Artists respond to State Arts Board grant restrictions, part two

Yesterday artists were up in arms over the news that the Minnesota State Arts Board can no longer give grant money for travel outside the state.

It turns out there's another new restriction; MSAB grant money can no longer be used to bring artists to Minnesota to teach or collaborate.

You can read the full details of the grant restrictions here.

For choreographer Rosy Simas, the change is a blow:

I am one of only a handful of Native American contemporary choreographers in the US.  I need to work with other Native contemporary trained dancers. There are very few such dancers in North America and I have to bring in artists from Canada and other parts of the US. This is essential to my artistic growth and my work. This benefits MN audiences who would NOT have the chance to see Native contemporary dance if I could not bring these artists here to dance in my work.

Such restrictions on travel have always been in place for grants funded by the arts and cultural heritage fund. This year, the restriction was expanded to apply to all Arts Board grants.

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