The city of Minneapolis’ Arts & Cultural Affairs Department announced the awardees of its first-ever community arts fund awards, totaling $690,000, on Tuesday at a news conference at the Midtown Global Market. Seven districts in the city will benefit from the awards: 38th Street, Cedar Avenue South, Central Avenue, E. Lake Street, Franklin Avenue E., Lowry Avenue N., and W. Broadway.

“We’ve got art all throughout the city, in seven different cultural districts,” Mayor Jacob Frey said. “If you are seeing something you’re impressed by, there’s beautiful art that pops up on the street or there’s suddenly people dancing, that is probably the work of our incredible city team.”

There are three categories of awards: Cultural District Ambassadors ($15,000 each); Festival and Cultural Spaces Activation Program Awards (ranging from $15,500-$16,700), and Pop-Up Art & Cultural Activations Program ($5,000 each). Each district receives almost $100,000 spread across the three types of awards.

The Cultural Districts Arts Fund is the brainchild of Ben Johnson, the first-ever Arts & Cultural Affairs director. He started the job in March 2023, and in a little over a year created this initiative and secured funding for it. His department also set up a separate fund of a quarter of a million dollars for artists to take over vacant storefronts. Recipients will be announced mid-October.

Ashely Koudou, founder and CEO of Mango Day, a collective that works with artists, small businesses and entrepreneurs on marketing and branding, became the first-ever cultural district ambassador for Central Av.

She has a background in advertising and design. After joining Public Functionary Studios, an organization that helps people of color and marginalized artists’ grow and cultivate their art, she was inspired to work with artists on cultivating their businesses.

“With this [cultural district ambassador] initiative, we are able to take it to a different level,” Koudou said. “How do these artists show up in the consumer market?”

Johnson sees the awards as just the beginning.

Elias said the path’s design may be determined by the final location of the parkway, and the park board is primarily focused on preventing pedestrian-vehicle collisions.

The board initially recommended relocating the Bde Maka Ska boat launch and Minneapolis Sailing Center in the 2016 Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska master plan. In 2021, the park board commissioners asked staff to begin envisioning a new facility, according to Elias. Draft plans were introduced earlier this year.

After receiving community feedback on this initial draft, MPRB will develop a preferred concept.

“We are basically at square zero of a very long project,” Elias said.

He added that plans for funding the project will be determined in the future, noting that there is no set timeline.

“I think it’s safe to say this will not be a cheap project,” Elias said. “It will require financial resources from the sailing center and public funding sources to get across the finish line.”