Local artist lands $10K grant

The Minnesota State Arts Board has awarded an Artist Initiative grant, totaling $10,000, to Cloquet artist Adam Swanson. Swanson will use the funding to research and create a series of ten paintings featuring federally listed endangered species in Minnesota, exhibiting the paintings at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul.

The Artist Initiative grant program helps artists complete projects that enhance their careers and help them reach and serve a wider audience. Artist Initiative grants support artists working in the disciplines of dance, media arts, music, photography, poetry, prose, theater, and two- and three- dimensional visual arts.

The grant program is supported by appropriations from the arts and cultural heritage fund and the state’s general fund, and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

At its January meeting, the Arts Board awarded 154 grants through its Partners in Arts Participation, Artist Initiative, and Cultural Community Partnership programs. These awards, totaling more than $1.77 million, conclude the agency’s fiscal year 2020 grant cycle.

Swanson’s art was on display at the Pine Knot News office last year, part of its regular installment of local artist on its walls.