Our communities have experienced transformative demographic change over the last few decades, and more arts funders and institutions are recognizing that the entire arts sector would benefit if arts funding better reflected that diversity. According to a recent study, just 2 percent of US cultural institutions receive almost 60 percent of all arts funding. In the …
This Q&A with McKnight communications director Na Eng was originally published by 5by5 Design and adapted here with permission. What does “digital-first” mean to you and why is it important? It used to be that communications departments spent all their resources on a print product and then created a non-user-friendly pdf version to post on the …
SPURRING INNOVATION AND PROSPERITY IN GREATER MINNESOTA When Kendra and Paul Rasmusson traded in a life in a Minneapolis suburb to return to Kendra’s hometown of New Prague, Minnesota, they gained a close-knit community where they could raise their family. They loved New Prague’s sense of place. Still, their move required some adjustments. Like many …
When two-year-old Sambath “Sam” Ouk and his family escaped the killing fields of Cambodia and arrived in Rochester, Minnesota, in the early 1980s, they became part of the first large wave of Southeast Asian refugees to resettle in the state. During his early years in Minnesota, Ouk struggled to figure out where he fit in …
In fall 2017, McKnight’s Midwest Climate & Energy program undertook a strategy refresh in response to the tremendous growth in clean energy markets nationwide and the sobering climate math. As the largest greenhouse gas emitting region of the country, the Upper Midwest must do its part to accelerate the reduction of heat-trapping emissions into the …
Even though the Mississippi River flows more than 40 miles west of Robert “Woody” Woodruff’s farm in Modesto, Illinois, he still thinks about the impact his farming decisions have downstream. “We’re here to raise healthy food. Before you can do that, you need healthy soil and healthy water,” says Woodruff. “It’s all connected.” Depending on …
People intrigued by Minnesota’s surplus of artist-centered creative placemaking activities often ask me, “What’s in the water in Minnesota?” And with good reason: A flurry of discussion (in articles, blog posts, opinion pieces, and at conferences) and bricks-and-mortar development (in the streets, neighborhoods, and lives of actual Minnesotans), all spinning out from the central concept …
This piece was originally published by Pollen. It is posted here with full permission. The COVID-19 pandemic placed inequity into inescapable view, forcing more of us to ask how we can address the persistent and systemic divisions that leave too many outside of the circle of human concern. Community leaders with diverse lived experiences are …
Honoring our Culture Bearers Indigenous Roots and the McKnight Foundation are thrilled to announce the recipients of the first-ever McKnight Artist Fellowship for Culture Bearers. The McKnight Culture Bearers Fellowship supports four Culture Bearers who practice sacred and healing lifeways and share cultural art practices across generations. Fellows receive public recognition and a $25,000 unrestricted …
Four Minnesotans are being recognized for their outstanding, largely unrecognized contributions to our state’s high quality of life as recipients of the 2020 Virginia McKnight Binger Unsung Hero Award from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) and the McKnight Foundation. Patti Ballan (Rainer), Lisa Bellanger (Minneapolis), Desralynn Cole (Minneapolis), and Hani Jacobson (Saint Cloud) are unsung …