very day, Minnesotans benefit from a forward-thinking decision made three decades ago to support small arts organizations and community-based arts activities statewide. That legislative decision led to the creation of Minnesota's unique regional arts council system.

These days, a growing pile of evidence attests that Minnesota's arts scene is serious business. According to Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, nonprofit arts activities impacted the state economy by more than $1 billion in 2006. Although the state's 22,000 nonprofit creative industry jobs represent only a 1% sliver of the overall job market, they far outrank employment in more traditional professions like mining (about 5,000 jobs in 2003) or construction (5,500 in 2003). Furthermore, in a 2005 study, Americans for the Arts noted that an additional 58,000 Minnesotans are employed in for profit arts jobs.

Like all entrepreneurs, individual artists need certain things to succeed — tools for their craft, business equipment like computers and telephones, and space to work. No less critical to success are development of skills in grantwriting and marketing, as well as access to critical feedback and audiences. And we all have to meet a few fundamental needs to help ensure our long-term survival, such as health insurance, sound retirement plans, and enough income to buy groceries and pay the bills.

But in reality, artists are more likely than other professionals to negotiate their lives and entire careers with basic needs unmet. They are more likely than other Minnesotans to go through life without a retirement plan. About 14% of Minnesota's artists have no health insurance, compared to 8.4% of the state's general public. Almost a quarter of Minnesota's artists rely on family members for health insurance.

Enter the regional arts councils

innesota's arts world is complex. The challenges, though universally significant, vary somewhat by discipline and location. Without question, the needs of a textile weaver in the rural Arrowhead region are different from those of an actor on stage in the highly populated urban center of the Twin Cities metro area. So the arts community's vitality depends on balance in several arenas — among cultural organizations of different sizes; activities in urban and rural areas; solo and collaborating artists; creative disciplines; and diverse and responsive financial support.

To help address this need for statewide balance in funding and other resources, in 1977 the Minnesota legislature established 11 regional arts councils, or RACs. Funded primarily by the state-funded Minnesota State Arts Board and McKnight, the RACs are mandated to serve arts needs throughout the state. As envisioned 30 years ago this year, these regionally focused regranting bodies are meant to encourage local art and cultural activity while effectively distributing arts funds statewide.

Combined, the regional arts councils command a total annual grantmaking budget of over $3.2 million. Each local council is charged with identifying the needs of its region, and customizing its offerings accordingly. From project funding, scholarships, and capital grants to exhibition assistance, fundraising workshops, and policy work, the RACs provide their constituents throughout Minnesota's communities with an arsenal of environment-specific tools to aid them in their struggle to get, keep, or regain a career foothold.

ndependently and working together, the RACs help ensure Minnesota remains a place where artists choose to live and where they can thrive. Though each arts council is administered autonomously, a central governing body allows for sharing both ideas and key decisionmaking. The Forum of the Regional Arts Councils is made up of primary staff from each of the 11 councils. Among its charges, the Forum is responsible for planning for funding and legislative reporting; development of budgets, interagency collaborations, and arts awareness activities; and skills building for arts council staff.

Rather than one-size-fits-all approaches, success in the arts in Minnesota has been realized largely because of the specialized, tailored support of this network of dedicated people with insight and field experience. In many regions, the local arts council's discipline, guidance, and assistance have helped artists to establish careers, while developing connections among a robust network of funders, patrons, advocates, and fellow artists.

Why McKnight is involved

he McKnight Foundation, formed in 1953, established program-based grantmaking in the early 1970s, broadly unchanged at the core to today: to improve the quality of life for present and future generations, with a primary geographic focus of the state of Minnesota.

The Foundation has supported the arts in some form since its inception more than 50 years ago. In 1981, McKnight's board of directors decided to formalize its funding, with the conviction that the arts play an integral role in improving quality of life. The program's overarching goal is to further the development of Minnesota's communities by supporting high-quality and broadly accessible art. In this, the Foundation encourages a vital arts scene across all economies and geographies.

Similar to the RACs, McKnight's program is based on the principle that the social and economic benefits to communities of active and engaged artists and healthy arts organizations are invaluable. Support for their individual artists' development and exploration strengthens our state's arts capacity at the source. The McKnight Foundation has provided nearly $7 million in funding to the RACs since 1981, including support for the Forum of the Regional Arts Councils.

McKnight awarded about $9 million to arts organizations statewide in 2006, and more than $169 million since 1980. This includes fellowship programs for individual artists in 12 different media, administered by nine independent, media-specific nonprofit organizations. Since 1997, the Foundation has also presented the annual McKnight Distinguished Artist award to recognize the lifelong contributions of one Minnesota artist of stature. Filling out its support of the arts, McKnight contributes to research, shared resources, and publications to benefit the arts field.

Ongoing purpose

espite the romantic stereotype, to be a struggling artist is no badge of honor. Every day, painters, poets, and performers alike work tirelessly to secure physical resources, funding for their work, and money to pay the bills. A lack of resources does not facilitate artistic expression anymore than it facilitates investment banking.

The Twin Cities accounts for more than half the state's population and, unsurprisingly, a large chunk of the state's arts and culture economy — and about 2.5 times as much economic activity as in comparable metropolitan areas like Houston and San Diego. But the Twin Cities hold no monopoly on Minnesota's arts scene. From mid-sized regional centers like Duluth, Rochester, and St. Cloud, to rural communities statewide, artists have established roots and continue to enrich the quality of life for neighbors, towns, and entire regions.

Although the career path of an artist is sometimes beset with obstacles, Minnesota's RACs provide a model for how this path can be navigated successfully. The key is for an artist's career to be a mutually beneficial prospect: as the state benefits economically from its artists, its artists must in turn benefit from living in each region of our state. By spreading funding to all corners — to individuals and communities throughout the state — the RACs help achieve that goal.

y almost any measure, the RACs are helping to accomplish great things. Based on two recent studies, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is home to over 30,000 individual artists and over 1,600 arts and culture organizations. The more than $1 billion industry annually generates almost $95 million in local and state government revenue.

Addressing the needs of the arts in their home-regions, as well as the overarching statewide arts community, each RAC is as unique as the artists they support. With ongoing support from The McKnight Foundation and the state, each helps ensure Minnesota's complex arts ecology remains healthy and vital, with benefits for all Minnesotans to enjoy.

Related links

Regional Arts Councils and COMPAS
McKnight Arts program
Minnesota State Arts Board
Springboard for the Arts
Minnesota Citizens for the Arts