A good month for Lao art in Minnesota

In a special bit of news this month, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council of Minnesota recently announced three grants awarded to Lao organizations to support the arts in Hennepin County in 2010. The total is $15,000 in support to Lao arts here, and I'm immensely pleased to see this belief in our community and an interest in our creative work in this state.

The Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota is receiving $5,000 in funding for Refugee Nation, which will include a month-long community residency pairing professional artists with community residents to create cultural awareness through performance art. You can see an example of a performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYpoj_9JLzY



The Lao Womens Association has received $5,000 to offer free traditional Lao music and dance instruction. The project will include multiple performance opportunities for participating students.



And finally, Lao writers have received $5,000 to convene the Lao Writers Summit in Minneapolis, the first national literature summit for Lao American refugees in 35 years. The summit will take place August 13-14, 2010.



Overall, this is significant moment for the community and an exciting opportunity in the years ahead.

The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council promotes incorporation of the arts into the daily life of communities by providing leadership, advocacy, grants, and services. 

The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC), which serves the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, is the largest of the regional arts councils established in 1977. Each regional arts council is an autonomous organization designated to assess arts need, develop programs and services to meet those needs, and distribute funds to arts programs in its region. The majority of funds come from the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota legislature. MRAC also receives a generous grant from The McKnight Foundation.