Last week, Springboard for the Arts, based in St. Paul, MN posted on LinkedIn about different funds they and others had created and contributed to in order to mitigate the impact of federal immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota.
While some of the funds are intended to provide relief to artists and organizations who had lost sales and other revenue generation opportunities, funding was also available for reinvestment in creative businesses and to cultivate social cohesion in neighborhoods and communities.
Artists Respond: Safety in Neighbors: We’re funding artists to create small, neighborhood-scale projects that make community care intentional and accessible. How would you like to respond to this moment with your community? Share your project idea with us. Applications are open on a rolling basis.
These are the type of programs Springboard seems to excel at. I have mentioned in other posts that we drew some inspiration from their Irrigate initiative to create art installations and experiences around the street construction in our downtown.
The description of this program on their website defines neighborhood-scale a little more granularly.
Artists Respond: Safety in Neighbors activates the local: neighbors, block clubs, apartment buildings, whisper networks, and local businesses, and asks artists to make it easier for neighbors to find resources, solidarity, and each other. Our goal is to support at least 50 projects in Minnesota. Applications will remain open on a rolling basis, learn more and apply to participate.
