On March 19, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) awarded 17 grants for a total of $67,256 in funding to applicants throughout southeastern Minnesota. This included seven Emerging grants for $17,456 and ten Advancing Artist grants for $49,800.

SEMAC is the State Arts Board-designated granting authority for local/regional arts producing and sponsoring organizations and disburses funds allocated for this purpose by the Minnesota State Legislature. The SEMAC region includes the counties of Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona.

Grants were awarded to each of the following individual artists:

Fillmore County

• Catherine Glynn received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “A.R.T. Audacious Raw Theater.”

Goodhue County

• Christopher Burawa received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “The Red Wing Zen Project.”

• Julie DeVetter received a $2,500 Emerging Artist grant for “Thrown and Altered Ceramic Forms Exhibition.”

• Jillian Steger received a $2,500 Emerging Artist grant for “Making Connections, Creating Jewelry Clasps.”

Olmsted County

• Marie Maher received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “Is It Just Me or Does Time Really Fly.”

• Sophia Maia received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “Exhibition of New Works at Rochester Art Center.”

• Shah Noor Shafqat received a $2,456 Emerging Artist grant for “Innocent Predators.”

• Dylon Starr received a $2,500 Emerging Artist grant for “Small Town Murder.”

Rice County

• MaryEllen Frame received a $2,500 Emerging Artist grant for “Seeing Our Cannon River Watershed.”

• Frederick Somers received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “Discovering Seven Falls.”

Winona County

• Robert Armstrong received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “True Tales of Wonder Puppet Show.”

• Joy Davis Ripley received a $2,500 Emerging Artist grant for “Visible/Invisible: Life with Mental Illness.”

• James Harper received a $4,800 Advancing Artist grant for “Salvaged Medium: Art with Reclaimed Materials.”

• Edward Hoffman received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “La Gomera: The Island Lost in Time.”

• Zachary Krage received a $2,500 Emerging Artist grant for “Bright Ideas: Skateboarding in the Midwest.”

• Lynette Power received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “Website Upgrades with Shopping Cart.”

• Jovy Rockey received a $5,000 Advancing Artist grant for “Adorned and Observed.”

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.