Textile Center’s 2015-2016 Jerome Fiber Artists Project Grants

Monday, October 5th, 2015

Deadline: Saturday, October 31, 2015

Textile Center is accepting online applications for the 2015-2016 Jerome Fiber Artists Project Grant now through October 31. Four project grants of $5,000 will be awarded in support of individual artistic projects ranging from purchasing equipment to studying with established artists.

To learn more about the project grant, eligibility, and to apply online: http://www.textilecentermn.org/jerome1516/

Grant Information Sessions

Wednesday, September 30, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Tuesday, October 6, 5:30 – 6:30 pm

Textile Center is hosting two information sessions for the Jerome Fiber Artists Grant Project, and while attendance is not required to apply for this grant, they provide a great opportunity to go through the grant process step-by-step. Sessions will be held at Textile Center by Melisa Wahlstrom, Textile Center’s Education Manager. To RSVP, please contact Melisa at mwahlstrom@textilecentermn.org.

Jerome Fiber Artists Project Grants are made possible by the Jerome Foundation.

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Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts: Artists in Residence begin term

Monday, September 21st, 2015

Fridley, MN– September 3, 2015.  This week Monica Sheets and Kit Leffler began their 18 month terms as Artists-in-Residence at Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts.  The art center has a history of supporting visual artists through this program, but hasn’t had an artist in this position for nearly five years.

An open call for applications for the September 2015-February 2017 Artist-in-Residence was distributed earlier this year and a pool of very qualified and diverse artists applied.  While only one position was originally advertised, the final review committee was struck by the synchronicity of both Monica’s and Kit’s proposals for a project to undertake during their terms and the artists agreed to share the artist studio and their final exhibition.

Monica and Kit will move into the second floor studio at the Banfill Tavern building and will have access to make art and use the space for meetings and at their convenience through February 2017, though residence is not literal as this opportunity does not cover lodging.  They will each receive a small stipend, and will have a culminating exhibition in January 2017 in the Banfill-Locke galleries.

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Creative Placemaking in the South Loop

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

Artistry and City of Bloomington Announce Next Phase of Our Public-Private Partnership to Advance Creative Placemaking in the South Loop (Bloomington, MN)

Creative Placemaking in the South Loop – a public-private partnership launched in 2014 to engage artists, designers, and other creative people as leaders in community-building – will continue and grow under a plan adopted by the Artistry Board of Directors and Bloomington City Council in late July. The “Plan for Creative Placemaking in the South Loop” reflects the partners’ vision to establish the South Loop as a distinctive destination known for welcoming creative people and using the arts to transform the neighborhood physically, socially, and culturally.

The Plan is one of several outcomes funded by a 2013 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) “Our Town” grant. Artistry, the City, and numerous partners matched the $100,000 award and used it to develop the Plan and commission a series of creative placemaking demonstration projects in 2014-2015. The City will allocate $400,000 per year for the next two to four years to build on the momentum generated by this year’s projects and work toward six goals: (1) ensuring urban design excellence in transforming the built environment; (2) animating public spaces and strengthening the social and cultural fabric; (3) involving and empowering people who inhabit and care about the South Loop; (4) elevating and projecting South Loop’s identity; (5) building capacity to sustain placemaking leadership and champions; and (6) establishing a resident creative sector.

The $400,000 annual budget, which comes from the City’s South Loop Development Fund, will pay for staff, consultant expertise and artist commissions during the two to four year “momentum phase” anticipated by the City and Artistry. The next steps for the City and Artistry are to hire a Creative Placemaking Director and establish a nine-member Creative Placemaking Commission with members appointed by the City Council and the Artistry Board of Directors. (more…)

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