12 Organizations Receive Arts Awards Totaling Over $128,000

Photo provided by the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra

​The Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region has named 12 recipients of the 2024 Iseminger Endowment for the Arts Program. This program offers financial support for regional organizations who will provide exposure and access to artistic and cultural experiences which generate growth and creativity for all ages.

This year’s grant program consisted of funding from two separate pools:

• $47,000.00 in funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support Grand Forks-based arts and culture nonprofit organizations.
• $81,806.38 in funding from the Iseminger Endowment for the Arts to support arts and culture projects by nonprofit organizations with principal operations in Grand Forks, Walsh, or Polk Counties.

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Combined funding totaling $128,806.38 was distributed among 12 organizations including:

• ArtWise: Funding will support 2024-2025 activities, including art projects in conjunction with the St. Joseph Summer Lunch Program, mini art festivals for children held during school breaks, and camps directed by gallery artists.
• East Grand Forks Public Schools: Funding will provide new percussion instruments in the East Grand Forks middle and high school band programs that are played by all percussionists in the program.
• Empire Arts Center: Funding will support the Empire’s “Build a Band” program, assisting in the development of the musicians of tomorrow by assembling musical groups, teaching students music and performance tips, and allowing students to work with professional music equipment.
• Grand Cities Children's Choir: Funding will support the "One Voice" Project, which includes music education and two major "free to the public" performances featuring the singers of the Grand Cities Children's Choir.
• Grand Forks Children's Museum: Funding will support Tom Brosseau & Friends, a concert held at the Empire Arts Center, featuring Tom Brosseau as host and musical talent as well as other musical guests.
• Grand Forks Chorales: Funding will support the development and production of “Brahms Requiem,” a collaborative music experience and one of the largest music events produced by local artists in our region.
• Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra: Funding will support GGFSO’s May 5, 2024 concert, Generations of Inspiration, which includes Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major (“Jupiter”), a performance with Serbian guest cellist Viktor Uzur of Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky, and the Spanish Caprice by Rimsky-Korsakov.
• Muddy Waters Clay Center: Funding will provide materials and equipment, allowing for the expansion of the clay experience across the regional community through MWCC classroom, workshop, and demonstration opportunities.
• North Dakota Museum of Art: Funding will support a series of performance and outreach events with an internationally recognized brass quintet. Events will include a public concert, a master class, and school and classroom visits reaching hundreds of local students and musicians.
• Northern Valley Youth Orchestras: Funding will support NVYO’s Season 14 performances and rehearsals set in various spaces across the Grand Forks region from May 2024 to March 2025.
• Public Arts Commission: Funding will support ArtFest to be held on June 8-9, 2024 in University Park.
• University Park Neighborhoods: Funding will support the pilot of a summer program for youth (ages 10-14) in the north end neighborhoods of Grand Forks to engage in artistic education sessions held in public parks.

​"The Community Foundation works diligently to support programs that offer low-cost educational and artistic experiences to our region’s families, to increase access for both artists and diverse audiences, and to encourage the growth of our community’s creative and cultural sectors," said the Community Foundation’s Executive Director Becca Baumbach.
 
Grants from the Iseminger Endowment for the Arts illustrate a diverse range of creative opportunities that will educate, entertain, and inspire the communities of the upper Red River Valley.
 
Over the next 12 months, it is projected that these grantees will offer opportunities to over 11,600 professional artists and aspiring creatives and will welcome nearly 52,700 visitors and audience members to their facilities and venues.

Photo provided by Public Arts Commission, 2023 ArtFest