Artists Respond: Meet the Roots of Democracy cohort!
By Springboard for the Arts
Springboard for the Arts is excited to announce a new initiative to support a cohort of ten Minnesota-based writers impacted by the criminal legal system with resources and tools to help rebuild their lives and creative careers.
This project is supported by the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management’s CanRenew Community Restoration Grant program, which supports organizations in making investments in communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of cannabis laws. The project will focus on supporting artists of color, knowing that for far too long, cannabis prohibition has led to people of color being involved in the criminal legal system at disproportionate rates.
As an organization founded by artists, for artists, Springboard knows how difficult it is for someone to claim the title of “artist” and build their career from the ground up. This project helps artists impacted by the criminal legal system see being a writer or an artist as a valid and valuable career path—while providing tools writers need to pursue meaningful career opportunities, strengthen their professional skills, and find belonging in a supportive network.
Over the next year, Springboard will tailor our trusted Work of Art curriculum—covering career planning, marketing, storytelling, networking, and more—to help a cohort of ten writers directly impacted by the criminal legal system view their creative practice as a pathway to income, stability, agency, and belonging. Participants will also have access to wraparound support, including one-on-one sessions with Springboard’s Artist Career Consultants, to gain skills related to building a creative business and developing their professional career. The cohort will culminate in a public reading and Artist Job and Resource Fair at Springboard for the Arts.
Springboard is developing this program in partnership with Davi Gray, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ReEntry Lab, an organization that works to connect writers and other artists leaving incarceration with community and resources as they bring their work to the wider world.
Founded in 1991, Springboard for the Arts is an artist-centered community and economic development organization based in Saint Paul and Fergus Falls, MN. Our mission is to support artists with the tools to make a living and a life, and to build just and equitable communities full of meaning, joy, and connection. Learn more about our work at: www.springboardforthearts.org. Springboard for the Arts is led by Executive Director Ilah Raleigh. This project is managed by Economic Opportunity Director Wone Vang.
Davi Gray (she/they) is a queer, trans, nonbinary poet, writer, performer, multihyphenate artist, podcast and film producer, activist, and abolitionist. They live in Bde Óta Othúŋwe (Minneapolis) on unceded Dakhóta lands, where she works through the ReEntry Lab to connect writers and other artists leaving incarceration with literary and arts communities ready to receive them.
This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the State of Minnesota through the CanRenew program, administered by the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management, with funds appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature.
The State of Minnesota is committed to transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public resources. If you suspect fraud, waste, abuse, or misuse of grant funds, please report it.
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