The Rural Connection Fund provides rural artists in the Upper Midwest with $2,000 to support informal gatherings of rural artists and creatives to witness one another’s work, exchange ideas and learning, and build a foundation for long lasting peer support.
Who is the Fund for?
Culture bearers, makers, artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, performers and other creatives in rural and tribal communities of 30,000 people or less in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and the Native Nations that share those geographies are invited to apply for support from the Rural Connection Fund, up to $2000 per gathering. Gatherings must connect at least two rural artists who live at least 75 miles apart.
Types of gatherings the Rural Connection Fund supports:
- Informal exchanges to visit one another’s community and witness one another’s work in person
- Mini-retreats of 2 or more rural artists/creatives to explore a specific topic and share learning and ideas
- Gatherings of artists from multiple locations to connect.
Applications are currently closed. Please stay tuned for future updates on this program.
The Upper Midwest’s rural resiliency is a direct result of the strength of our relationships and understanding across geographies. Connection and exchange across geographies help us build a collective voice, respond to new opportunities, combat isolation and burnout, and come up with more strategic solutions to the unique challenges we face. Over the years, Springboard for the Arts has supported this work through events like the Rural Arts and Culture Summit, our Rural Regenerator Fellowship, and many others.
The Rural Connection Fund is an extension of Springboard’s Rural Arts and Culture Summit. Pre-pandemic, the Summit took place every two years from 2011-2019, and gathered more than 2000 people over that time to celebrate and network around the importance of the arts in rural places. Since the pandemic has interrupted our capacity to effectively host the Summit, we are using this “late pandemic” time period to explore and test other sustainable models to continue supporting and expanding the vital connections the RAC Summit provided to rural practitioners for nearly 10 years. We are hoping to resume the Rural Arts and Culture Summit in 2023, but in the meantime, we have seen the impact of exchange across geographies through other programs, and wanted to support these opportunities through the Rural Connection Fund.
The Rural Connection Fund is supported in part by the Builder's Initiative and the Bush Foundation.
Curious what kind of gatherings the Rural Connection Fund has supported? We received nearly 150 proposals from across the Upper Midwest. The following 20 projects were randomly selected to receive support.
Frederick, Illinois: An overnight gathering of rural artists across the Upper Midwest to make connections, share their work with each other, and spend time in conversation
Kalona, Iowa: An in-person gathering of participants in an online memoir class that took place during the COVID pandemic.
Chelsea, Michigan: An exchange between clay artists to share ideas for business models and programming.
Elberta, Michigan: A gathering of residency experts to work on a framework for hosting cultural workers.
Brainerd, Minnesota: A writing retreat to connect several rural Minnesota fiction writers to share works in progress and receive encouragement from one another.
Ely, Minnesota: An exchange between Minnesota artists of different mediums to be inspired and develop a collaborative project.
Laporte, Minnesota: Expanding locations of the Anishinaabe Artisan Market, a collective of over thirty Anishinaabe artist from Northern Minnesota.
Pillager, Minnesota: A gathering to support connection and exchange among rural Minnesota encaustic artists.
Puposky, Minnesota: Connecting regional artists, including food artists in a tour to support creative collaborations.
Roseau County, Minnesota: A fiber artists' gathering as a means of sharing information and developing connections.
Halliday/Bismarck, North Dakota: An art and music event for the families and survivors of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP), where the community will be invited to create pieces of art activism, and join in on calling for justice.
Aberdeen, South Dakota: A reception and artists talks gathering regional artists featured in an art collective's first exhibition.
Pine Ridge, South Dakota: A gathering of Lakota / Dakota Montessori trained, immersion experienced women who are currently working in the field of Lakota language and culture community reclamation.
Sisseton, South Dakota: Pop up art shows showcasing native youth art in urban art spaces.
Baraboo, Wisconsin: A mini-retreat to research a future collaborative project.
Bad River, Wisconsin: A gathering for teachers from Mashkiziibing and Miskwaabekaang (Bad River and Red Cliff) to share their knowledge with each other and with the community to aid in cultural revitalization.
Osceola, Wisconsin: A day of reflection, musical improv, food and intentional conversation about creativity as a means of connection, and healing at a farm focused on elder care and agricultural education.
Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin: A gathering of musicians across Wisconsin to jam and share ideas.
Rudolph, Wisconsin: An exchange between a clay artist and a writer to explore connections between nature and gender identity.
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: A gathering to to bring emerging Haudenosaunee Raised Beadwork artists together to exchange techniques, inspiration and support.
Applicant eligibility:
- Applicant must live or work in a rural or tribal community in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, or Illinois, or the Native Nations that share the same geography.
- Applicant must live or work in a rural-identifying community of 30,000 people or less.
- Applicant considers themselves an artist, creative, storyteller, crafter, musician, or other creative person or culture bearer.
- Proposed gathering must include at least 2 artists/creatives in at least 2 communities that are more than 75 miles distance from one another.
- Applicant must be located in the Upper Midwest (MN, ND, SD, WI, IA, MI, IL) but their exchange partner(s) can be located anywhere in the United States.
- Applicant is not a current Rural Regenerator Fellow (2021 or 2022 cohorts)
- Applicants can only submit one request. Duplicate requests will be removed from the lottery pool.
Gathering Requirements:
- If gathering is in a public or private space, you have permission/agreement to use that space/those spaces.
- Gathering must be completed by July 31, 2023
- 3 weeks after your gathering, complete a short survey recapping what you did, its impact, and 2-3 pictures.
After an initial eligibility screening, Connection Fund requests were selected through a lottery process, with three rolling deadlines on November 1, January 6, and March 3 . Applications are currently closed.