Calling All Artists—And Art-Minded Organizations

What’s your $10,000 idea?

The University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), together with the McKnight Foundation, is seeking local artists and community-based organizations who are interested in partnering to strengthen our communities. And they’re offering three grants of up to $10,000 to bring the best ideas to life. 

The program is being called the Artist Neighborhood Partnership Initiative (ANPI). It will offer grants to partnerships of local artists and community organizations with fresh ideas on how to engage underrepresented members of the community and address local issues. 

CURA’s Jeff Corn, referring to artists as “leaders in the community,” said the program is a way of “engaging residents though art in issues that are important.” 

Proposed partnerships must be made up of a local organization serving a specific area of Minneapolis or St. Paul and at least one artist. If you are a local artist, find an organization; if you’re an organization, find a local artist. Think about how together you might engage members of the community too often left behind. Beyond that, the project requirements are intentionally broad, allowing for creative thinking and the presentation of innovative and artistic ideas. 

CURA and the McKnight Foundation have funded several Neighborhood Partnership Initiatives in the past, but this marks the first Artist Neighborhood Partnership Initiative. Corn said the new endeavor has already been successful in that there has been a high level of interest among both community groups and individual artists. 

Visit this website for details on applying. Letters of interest are due September 1, so get cracking on those community building ideas. Selected projects will be asked to submit a full ANPI application by October 17.