The Rural Arts and Culture Summit gathers rural artists, arts organizations and community and economic development leaders from the upper Midwest and beyond.
The goal of the Rural Arts and Culture Summit is to build capacity for long-term partnerships between artists and rural communities by facilitating cross-sector conversations and professional development workshops for artists, board members/staff/volunteers of rural arts organizations, and rural development stakeholders.
The most recent RAC Summit took place October 3 - 5, 2019 at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. With over 350 attendees coming together to share ideas and opportunities around rural-based creative and community practice, the conversations were critical, collaborative, and hopeful.
After being interrupted by the pandemic, the Rural Arts and Culture Summit is currently under evaluation. We hope to have an announcement about its future in January 2024.
We’re grateful to Itasca Community Television for their support in recording and editing the plenary sessions, and hope you take some time to refresh, connect, and get inspired with these conversations on Creative People Power in the Northwoods, Rural Prosperity through the Arts and Creative Sector, and New Voices/New Futures: Arts Based Rural Youth Development.
The 2017 Rural Arts & Culture Summit was held from June 6-8 in Morris, MN. 400 artists, community development professionals, leaders, and advocates from 22 states came to the town of 5,000 people in the rolling Minnesota farmland to share ideas, practical steps, and paths forward together. Watch the livestreams of the plenary panels and keynote address, for your reference and inspiration.
How Grand Rapids, Minnesota Thrives Through Creative People Power on Creative Exchange!
The Rural Arts and Culture Summit is made possible in part by the support of the Bush Foundation and the McKnight Foundation. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.