February 25, 2010—
Over the course of two years, artists from North Dakota and South Dakota collaborated with the Bush Foundation to explore new ways of supporting the professional development of artists in the region through the Dakota Creative Connections grant program
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The Bush Artist Fellows Program, in partnership with Springboard for the Arts, invites artists living in North Dakota and South Dakota to apply for the new Dakota Creative Connections (DCC) program.
The Bush Foundation recognizes that artists living in largely rural areas face many challenges developing their work and getting it noticed. In response, the Bush Artist Fellows Program, in partnership with Springboard for the Arts, invites artists living in North Dakota and South Dakota to apply for the new Dakota Creative Connections (DCC) program. DCC’s goal is to help Dakota-based artists develop new ideas and directions for specific projects and their creative lives. The idea for the program came from conversations between the Bush Artist Fellows Program staff and artists who live and work in North and South Dakota communities.
DCC will choose eight to 12 artists annually, awarding small project grants ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 and hosting professional development activities and meetings with other artists for grant recipients. Artists (over age 21) at all stages of their life’s work and in all disciplines are eligible for support. The categories will rotate on an annual basis. In 2008, the Foundation will make awards to artists working in three categories—contemporary visual arts; media arts; and visual arts: traditional, ethnic and functional crafts. In 2009, awards will be made to artists working in five categories—literary arts; music composition; performance-based work; script works; and performance: traditional, folk and ethnic arts.
Applications and work samples will be reviewed by a five-person regional panel, including accomplished artists, folklorists, curators, arts presenters and arts administrators from South and North Dakota and Minnesota. Grantees will be publicly announced in July. Check the Bush Foundation website at for more specific category and eligibility information, as well as to download applications. Applications must be received by April 25, 2008.
Springboard for the Arts will help administer the program. It is a Saint Paul-based nonprofit with more than 20 years of experience providing artists and arts organizations with management and consulting services.
The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Granville Bush and his wife Edyth. In 2007, the Foundation made grants of approximately $40 million to support programs and efforts to sustain communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. With a mission to improve the quality of life in this region, the Foundation aims to be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities by investing in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of the region’s people.
Ka Vang
David Larson
Bill Allen
What is a Bush Fellow?