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The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural change-makers who are committed to advancing the role of art, culture and creativity in rural development and community building.

Each fellow receives $10,000 in flexible funds to support or expand their existing work, plus opportunities for learning, exchange, and solidarity-building with their cohort of fellow rural artists.

For its first three years, the Rural Regenerator Fellowship has been open to all rural artists in the Upper Midwest. The 2024-26 Fellowship focuses specifically on supporting rural artists whose work is connected to land, environment, and/or food systems. This new level of focus aims to amplify and support the urgent work of environmental stewardship in order to collectively contribute to long term change and support existing movements.

Going forward, we anticipate that future Rural Regenerator Fellowships cohorts will rotate more specific areas of focus, in order to provide a platform for solidarity across rural geographies that address challenges and opportunities in the Midwest, and to focus on our goals of providing specific resources and building collective power.

Springboard Staff

Rural Director

Rural Program Manager

Rural Program Manager

Image Credit: artists from WEdances Movement Collaborative perform a new work as part of the 2023 Rural Futures Summit, hosted by Springboard for the Arts in Fergus Falls, MN. Photo by Rayshele Kamke. 

Meet the Fellows

2024-26 Fellows

The 2024-26 Rural Regenerator Fellows are Hannah Breckbill, Megan L. Bull Bear, Shelley Buffalo, Monica Cady, Lynne Colombe, Lera Hephner, Regina M. Laroche, Chrystal A. Odin, Marcella Prokop, Susan Mayo, Alejandra (Alex) Sanchez, and Stephen Robert Webster.

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2023-25 Fellows

The 2023-25 Rural Regenerator Fellows are Mary Knox Johnson, Keith Pilapil Lesmeister, Franciszka Voeltz, Ne-Dah-Ness Greene, Anni Zylstra, Karrie Steely, Kyle Mesteth, Courtney Bunker, Erika Nelson, Mary Ellen Jones, Andrea V. Duarte-Alonso, and Klaire A. Lockheart.

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2022-24 Fellows

The 2022-24 Rural Regenerator Fellows are Penny Kagigebi, Wicanhpi Iyotan Win Autumn Cavender, Melissa Wray, Lyle Miller Sr., Awanigiizhik Bruce, Siricasso Garcia, Rufus Jupiter, Nancy XiáoRong Valentine, and Eliza Blue.

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2021-23 Fellows

The 2021-23 Rural Regenerator Fellows are Alice M McGary, Amber Hansen, Annie Hough, Bethany Lacktorin, Talon Bazille, Mai'a Williams, Molly Hassler, J Erin Hutchinson, Inkpa Mani, Sandra Kern Mollman, and Elisha Marin.

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Read about the Fellows

Go in-depth on the current cohort of Fellows with a series of features on Creative Exchange.

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FAQ

The Rural Regenerator Fellowship is supported in part by Good Chaos.