Kristin Makholm with British artist Graham Rawle and the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, Dorothy, Toto, and the Tinman in the field of poppies.

Last week, the Minnesota Museum of American Art (MMAA) announced that the St. Paul museum has hired a new director, Kristin Makholm. In addition to her duties as an adjunct professor in the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s liberal arts department, Makholm has spent the last five years as MCAD’s director of gallery and exhibition programs, as well as being the administrator of two large artist fellowship programs, the McKnight Artist Fellowships for Visual Artists and the Jerome Foundation Fellowships for Emerging Artists. (You can see a list of the recently named 2009/10 McKnight Artist Fellows here.)

Frankly, the news that MMAA was hiring a new director at all came as something of a surprise to me–last I’d heard, the institution’s very future was in doubt. With all the misfortune hitting arts organizations in recent months, hearing about the MMAA’s plans for revival is heartening news, indeed. In spite of its recent troubles, the museum has been a valuable addition to the Twin Cities (and, in particular, St. Paul’s) contemporary art landscape, particularly for its impressive (albeit too rarely seen) permanent collection of artwork and an admirably enduring commitment to showcasing work from regional artists.

Kristin Makholm will assume her new post at the MMAA quickly, on June 22, so before she’s swamped with the tasks of settling in to her new job, we hit her up for some information and insight–about the MMAA’s new plans, her new role in and vision for the museum, and what we can expect from the institution as it regroups and moves forward.

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What prompted you to make this move from an influential position in a nationally known educational institution to take the helm at MMAA, by all recent accounts a struggling organization? And why now?

KM: My background is as a museum curator, and I always knew I’d want to return to the museum someday. I’ve been at MCAD almost five years, plenty of time to make my mark on a thriving college art community and to develop my knowledge of local and regional artists, especially through the McKnight and Jerome fellowship programs. Why now? Due to the MMAA’s leadership vacuum and loss of its building, it needed someone now to take the reins, not last year, not a year from now. The timing was basically dictated by these other circumstances, not necessarily my own timetable.

The MMAA has seen hard times in recent months–turmoil in the leadership, a need for space to house the museum, not to mention the loss of momentum from the MMAA’s closing several months ago. What do you see as the lingering obstacles for the museum going forward, and how do you plan to tackle them?

KM: Well, the biggest obstacle is clearly the lack of a building, so determining what will be the best space to house the next museum will be one of my first priorities. Hand in hand with that is raising support and money for the new museum and its programming. And this will mean reestablishing confidence that the museum can thrive–both fiscally and artistically–offering donors and supporters a program, a mission, a vision that is dynamic, distinctive, and doable.

Some logistical questions –

• About the location: will there be a permanent home for the MMAA, and will it remain in St. Paul?
• About the artwork: are there plans in the works for allowing the public more opportunities to view work in the MMAA collection (and how much of it will be on view on a regular basis)?
• About money: has a new revenue stream opened up, or has the museum found a new philanthropic benefactor that turned the tide and assured MMAA’s future viability?

KM: About the location: I think it is imperative that the museum stays in St. Paul. Minnesota’s capital city needs its own art museum, an art center that can be a real destination point for people across the region and beyond. A permanent home is the goal of both the board and myself. This is part of giving the museum an established identity that people can count on, year in and year out.

About the artwork: The MMAA’s permanent collection is a major asset to the city and the state and will be seen on a regular basis. Of course, how often and in what capacity this happens will depend to a large extent on space considerations in a new building. However, it is my goal to refresh the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the museum’s permanent collection as part of the overall programming of the museum.

About money: We have received an extremely positive sense from individuals, the city, local foundations, and corporations, that the continued vitality of the MMAA is important to the cultural life of the region. Many have committed funds to help us restart our operations and search for a new building. One of my big tasks will be to bring back supporters who may have committed themselves elsewhere and reignite the enthusiasm of new donors and philanthropists on both sides of the river.

Given the abundance of art galleries and museums in the area, what do you envision the MMAA, under your leadership, will add to the scene? Put another way: Do you see gaps in the area’s exhibition and arts programming where the new-and-improved MMAA can step in and offer something distinct?

