Minneapolis Review

The City of Minneapolis is investing in creative healing and support with 12 Creative Response Fund grants for artist-led projects. The projects will focus on Minneapolis communities directly affected by stress and trauma including lasting effects of the pandemic and ongoing challenges related to the murder of George Floyd.

This year’s projects center their work in community-driven cultural practices, uplifting marginalized voices and local Indigenous knowledge and healing practices. Each project will define safe spaces and embed creative healing into arts activities such as:

• Workshops that create safe space for writing.
• Artist-led spaces that allow for grieving, healing and fostering community joy through making Mexican alebrijes and cultural healing workshops.
• “Radical Acts of Remembrance” that foster the making of public shrines and memorials.
• Hip-hop gatherings for everyone.
• Music performance, drumming, spoken word, community mural making with youths, community painting, song, dance, storytelling and theater making.

Grantees and their projects

• Sydney Latimer (Divinewords), Meyer Warren (St. Paul Slim): A Poem for the Southside (Acts of Radical Remembrance).
• Ashembaga Jaafaru, Sterling Miller: Art for Liberation (working title).
• Denzel Belin, Ricardo Beaird: Brunch at the End of the World.
• Briauna Williams, Khalif Alogba: HeArt & Music.
• Lupe Castillo, Teresa Ortiz: HeartSpeaks Healing Circles.
• Gustavo Boada, Aaron Johnson Ortiz: Metamorfosis.
• Melodee K Strong, Ariane Jackson: Northside 365 (working title).
• Missy Whiteman, Thomasina TopBear: OWAMNI: Expanded Cinema Experience.
• Greta Oglesby, Sanford Moore: Roots.
• Susana De León, Olinca Acosta: Semillero: Sowing Artful Healing.
• Theodore Swanson (Teddy Grimes), Kimani Beard: Summer Cypher.
• Marcie Rendon, Sigwan Rendon, Serene Eidem: Unconquered Nation.

The Creative Response Fund is a program of https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/coordinator/ at the City of Minneapolis. Funding is provided in part by the The Kresge Foundation. Through this effort now in its third year, the City of Minneapolis Office of Arts, Culture & the Creative Economy has supported 51 local artists, 63% of whom are Black and 94% of whom are Black, Indigenous or people of color.

https://www.minneapoliscreates.org/

https://www.minneapoliscreates.org/creative-response-fund

_{Source: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/news/2022/june/creative-response-fund/}