RFQ: Artists Respond: Weaving Social Connection (Twin Cities)
Location: MN — Twin Cities Metro
City: St. Paul, MN
Type: RFP / RFQs
Categories:
Any discipline
Deadline: 07/21/2025
No entry fee required
Paid opportunity
Request for Qualifications: Artists Respond: Weaving Social Connection (Twin Cities)
Deadline to Apply: July 21, 2025 at 11:59PM CDT
Virtual Info Session (Optional): June 26, 2025 at 5:30PM CDT. Register here.
Project Timeline: September 2025 – September 2026
Stipend: $5,000 (+ $2,000 materials budget)
Springboard for the Arts is seeking up to six artists or artist teams to collaborate with two Twin Cities-based community organizations: Saint Paul Public Library (SPPL) and The Aliveness Project. These partnerships are part of Artists Respond: Weaving Social Connection, a national initiative rooted in the belief that creativity is essential to community well-being.
Artists Respond: Weaving Social Connection supports artists and community organizations in co-creating projects that build connection and reduce isolation. This work responds to a growing crisis: loneliness and social disconnection are now recognized as urgent public health issues, with impacts on mental and physical health comparable to smoking or heart disease. Artists are essential in this moment, not just for what they make, but for how they help people feel seen, heard, and part of something larger.
We are looking for artists who want to co-create meaningful, relationship-centered work in collaboration with staff, participants, and communities at each organization. This is not a call for a finished proposal. Selected artists will work closely with their assigned site to shape a project that reflects that organization’s values, goals, and day-to-day realities.
About the Partners
Saint Paul Public Library (SPPL) welcomes all people to connect, learn, participate, and grow. In a city that works for all, libraries bring people together to experience hope and unlock new possibilities.
SPPL believes in the power of connection and belonging. A critical part of social infrastructure, libraries are essential to creating a community that is resilient, thriving, and connected. Libraries are accessible public spaces for community members to exchange ideas and build human relationships and community. SPPL believes deeply in creating library spaces where people can see themselves actively reflected, supported, and celebrated.
SPPL has identified Weaving Social Connection opportunities at three of its locations: Rondo Community and Merriam Park libraries and the Mobile Library. Each of these locations provides a unique opportunity to support social connection, and given the selected artist’s approach, experience, and/or interest, SPPL may be open to considering a different library location.
Founded at the height of the AIDS crisis, The Aliveness Project is a Minneapolis-based community wellness center by and for people living with HIV. What began as church potlucks has grown into a vibrant hub where over 200 people a day access meals, healthcare, harm reduction services, housing navigation, and community. Aliveness is a space of joy and resilience—where art, care, and queer culture live side by side. From community murals and drag shows to support groups and wellness coaching, it’s a place where people can feel affirmed in their full identities.
As a partner in this project, Aliveness is especially interested in working with artists to engage aging HIV+ community members, folks in early recovery, and participants who may not see themselves as “art people” but are hungry for connection. They are also holding a deep commitment to honoring and memorializing those lost to HIV/AIDS, and want to create space for both grief and joy. Artists are encouraged to think about projects that can hold the full emotional spectrum of this community.
Eligibility & Considerations
- Applicants must live in the Twin Cities area
- Artists may apply to be considered for one or both sites
- Experience working with the partner organization’s community is strongly encouraged
- Open to all creative disciplines (visual, writing, performance, craft, culinary, digital, etc.)
What You’ll Receive
- $5,000 artist stipend
- $2,000 materials budget
- Support from Springboard and partner staff to develop and produce your project
Timeline
- September 25, 2025: In-person cohort convening + project planning session
- October 2025–September 2026: Project development and implementation
- Fall 2026: Project wrap-up and storytelling share-out
How to Apply
Applications will be accepted via Slideroom:
- Twin Cities link: https://springboard.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/84162/lfBTtjtjQI
- West Central Minnesota link: https://springboard.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/84161/5ggPpmQXlY
You may submit your responses in writing or by video.
Artists will be selected based on….
- The clarity of the artist’s creative practice and community connections
- Alignment between the artist’s interests and the mission, values, and goals of the partner organization(s)
- The artist’s demonstrated ability to foster care, visibility, and social connection through their work
AR: WSC (Twin Cities) – Applicant Info
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- Applicant/Artist Website (Optional)
Enter the full URL, beginning with https://… - Applicant/Artist Social Media #1 (Optional)
Enter the full URL, beginning with https://… - Applicant/Artist Social Media #2 (Optional)
Enter the full URL, beginning with https://… - Eligibility Requirements
- Please confirm that you can commit to attend the mandatory sessions.
- Applicant/Artist Website (Optional)
- In-Person Kick-Off – September 25, 2025 from 12pm-2pm
- Check-In – February 26, 2026 from 12pm-1:30pm
- Applicant Identity (optional)
While all eligible candidates are encouraged to apply, we will be prioritizing applicants from the following groups. Please check all identities that apply to you below.
Why do we do this? Across all our programs at Springboard for the Arts, our goal is to increase accessibility and to prioritize communities that are under-resourced. As a baseline all of Springboard’s programs prioritize: People who are BIPOC and Native, People who are LGBTQIA2+, People in rural places, and People with disabilities because of the systemic extraction and marginalization these communities have experienced related to the specific resources Springboard offers
- Pronouns
Questions about pronouns? Check out this online resource: https://www.mypronouns.org
* This question has conditional follow-up questions.
Narrative Questions (General):
- Who are you, and what should we know about your creative practice and community connections?
- Read the organization descriptions. Why are you interested in working with one or both of these organizations on social connectedness?
Site-Specific Questions:
If you are applying to work with Saint Paul Public Library :
- 1. How do you build trust and invite participation from people who may be disconnected or navigating trauma?
- 2. Libraries strive to be spaces of belonging for everyone. How do you foster connection, celebration, and representation in your work, particularly across lines of age, identity, or lived experience?
- 3. Libraries are deeply accessible public spaces of likeness and difference, which can cause tension. How do you navigate spaces of friction or tension?
If you are applying to work with The Aliveness Project:
- The Aliveness Project has high-attendance events like their summer BBQ and holiday gift programs that bring the community together. How might you approach making a creative project that builds on those existing gatherings or rhythms?
- Aliveness Project works with aging HIV+ community members, folks in early recovery, and LGBTQIA+ members. Describe your experience working with vulnerable populations.
Work Samples:
Please share 2-4 work samples that will help us learn more about you or your work. This can be newspaper articles, videos, images, a letter of recommendation, etc.
For links to websites, or articles, please put the link(s) in a pdf document, and submit the pdf as your work sample.
For videos, music, recordings, or other time-based art, please limit submissions to approximately 4 minutes or less.
If you provide a link on a pdf for a video or other time-based sample that you are unable to edit to a shorter length, please upload a pdf with a note telling us the start and end time that you would like the selection committee to review.
Questions/Access Needs?
Contact:
ricardo@springboardforthearts.org