KM: That was one big question I needed to answer before accepting the job, because why do something second best or as an also-ran to other established local museums? The Twin Cities are awash with great art museums, galleries, and art centers. What niche could the MMAA fill that would make it important, distinctive, and long lasting? One thing I saw missing was a museum dedicated to art of Minnesota and the region, both past and present. This is a focus that has actually marked the MMAA’s programming for a long time now. I want to ramp it up, provide more scholarly, in-depth exhibitions that focus on regional artists, consider the “state of the state” at regular intervals, offer more cross-disciplinary events and exhibitions, collaborate with other local arts organizations, coordinate with other museums from the region, that sort of thing. This doesn’t mean we will sideline the museum’s dedication to American art, which is a key component of the collection and the history of the institution. I think programming can include work of both regional and national artists; it’s all American, after all.

What is your five-year vision for the reopened MMAA? How will the revived museum’s programming and exhibition line-up differ from what the museum has focused on previously? Specifically, do you see the MMAA continuing on as a regionally-focused contemporary art museum, or do you see this as an institution with possibilities in larger national and international art circles?

KM: In five years, the plan is to have a thriving art museum in St. Paul, a center that people regularly visit to experience high quality, innovative exhibitions and events, educational opportunities, and even parties, openings, maybe even patio nights again, which were so successful at the last MMAA. My belief is that as long as you provide high quality programming, with vision, with integrity, with unique flair–whether that be more regionally centered or more broadly American–that the institution can be a model for museums and museum professionals anywhere in the world, museums that want to refocus their attentions on the talent and individuality in their own backyards. My main concern right now is reestablishing a museum that has this integrity, excellence, and commitment. At the moment, how that will be viewed nationally or internationally is not on the top of my list of priorities. I DO feel however that if you do things right, you can be a model for anyone, anywhere.

Finally, what about the 2-D and 3-D Biennial exhibitions of work by local artists the MMAA has hosted over the years–will they go on?

KM: I don’t know. I certainly feel the museum should engage recent trends and current work in the region, but perhaps there’s a better way to go about it. Nothing’s off the table at this point.

Mural by Andy Nelson at Midway Stadium

Spending an evening with the St. Paul Saints Baseball has become an essential part of a Minnesota summer or at times the middle of winter.  The Northern League team is known as much for its baseball hauling pigs, and creative and quirky promotions, as the team on the field.  The Saints are also the only place to see outdoor professional baseball in the metro area (at least until next year). Throughout the 2009 season mnartists.org is partnering with the St. Paul Saints for a very unique promotion, pairing art with baseball.  The project is in honor of local artist Andy Nelson who came to the Saints during the winter of 1993 and offered to do artwork for the team. Throughout the following years Andy painted murals throughout the stadium, produced artwork for promotional materials, and become a beloved part of the organization.  Andy sadly passed away during the this off-season.  In remembrance of Andy, of whom team president Mike Veeck calls “our muse”, the Saints are partnering with mnartists.org and the Minnesota Art community. Beginning with the May 19th opener the St. Paul Saints will feature one Minnesota artist for each home game.  The “artist of the game” will be introduced on the field as images of their work scroll on the scoreboard.  In addition, each featured artist is generously donating a piece to be displayed within the mnartists.org gallery located near the third base stands.  During the game a silent auction will be held for the donated piece with proceeds going to local art education non-profits.  The artist is also featured on a limited edition baseball card available at the game, which is sure to become a very desirable collectible in its own right.

I am personally an obsessive baseball fan and jumped at this opportunity to partner with the Saints on this project.  Let me qualify my obsession.  For example, I can name batting averages from the 1980’s, but often can’t remember my zip code (like on my recent drivers license application). I have taken numerous vacations centered on baseball activities including a surreal trip to the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa a few years back.  As a child and young adult I  professionally collected baseball cards, and by professionally I mean I actually made good money. After undergrad I made a living for a couple several years buying and selling baseball cards on the Internet and I actually paid for part of my first car and grad school with funds from years of researching and speculating on rookie cards.  I worked as an usher for the Minnesota Twins while in graduate school at the University of Minnesota and once I hit got by foul ball so hard that it left bloody stitch marks on my ribs. I was planning to catch it, but thought better of it at the last minute…and it smacked me. The whole incident was then replayed several times in slow motion on the scoreboard (and supposedly Bert Blyleven was having fun with it on the TV broadcast).  I returned to the break room to the collective “slow clap” of my fellow ushers.  As a young player practiced constantly, but I had much more desire than talent.   I could hit the ball for power, unfortunately contact was a rare occurrence and as a fielder I could turn any routine ground ball into a triple and made most pop flies any unintentional adventure

