University of Minnesota Arts and Cultural Leadership Program

04/24/2024

ACL student Rick X. Hoops ('24) has launched a new podcast with MN Opera, Crescendo: Building the Future of the Arts. The podcast "aims to provide young artists and anyone curious about a career in the arts with current perspectives on navigating performance art industries." Interested in sustainable, holistic, and trauma-informed approaches? Give it a listen!

episodes the concept Let’s shake things up! Hosts Rick X. Hoops (they/he) and Jared Miller (he/him) are both members of the Impact team at MN Opera, who have been friends ...

06/29/2023

Congratulations to D J Gramann II, ACL Class of '18, who was just announced as a McKnight Theater Artist Fellow. D J says that the fellowship "will allow me a respite from the churn with time, energy, and a budget to take a deeper dive into my creative origins.”

Playwrights’ Center and the McKnight Foundation are pleased to announce the 2023–24 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows: D J Gramann II, Darrick Mosley, and Karin Olson. These fellowships recognize and support mid-career artists (other than playwrights) living and working in Minnesota who demonstrat...

06/14/2023

Kim David, ACL class of '21, has just joined the Bush Foundation as their Talent, Learning & Evaluation Coordinator. We're excited to see the work she'll be doing in fostering and effective and equitable organizational culture. She comes to the role from her previous position as Finance and Operations Manager at the East Side Freedom Library, where she also did her board practicum during the ACL program. Congratulations Kim!

As Talent, Learning, and Evaluation Coordinator, Kim supports the operational and administrative pieces of the Bush Foundation’s talent, HR, and professional development activities. What energizes her most about her work is her role in fostering an effective and equitable organizational culture. S...

05/02/2023

This Saturday, seven Arts and Cultural Leadership students will be presenting the culminating work of their degrees. Join us (in person or virtually) to hear about projects that explore the future of arts and culture.

RSVP via this link: z.umn.edu/ACL2023

The presentations include:
Alondra Cano - Racial equity and the future of the Minnesota Legacy Amendment
Ryan Garmoe - Cultural colonialism and the Twin Cities jazz community
Taylor Gonda - Cross-department collaboration to challenge hierarchy within American art museums
Su Ryeon Kang - Engaging families to spark imaginations in the creation of more child-friendly cities
Abby Kosberg - Tools for crisis management in small nonprofit arts organizations
Laura Pilarski - Equitable engagement in the process of museum exhibition preparation
Kristina Rodel - Building and rebuilding donor trust as a factor in fundraising

Join the University of Minnesota's 2023 graduating class of the MPS in Arts and Cultural Leadership to celebrate our graduates and discuss the capstone projects they've completed this year on Saturday, May 6, 2pm at the A-Mill Artist Lofts, Performance Hall, 315 SE Main St, Minneapolis. Sign up belo...

04/14/2023

ACL alum Avital Rabinowitz is the Director of Civic Music for the city of Rochester, MN.

She says, "A large part of what drew me to Civic Music is that it’s funded by the community and for the community. The concerts are events for people to get to know who else is here, to meet their neighbors, to foster relationships and for groups across demographics to get to know each other. That really excites me. Civic Music has done a lot of work in that area and I wanted to be a part of that."

Learn more about her work in this Post Bulletin article:

The leader of Civic Music looks ahead to her second year on the job and first year of curating live public music experiences of forWARD and Down by the Riverside concert series.

01/27/2023

ACL alum Laura Krider talks about how singing informed her work as an administrator and the joy of her new consulting work in this great interview. Check it out!

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Krider. Hi Laura, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories. I grew up in Green Bay, WI where I was surrounded by music and took part in all things Krider Pharmacy, our family business. Picture...

09/13/2022

ACL alum Melissa Wray has been named a 2022 Rural Regenerator Fellow. Join us in congratulating her!

All of us at Lanesboro Arts are deeply proud of our Program Director, Melissa Wray, who was selected to be a part of Springboard for the Art's 2022 Rural Regenerator Fellowship cohort! Melissa brings her genuine spirit and inspired dedication to everything she does at Lanesboro Arts and with Mainspring in Caledonia, which has grown both organizations to new heights. We are excited to see her continue to share and grow through this incredible opportunity.

Learn more about the fellowship at Springboard for the Arts’ website: https://springboardforthearts.org/rural-regenerator-fellows/?fbclid=IwAR2oRGdSKErJ41ZSiXJErkwXp9c08K8T54pdP8a4sFESfTKRJ896ECBGLqw

Or read her most recent interview with the Caledonia Argus here: https://www.hometownsource.com/caledonia/news/local/caledonia-arts-leader-selected-as-fellowship-recipient/article_5e6b4f0c-24fe-11ed-a520-674bce386f5d.html

07/26/2022

Check out this new study, co-authored by our Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Tom Borrup: Silicon Valley: Cultural Backwater or Harbinger?

"Recent global research stresses dynamic relationships between vibrant arts and cultural scenes and thriving economies; but thriving for who? The persistent fly in the ointment of this body of generally pro-arts research is the growing economic and racial inequities in the very cities with burgeoning cultural sectors."

Tom Borrup, Ph.D., Heidi Wagner, Elizabeth Taing, and Amanda Rawson, Creative Community Builders

07/07/2022

Check out this interview with ACL faculty member Dawn Bentley about this year's in-person Minnesota Fringe Festival! About the festival's goals, Dawn says, "We hope attendees find joy in the creative expression of artists on stage and feel a connection to a community that actively supports the theater."

Minnesota Fringe connects adventurous artists with adventurous audiences by creating open, supportive forums for free and diverse artistic expression.

06/07/2022

Thank you to all who attended, to our sponsors, and to the planning committee. Here's to the next 10 years!

03/28/2022

ACL alumni Molly Sanford (class of '21) has taken principles explored in her degree capstone and applied them to a new freshman seminar for students in the College of Design, DES 1408: Dare to Repair. Why is repair important for design students to learn about? “Hands-on repair reconnects us with our belongings and empowers us on an individual scale to interrupt unhealthy patterns of consumerism,” says Sanford.

Student Bella Woolfolk says, "I learned that repair isn’t just something you do when you break something, but can be a force that brings community together as a whole."

Be sure to check out the link to the course's digital zine at the end of the article!

December 20, 2021 You can’t break something that is already broken. Understanding this piece of wisdom is the first step in the process of repair and part of the foundation for a new freshman seminar in the College of Design, DES 1408: Dare to Repair. Return to All News The new class centers on th...

02/23/2022

Have you seen Theater Mu's production of "Man of God?" It's the current collaboration for On Stage, ACL alum Lucas Erickson's organization that with local theater companies to engage college students, many of whom have never seen a play before, in discussions about a production.

“I think it’s important to kind of create these ripple effects of critical literacy, not taking things at face value and asking questions,” Erickson said. “That’s what a lot of the plays we work with do and that’s why the conversation is so important.”

On Stage is working to spark conversation about the Theater Mu’s upcoming production of “Man of God,” both in the theater and on college campuses.