LEGACY PARTNERS
Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds Lead to New Collaborations

In November 2008, Minnesotans demonstrated their commitment to the state’s natural resources, arts, and cultural heritage by passing a constitutional amendment that raises the state sales tax by 3/8 of 1% for a period of 25 years. The funds are dedicated to support clean water, parks, outdoor habitat, and arts and cultural heritage.

As a way to accomplish this, the state legislature established partnerships between the Minnesota Humanities Center and each of the following councils:  Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Council on Black Minnesotans, Chicano Latino Affairs Council, and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans. These new partners will work to create programs and events that celebrate and preserve the artistic, historical, and cultural heritages of the communities represented by each council.

New Partners

Established in 1985 by the state legislature, their mission is to advise policy makers, advocate for the community, and build bridges leveraging assets and linking communities for a common good.
 
 
The state legislature established this council in 1980. Their mission is to ensure that the needs of Minnesotans of African descent are clear to policy makers.
 
 

Their mission is to advise the governor and the state legislature on the issues of importance to Minnesota's Chicano Latino community. CLAC was established in 1978 by the state legislature.

Established in 1963 by the state legislature, their mission is to protect the sovereignty of the 11 Minnesota Tribes and ensure the well-being of American Indian citizens throughout Minnesota.


New Programs

With programmatic direction coming from each of the councils, the Humanities Center and each partner have begun work towards the immediate needs identified by each community. The councils articulate a need to increase academic opportunity and academic achievement for the children in their communities. They cite a lack of broad public knowledge about the positive contributions members of their communities make to Minnesota. The councils also express a desire for arts and cultural programs that meet the needs identified by members within their communities.

“In response to these shared concerns and in alignment with the legislature’s guidelines, the Humanities Center and the councils are moving forward. We are working collaboratively to create new programs and events that are beneficial to all regions and residents of the state.” 
       - Stanley Romanstein, President and CEO of the Minnesota Humanities Center

Current programming ideas proposed by the councils include arts and culture events that engage whole neighborhoods, a multimedia project to increase literacy and awareness of all Minnesotans, and monthly arts and cultural programming designed to engage a broad range of participants and audiences in educational and cultural sharing and dialogue.

  • The Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Council on Black Minnesotans, the Council on the Affairs of Chicano and Latino Minnesotans, and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans will collaboratively create new programs and events that celebrate and preserve the artistic, historical, and cultural heritages of the communities represented by each council.
  • Programs and events will be beneficial to all regions and residents of the state.
  • Programs and events will contain a plan for measuring and evaluating results.    
  • Programs and events will include measurable outcomes.

Conclusion

These new partnerships enable the Humanities Center to continue to strengthen a thoughtful, literate, and engaged Minnesota by providing public arts, cultural and heritage programs and events for new audiences while collaborating with new partners to continue to address educational challenges in communities represent by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Council on Black Minnesotans, the Chicano Latino Affairs Council, and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.

“We are working collaboratively to ensure these programs will benefit everyone in Minnesota.  We also understand taxpayers are anxious to hear about the impact of these funds, and we are being diligent to evaluate the outcomes of this work,” said Humanities Center Board Chair, Susan Kelly. Starting in early 2010, the public will be able to access regular process updates on the impacts of these new partnerships on the State of Minnesota’s website and the Humanities Center’s website.

 

The Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Minnesota Historical Society and are facilitating a process to develop a 10-year plan and 25-framework for the arts and cultural heritage fund. More information about Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund is available here.