Over the last few months, as I was asking artists to participate in this project, I was amazed at how many artists shared my passion for baseball.  I find it interesting to get artists to talk about subjects outside of their work and sharing a different side of their personalities.  In a somewhat related note, I also recently found out Jack Kerouac was an obsessive baseball fan and created elaborately detailed fantasy leagues as a teenager….who knew.  Anyway, I was thinking it would be fun to celebrate the start of mnartists/St. Paul Saints collaboration by collecting some baseball stories from the local art community.  So here we go…

Pete Driessen

Okay, so I think it was 1967 or 1968 and I was 6 or 7 years old.  That summer I played little league in the big southern Minnesota city of Waseca. My team had the brightest, ugly yellow uniforms the world had ever seen.  So bright, that we were nicknamed the Light Brites. I played outfield, and rarely played well with any consistency.  I had no sense of team sports at this age.  I told my mom I wanted to quit baseball.

More important to me was one of my first trips to the old Met Stadium to see the hot Twins.  I remember the hard board seats, the hot dogs, the popcorn and the Cracker Jack sellers.  Though I don’t remember who was on the Twinkies at the time, the names of Jim Kaat, Louis Tiant, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Bert Blyleven, and either Jim or Gaylord Perry all still ring in my mind.  I think our Johnson CB- radio was stolen out of our old wagon at one of the games.  A very joyful time, and very impressive memory on a young lad.  As an artist, I am still “bad at sports.”

Tim Roby

My favorite baseball memory was my first Cubs game when I was 4 years old. My grandparents took me to a Cubs  game at Wrigley field and I remember getting out of the car walking down the street under the ‘EL” tracks the park. I don’t remember too much about the game, but I know we sat in the first row of the upper deck on the 3rd base side in the middle of the outfield. I spent allot of the game leaning over the railing  and staring at the black, white and yellow “Torco” advertisement on top of one of the buildings on Sheffield Ave. The thing I always laugh about is apparently I didn’t really understand the game because at one point I remember turning to my grandparents and asking why they didn’t put the dirt part in the middle of the park so everyone could see better.

In 1989, when I was older and understood baseball better,  I  also quite fondly and vividly remember sitting in my parent’s basement and watching the Cubs clinch the Eastern Division against the Montreal Expos. Shortly after that the cubs were destroyed by the Giants and I began wildly crying because the season was over and the cubs didn’t go any further. My mom had to come down and tell me that there was “always next year” and things like that. That was the start of many disappointing seasons of being a Cubs fan. Twenty years later, it hasn’t gotten any easier. You would think I have learned by now.

And by the way, the only curse that exists, is that of being a cubs fan. no billy goats or black cats…us Cubs fans place the curse upon us – the curse that keeps on giving.

Robyn Stoller Awend

I will never forget the parade downtown Minneapolis in 1991 when the Twins won their second World Series. The entire city was there.  I skipped school to madly wave my homer hanky as Dan Galdden passed by.

Jeff Reardon by Ruben Nusz

It was the summer before eighth grade and I had never played baseball in my life, mainly because of lack of talent.  My mother signed me up on a team because we had just moved and thought it would be a great way to meet friends.  I was practicing with the team and playing right field as the coach hit balls to the players for a defensive drill.  He cracked a pop fly out to me and I lost the ball in the sun and then–very quickly–the ball knocked my two front teeth out onto the grass; at first I was in shock about what had happened and thought the two long pieces of enamel-coated cementum were parts of my brain.  But after putting my glasses on and feeling my mouth I realized what had happened.  It took what seemed like an eternity for the coach to have my mother pick me up because I couldn’t really talk to tell him my phone number.  Fortunately, when my mother arrived my little brother knew to put the teeth in milk, and after some emergency dental surgery, my Swedish dentist was able to salvage my smile.  Needless to say, I never played baseball again.

Suzy Greenberg

Growing up in New York City my sportiness was limited to gym class where we learned poplar “sports” like kickball & dodge ball.  My friend invited me to come to the park with her family to play a game of baseball.  They explained the rules to me…including that you could tag out a player.  So I got the ball and threw it at the runner…. dodge ball style… I hit him in the back and everyone laughed….. that’s how I learned the difference between baseball and kickball…..

