Minogitoon: Cloquet artist makes list of fellowships

Joyce laPorte of Cloquet is among six artists selected by the Springboard for the Arts Equitable Rural Futures” program. LaPorte’s project is “Make a Village,” a collection of Ojibwe dolls.

As part of the program, artists and creative people in rural places and small towns in Minnesota were invited to propose projects that center the perspectives and experiences of people who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or People of Color), Native, LGBTQIA+, and/or people with disabilities in rural and tribal communities. The goals are to create safe and supportive spaces for connection, confront truth about historic harms, bring non-dominant stories into light, and/or address racism, homophobia and/or transphobia. The artists, working in storytelling, film, music, watercolor, portraiture, and mutli-media, will be funded with $2,500 for their project, funded through the Blandin Foundation.

The five other artists are Mai’a Williams of Winona, Christy Goulet of Dilworth, Michelle de la Vega of Spring Valley, Inkpa Mani of Wheaton, and Nancy XiáoRong Valentine of Underwood.

“Equity and racial justice is just as much of a responsibility for rural places to confront as it is anywhere else, and the work comes with its own unique challenges and needs in small towns and remote areas,” says Michele Anderson, the rural program director for Springboard for the Arts. “Each Artists Respond project, in its own unique way, reminds us that making a more equitable world starts with personal healing, expands to family, and outwards into a community. We’re so grateful for the artists in this group who are each using their creative talents to offer generous and challenging spaces for stories that need to be heard, and conversations that need to happen in all places.”

Springboard provides numerous opportunities for artists to engage.Find out more at springboardforthearts.org.