ÍáÍáÂþ»­

With the support of a community panel review conducted on Jan. 16, the Region 2 Arts Council Board of Directors granted $89,500 to fund arts activity in the community through the Arts Access Grant program.

Arts Access Grants help fund the creation, production and presentation of high-quality, accessible arts activities that serve the people in the Minnesota counties of Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods and Mahnomen and help instill the arts in public life, a release said.

Organizations could submit up to two proposals each.

The following 17 proposals received funding:

4 Directions Development in Red Lake was awarded $6,000 to host the 2025 Anishinaabe Art Festival, an event dedicated to creating visibility for Indigenous artists and community access to traditional art displays.

Loon Country Arts in Bemidji was awarded $6,000 to offer 15 classes in different artistic mediums that are free to the public.

Loon Country Arts in Bemidji was awarded $6,000 to offer a series of 15 free arts classes and two internship opportunities geared specifically to young people.

Heartland Arts in Park Rapids was awarded $6,000 to sponsor Art Leap 2025, an annual fall driving tour of Heartland Lakes artists’ studios and Park Rapids area cultural destinations.

The NordaGonvick Rosemalers in Leonard was awarded $2,683 to offer a three-day workshop in September with Carol Bender who will teach the rosemaling method of Numedal.

Lake of the Woods ÍáÍáÂþ»­ Community Education in Baudette was awarded $5,500 to provide a Musical Theater Camp in August 2025 to area children free of charge.

Bemidji High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ was awarded $6,000 to assist in funding its fall musical in September 2025.

Heartland Lakes Community ÍáÍáÂþ»­ in Park Rapids was awarded $6,000 to contract with Mary Therese, a local mural artist, who will engage HLCS students, staff, and local community members in painting a mural depicting pollinators in a pollinator garden.

Bemidji Early Childhood Collaborative was awarded $6,000 to organize a multi-organization collaborative music event at the Bemidji waterfront.

The Hubbard County Developmental Achievement Center was awarded $6,000 to produce a musical at the Armory Arts and Events Center, in which participants will create a puppet show with original sets and costumes, and also host a printmaking workshop with artist Brett Lysne.

The Hubbard County Developmental Achievement Center was awarded $6,000 to provide integrated workshops in sculptural papermaking with Jill Odegaard, basket weaving with Shannon Westrum and painting workshops with Kent Estey to expand exposure to new techniques as part of their Northern Hearts art studio program.

The Clearwater County Historical Society in Shevlin was awarded $1,500 to provide a community concert in the Spring of 2025.

The City of Bemidji Parks and Recreation Department was awarded $6,000 to host a Summer Theater Day Camp for youth known as BCT Jr. in partnership with Bemidji Community Theater.

The City of Park Rapids was awarded $6,000 for their Arts and Culture Advisory Commission to increase stipends paid to selected artists who are part of the Park Rapids Sculpture Trail.

The Bemidji Senior Center was awarded $4,242 to host a Bemidji Woodcarvers Club workshop presented by Marty Dolphens, a notable woodcarver in the Midwest who uses a technique called "realism in the round."

Kitchen Sink Productions in Park Rapids was awarded $3,575 to provide a community theater production in "kitchen sink realism" in March 2025.

Region 2 Arts Council Arts Access Grants are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Any arts organizations or other nonprofit entities that provide arts programming such as schools, community education programs, colleges or universities, local city/town/county government entities or tribal governments, arts affiliates or groups formed for nonprofit purposes applying with a fiscal sponsor that are located in the council's five-county service area can apply for up to $6,000.

For more information on this and other grants, visit