Witt Siasoco

One of my most memorable baseball experiences involved the Iowa Cubs, Huey Lewis and the News, and a Swedish Foreign exchange student named Marie.  For a year I had wanted to ask Marie on a date, and as a shy teenager it took the last week of school for me to ask her out on a date.  Anyway, I wanted to make sure that she had the opportunity to experience America’s Pastime, so I bought two tickets to the Iowa Cubs game.  Little did I know that I would be awkwardly dancing to “I Want A New Drug.” I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t a big fan of Huey, but I’m sure that this is the story that gets relayed to her friends in Gothenburg

Michael Fallon

The first essay, and second piece of writing, I ever published was about baseball. (The first piece, oddly, was a short fictional tale about a beekeeper’s nephew, but that’s another story.) The essay was about Steve Garvey, the All Star First Baseman for the L.A. Dodgers during my childhood growing up in Southern California. This was a long time ago. Sports heroes in the 1970s, even in the wake of Jim Bouton’s Ball Four, were still not fully understood to be human beings, with flaws and warts and character defects and so on. As a nine-year-old member of the Steve Garvey Fan Club, I was ignorant of cocaine and barbiturates (the scourge of the 70s), and I had no idea that the scourge of the 90s and 00s would be a different kind of drug, and I most certainly did not know about out-of-wedlock children. Well, actually I did know about that last thing, having been one myself, but I never would have expected Steve Garvey, my hero, would be revealed, after his playing days, as a deadbeat-dad-slash-adulterer not just once over but twice simultaneously with two different women who were not his lovely and popular wife (and early Regis Philben co-host), Cyndy Garvey. (True story.) Even worse perhaps, the guy bolted from my beloved Dodgers in 1982, eventually leading the cross-state rival Padres to its only World Series (at the time) in 1984. Garvey left behind, as his hapless replacement, Greg You-Gotta-Be-Kidding-Me Brock , a guy I once saw make two errors on routine plays in a single inning!  And this was all because apparently Garvey wanted more money (probably to pay for all his future paternity suits, when it comes down to it).

As you can see, it was inevitable I’d turn the eye-opening truths about adulthood that I learned from my boyhood hero into a disheartening come-of-age welcome-to-the-real-world musing that would be published in a small literary journal called Mosaic. And if you’re wondering why a 23-year-old, nascent essayist on baseball ended up becoming, some years later, a writer on art (with several hundred publications to his credit; so many publications, in fact, that I couldn’t find a copy of my essay on Steve Garvey, buried as it is under too much muck and old newsprint I’ve saved), I think it all comes down to that flawed human thing. I wrote about baseball then, just as I write today about art, because it is the imperfection of our athletes and artists, and the struggle of both to rise above our own natures, that interests me. Or else it has something to do with the 19th-century yeoman roots of both, but that’s another story.

I invite you to share your own story in the comment section below and to join mnartists.org and Art Happy Hour at

“Stuck in Right Field” - a celebration of art and baseball and whatever intersections there may be between the two.

What: Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Indians

Where: The plastic confines of the Metrodome.

When: Wednesday, June 3. Game time, 7:10 pm.

How: Artsy sorts are asked meet up at the main Twins Ticket Office – near Gate G – no later than 6:20 pm. (!!!!!) (Be there on time, or miss your chance to sit with the gang!) Everyone will pitch in to buy general admission tickets for themselves (for cheap! – only $8), and we will all enjoy Hormel Dollar Dog night together. And out in the fabulous Right Field Nose Bleeds!

And for those of you eager to catch your favorite local artist out at the Saints game this summer….here is the full lineup of featured artists.  Play Ball!

The Minneapolis of College and Design has announced the four artists selected to receive the 2009-10 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Visual Artists:

Michael Kareken paints urban landscapes filled with metal scraps, rusted debris and piles of recyclable goods. He received his MFA from Brooklyn College in 1986 and is an associate professor of Fine Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

A 1982 and 1987 McKnight Artist Fellowship recipient, Aldo Moroni’s current focus is his Babylon Project. A five-year process piece created in ceramic, performance and video, the Babylon Project explores the volatile history of destruction and rebuilding of the ancient city. He is a 1976 MCAD graduate.

Carolyn Swiszcz creates paintings, prints, drawings and collages that explore her hometown of West St. Paul. She holds a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and received a Bush Foundation Fellowship in 2002.

MCAD Media Arts Professor Piotr Szyhalski’s interactive designs have been exhibited worldwide. Known for his Labor Camp and Theater of Operations projects, he received two MFA degrees from the Academy of Visual Arts in Poznan, Poland.

