thank you to Isa Faran and Hyperallergic for featuring Springboard's Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot! “Before the guaranteed income, I was working 60 hours a week, which didn’t leave time for the things that interest me and serve my community. Having a little cushion allows me to know that I’m going to eat that month while I pursue the things I care about in my work and community.” - artist Jess Torgerson “Guaranteed Income is a rural strategy that helps us tend to our herd.” - artist Kandace Creel Falcón Artists are valuable members of our communities and economies, and are powerful allies in movements for economic justice. Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/dRu4eMPD

Attention #Caregivers! I'm thrilled to be hosting a *free* panel next Monday, August 19, for Springboard for the Arts on tips for caregiving as an #artist. Emmett Ramstad and Teréz Iacovino, both artists and caregivers themselves, will be our panel members. Whatever your situation---parenting children, caring for elderly relatives, helping an ill partner, roommate, or friend---this one's for you! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gttvY-4k