Hmong Organizations Receive $58,700 In Minnesota State Arts Board Grants

The Minnesota State Arts Board has awarded two grants, totaling $58,700, to the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent and the Hmong Cultural Center. 

At its September meeting, the Arts Board approved 23 Folk and Traditional Arts grants. They are project grants to support the artistic traditions and customs practiced within community and/or cultural groups that help to identify, document, preserve, present, and honor Minnesota’s folk arts and traditions.

This is the second of four rounds of grants the board will award this fiscal year. Grants in the Folk and Traditional Arts program total more than $525,000.

CHAT – St. Paul: $32,288
The Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT) will teach traditional Hmong dance and traditional Hmong cross stitch/embroidery, and will hold a public exhibit and performance.

Hmong Cultural Center – St. Paul – $26,500
Hmong Cultural Center will implement the first Minnesota Qeej Festival in September 2020, involving a weekend of comprehensive programming to educate Hmong and nonHmong about the instrument, while also providing a forum for master performers to be recognized.

Folk and traditional arts refer to artistic traditions that come from and are rooted in the cultural life of a community. Community members may share a common ethnicity, geographic or regional identity, occupation, language, or tribal affiliation. Folk and traditional arts are learned and passed on through community based systems of training and education where younger generations learn and attain mastery of a form by observation and practice or through apprenticeships with elders and masters.

The Folks and Traditional Arts grant program is funded by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s arts and cultural heritage fund.

To learn more about fiscal year 2020 grantees and their activities, visit the Arts Board website at http://www.arts.state.mn.us/grants/2020/index.htm

The Minnesota State Arts Board is a state agency dedicated to ensuring that all Minnesotans have the opportunity to participate in the arts. It receives appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Arts Board offers grants, services, and other resources to individuals and organizations throughout the state to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance, and appreciation of the arts. Additional information about the Arts Board can be found online at www.arts.state.mn.us.