The fellows were chosen from a field of 231 applicants. The selections were made by a panel composed of Carla Hanzal, curator of Contemporary Art at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, N.C.; Maria Makela, professor and chair of Visual Studies at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, Calif.; and Roger Shimomura, an artist and professor emeritus at the University of Kansas at Lawrence.

Designed to identify and support outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists, the McKnight Artist Fellowships for Visual Artists Program provides recipients with $25,000 stipends, public recognition, professional encouragement and a catalog and exhibition at MCAD Gallery in the summer of 2010. The fellowships are funded by a grant from The McKnight Foundation and administered by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

You can see work by the 2008-09 winners’ work this summer-the 2008-09 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Visual Arts exhibition opens July 8 at MCAD Gallery

Reproduced under Creative Commons license (Photo: sxyblkmn's Flickr photostream)

I have a feeling artists and other self-employed creative folks know the pain of rising health care costs even more intimately than most, since they often work without the safety net that catches people working for larger employers.

But thanks to the efforts of area arts advocates and civic-minded health-care providers, help is on the way–and for a population of artists too seldom reached by these sorts of programs.

Thanks to a new initiative by Artist Relief Fund and Lake Superior Community Health Center (modeled on a very similar program in the Twin Cities area spearheaded by Springboard for the Arts), artists without health insurance who live in the Arrowhead region and in the Douglas and Bayfield counties of Wisconsin now have access to a fantastic program intended to offer critical health services at very low (and often no) cost.

Here are the basics:

Beginning March 25, 2009, individual artists may apply to the Artist Relief Fund for a voucher to be used at the Lake Superior Community Health Clinics located at 4325 Grand Avenue in Duluth or 3600 Tower Avenue in Superior.

“Health care is a major concern for the artists we serve. Many are self-employed and have little or no insurance,” says Erika Mock, President of the Artist Relief Fund board. “We are very excited to partner with the Lake Superior Community Health Center to provide artists with a new option for affordable healthcare. Helping artists connect to options for healthcare, especially preventative care is an important goal of the Artist Relief Fund. This program is a perfect start towards that goal, and we hope that the partnership will be able to grow to provide even more healthcare for area artists.”

Wende Nelson, Executive Director of the Lake Superior Community Health Center (LSCHC) adds, “At the LSCHC, we also believe that our country should provide affordable health care for its artists. For years our clinic has provided medical care on a sliding fee scale basis for working artists (full and part-time) who do not have health insurance, so we are very excited about this partnership with The Artist Relief Fund.”

Visit the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council website for more information or the Artist Relief Fund site to download a voucher form.

God knows, every little bit helps.

As we’ve mentioned in the newsletter recently, beginning this year, we’re putting our two literary series under one big umbrella, mnLIT. For those of you unfamiliar with our poetry and fiction series for local writers, here’s the skinny: mnLIT is a competitive literary program presented by mnartists.org, in collaboration with Magers and Quinn Booksellers, which consists of the What Light Poetry Project and the miniStories flash fiction competitions.

mnLIT showcases original work by Minnesota poets and writers and is sponsored, in part, by The Decider and its parent company, The Onion. (You can read a nice bit of local coverage on mnLIT by MinnPost’s Amy Goetzman here.)

We’re in the midst of a call for submissions from local writers; the deadline for submissions (both for poetry and flash fiction) is April 30. Click here for the full call for writers, eligibility, submission, and publication details.

Just this week we got our two panels, one for poetry and one for fiction, nailed down. And, I have to say, this year’s line-up of jurors is a powerhouse mix. Read on for the full list of jurors for 2009.

For this year’s What Light Poetry Project competition our panel of readers is:

Dobby Gibson (Skirmish, Polar)
Deborah Keenan (Willow Room, Green Door; Kingdoms)
Leslie Adrienne Miller (Resurrection Trade, Eat Quite Everything You See)
Joyce Sidman (Red Sings from the Treetops, This is Just to Say)
Connie Wanek (Hartley Field, On Speaking Terms, which is forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press)

For this year’s miniStories flash fiction competition our panel of readers is:

Barth Anderson (The Patron Saint of Plagues, The Magician and the Fool)
Leif Enger (So Brave, Young, and Handsome; Peace Like a River)
Lise Erdrich (Night Train)
Jon Fasman (The Unpossessed City, The Geographer’s Library)
Diana Joseph (I’m Sorry You Feel That Way)

In addition to these fine folks, Geoff Herbach will be returning for a second year as the lead juror for miniStories; and Chris Walters and Jay Peterson of Magers and Quinn will be taking over at the helm of the What Light poetry competition.

