Minneapolis, MN
City of Minneapolis awards nearly $700,000 in first-ever Cultural Districts Arts Fund
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.
Minneapolis leaders are divided over whether to keep paying for ShotSpotter as the city weighs a new contract for the gunfire detection system.
A public hearing at City Hall focused on the technology as Minneapolis negotiates a new contract with SoundThinking, the company that provides ShotSpotter. Deputy Chief of Investigations Travis Riddle told the council the system supports gun violence strategies and can alert police no later than 60 seconds after shots are fired.
Critics at the hearing said the technology is not proven enough and argued the money could be spent in other ways. The proposed deal would cost $3.7 million through 2029 and would expand ShotSpotter into new areas of Minneapolis.
“We have actually had a contract with SoundThinking for their ShotSpotter services since 2014, and even with this technology for over 12 years now, MPD’s solve rates for homicides and non-fatal shootings were some of the worst in the country,” Council member Robin Wonsley said.
Council members pushed back on the long-term proposal and said they want a one-year deal instead. Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw disagreed with concerns raised by her colleague during the debate.
“In my opinion, and in folks I’ve heard from the North Side who have shown up here time and time again to say that we want this technology, we believe that ShotSpotter is a tool that the police use to save lives,” LaTrisha Vetaw said
City Council is set to take up the issue again on June 17. Minneapolis police are expected to return with a one-year contract instead of the three-year contract brought forward at the hearing.
Premiere vocal ensemble, Cantus is bringing the songs of Dolly Parton to the stage with fresh interpretations. The show will cover her classics like “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.” Cantus Presents, COVERS: Dolly & Friends runs through June 7th at the Luminary Arts Center at 700 N 1st St. in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis police are investigating a hit-and-run that left a man seriously injured Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened near Oliver Avenue North and Lowry Avenue North just before 2 p.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Investigators say an SUV struck another vehicle, which then collided with a motorcyclist. The driver of the SUV then fled the scene.
The motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. Police say the driver of the other vehicle was not injured.
No arrests have been made as of Tuesday night.
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