So here’s my pitch: If you’ve ever entertained dreams of writing fiction or poetry, this is your shot to get your work in front of a full complement seasoned, talented authors–no strings attached, no “reading fee” necessary to have your work considered. Just a meaningful opportunity to get your work carefully read and, perhaps, published. What are you waiting for?

You can read through previous years’ winning stories and poems by Minnesota writers–terrific, diverse stuff–on mnartists.org: here are several years’ worth of winning What Light poems and an archive of our inaugural year’s winning flash fiction from the new miniStories series.

This program has proved a fantastic way to bring local readers and writers together. Speaking of which, keep your eye out for some announcements about a couple of live readings by this year’s mnLIT winners this summer. Details and dates for those events will come in June. The call for submissions ends April 30. mnLIT winners will be announced in June and, at that time, publication of this year’s victorious short-short stories and poems will also commence.

After months of bad news for local arts organizations, over the past few days we’ve gotten a flurry of emails with still more sad tidings, this time from the folks at Intermedia Arts. This 35-year-old multidisciplinary arts center—home to an array of beloved programs, from the popular B-Girl Be hip-hop festival to its acclaimed literary series, visual arts exhibitions and annual performance spectacle, Naked Stages—is in the midst of a funding crisis that threatens their very survival. In what has become an all-too-familiar refrain, the organization attributes its current budget shortfall to same the hounds barking at the door of most (if not all) other nonprofit organizations of like size, whether they’re arts-focused or not.

Photo courtesy Intermedia Arts and mnartists.org

Intermedia Arts’ website describes their situation bluntly: “Over the past several weeks [we have] experienced sharp reductions and significant delays in funding. As a mid-sized arts organization, we rely on foundations and funders for our general operating support—foundations and funders who have lost enormous amounts of their assets in our current economic crisis.”

The circumstances are undeniably stark. All their full-time staff have already been moved into diminished positions where they’ll work part time, as contract or hourly staff, and as of January 9, the gallery will be shuttered and poetry library hours canceled until future notice.

The Intermedia Arts Town Hall Meeting will be begin at 5:30 pm on Friday, December 19 on site in Minneapolis. (They’ve indicated that free childcare will be available.)

Some related links:

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “Money Woes Spur Drastic Cuts at Intermedia”

MPR: “Intermedia Arts closes gallery, lays off staff”

MinnPost.com: “Intermedia Arts troubles: Is art the next thing to go?”

Minnesota Independent: “Slammed by economy, Minneapolis’ Intermedia Arts to Close Gallery, Lay Off Full-Time Staff”

MinnesotaPlaylist.com: “Will Intermedia Arts Be Next?”

Fresh.mn: “The Struggle at Intermedia Arts”

Southwest Journal: “Intermedia Arts in Financial ‘Crisis’”

mnartists.org is voting YES.

There are legitimate reasons, both fiscal and philosophical, to resist public funding of the arts. And, certainly, in difficult economic times it is even more difficult to consider an increase, however slight, to our tax burden. After carefully considering the arguments, mnartists.org believes the benefits of The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment greatly outweigh the costs, even in this uncertain economic climate. This is an important and rare opportunity to substantially support areas of our society from which we all benefit, but that we often take for granted. For the reasons below mnartists.org is voting YES on November 4th.

mnartists is voting YES because natural resources and the arts are a civic priority.

Protection of our native landscapes and cultural heritage is a cause central to the common good. The endangerment of these civic resources raises important questions for all of us: How do we want to live? What resources do we want to have available to us? What do we want to preserve for future generations? For me, the priority Minnesota has placed on cultural enrichment and insuring that the arts institutions our state has nurtured for generations are still available to our children make for the most compelling reasons to support The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Minnesota offers a rare confluence of stunning national resources and plentiful, world-class cultural opportunities. Like the comforts of home, we take this abundance for granted, assuming our resources will remain strong, even without our vigilant support. Unfortunately this is not the case. The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment offers a firm infrastructure for that support, which makes the long-term stability and conservation of what we value about our way of living a shared priority.

mnartists will be voting YES to keep our natural resources clean and intact for future generations.

There is surprisingly little money set aside for the ongoing protection of our water supply and environmental resources. The funding provided by The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment will help to assure long term protection of our drinking water, parks, trails, wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat. It is far cheaper to take steps now to preserve these resources than to attempt to restore destroyed habitat in the future.

mnartists is voting YES to be forward-thinking.

Politics are based in the concerns of the present; campaigns naturally tend to focus on immediately pressing issues rather than preventive action. The tendency to defer dealing with issues until some future point of greater urgency is natural. We often convince ourselves that someone else will step in at the last minute to provide funding or support. We are better served, in the long run, if we’re realistic and plan ahead to protect those things we value. Sustained support is the foundation on which thriving art communities are built; and it is that promise of support which attracts and retains top talent in the arts within our community. Passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment is an assuring statement that our future will remain protected.

mnartists is voting YES to support programs statewide.

The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment will support art organizations throughout the state, not just those serving the Twin Cities metro area. While support is needed at the larger institutions in the metro as well, the impact of this funding throughout smaller communities is especially dramatic. The funds provided by this amendment will keep the doors open at countless regional theaters, art centers, workshops, festivals and arts organizations. In tough economic climates traditional funding sources for the arts recede and many small regional organizations are forced to close or dramatically reduce programming and educational offerings. We need to provide arts opportunities to citizens residing throughout the state, not just to those concentrated in the urban centers. Statewide support provides a fairer balance of support, with equitable opportunities for residents in rural and urban areas alike.

mnartists is voting YES because school arts programs continue to be cut.

With projected budget shortfalls into the foreseeable future, arts programs will continue to be cut in schools throughout the state. Many such programs have already been cut completely; once eliminated, those arts education programs rarely get reinstated, even after school district budgets recover. As a consequence of ever-decreasing funding for the arts at in public schools, regional and institutional arts organizations are asked to fill in for lost programming and missing arts education opportunities. Local museums and arts institutions have attempted to fill the void and continue to step in with efforts to bridge the gap in arts programming for kids and families. The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment would provide desperately needed support to those organizations, thereby insuring continued opportunities for a well-rounded education for every Minnesota child.

mnartists is voting YES because the arts mean business.

Support for the arts is a solid business investment. Over one billion dollars is annually contributed to the state economy by the nearly 1400 arts organizations statewide. There are over 20,000 artists working in the state who contribute $250,000 of their annual incomes to local businesses. What’s more, locales rich with arts and culture amenities are simply better places to live, attractive hubs for commerce and business drawn to the quality of life such culturally vibrant places offer both prospective clients and employees. A strong cultural base attracts long-term residents and business development and encourages talent to remain within the state.

mnartists is voting YES to support and enhance our reputation and quality of life.

Minnesota is known for is its lakes and beautiful natural resources as well as its rich cultural community. By strengthening funding to preserve our environment and cultural organizations we help to attract tourists, retain business and raise the quality of living for everyone who lives here. The arts, outdoors recreation opportunities, and even professional sports teams, all work together to create a well-balanced and thriving state economy.

mnartists is voting YES, but with an acknowledgement of its subsequent responsibilities as a citizen of the arts community.

With the passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment also comes responsibility. With that sort of civic support, artists and arts organizations have an obligation to contribute to the greater cultural welfare of our state’s citizenry. Sometimes that will require us to challenge the status quo, or to encourage debate and create new dialogue. But, in the end, this vote of citizen support for the resources we share can only result in a greater sense of community and shared fortunes. A committee of eight members of the public and four legislators will make proposals about how the dollars are spent, but ultimately, the elected officials of the Minnesota Legislature will have to approve spending. This provides a valuable reassurance that there will be multi-tiered accountability as to where and how our tax dollars are allocated.

Ballot Language

The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment will appear this way on your 2008 election ballot.

“Clean Water, Wildlife, Cultural Heritage and Natural Areas.” Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to dedicate funding to protect, enhance and restore our wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game and wildlife habitat; to preserve our arts and cultural heritage to support our parks and trails; and to protect, enhance and restore our lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater by increasing the sales and use tax rate beginning July 1, 2009, by three-eights of one percent on taxable sales until the year 2034?” Yes; No.

Remember! If you skip this question on the ballot, your vote will count as a “No” vote.

Mnartists urges you to weigh the issues and please vote on November 4^th.

Scott Stulen
Project Director
mnartists.org