Gardner Trust awards $6,300 for Ely artists and arts organizations

The Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust board of trustees completed their 2004 grant round at their August 18 meeting. The board was very pleased to award $6,300 in total for an individual artist grant, project grants, and operational funding grants this year. “There were many good applicants this year,” said executive director, Keiko Aylsworth, “and the board had really great discussions about each application. Community impact was highly rated as well as serving more children and families as well as collaborative efforts.”Individual artist grant recipient, Kevin Strauss, will be working one-on-one with a storytelling mentor of international recognition and will produce a CD with his own stories. Strauss noted that the project will greatly benefit him by helping to develop his storytelling skills under the mentorship of a significant master storyteller.The project grants were the most competitive with seven applications submitted for this grant round.The Superior Pipe Forest Band is a new applicant this year. They will be bringing two instructors to Ely for a weekend workshop to train current players, provide a community concert and help the current members provide an in-service to intermediate grades at Washington Elementary. “This group has shown a lot of initiative and effort in the past to attend workshops in Canada and other locations,” said board member Kathy Nieman. “By bringing instructors to Ely there will be more community impact, and certainly exposure of young people to this unique style of music.”The Ely ArtWalk will be producing a nine-day art show that features the work of over 60 artists in local downtown businesses. This effort is a wonderful way to expose the community to the breadth of visual arts within the Ely community. It is also a wonderful collaboration between artists and business owners.The 2005 Moose is Loose Storytelling Festival is a project that will produce the only storytelling festival north of the Twin Cities. The festival will be in its 5th year of providing high-quality storytelling in the community.The Ely Public Library will purchase a core collection of books on compact disc. Library patrons have requested that the library establish a selection of titles, as it currently has only one donated title in the CD format.Greenstone Public Art Committee will work on two new murals that will depict historic logging and an ethnic Finnish neighborhood. Greenstone believes their mural projects expand the opportunities for visual artists to introduce people to their work. Past mural projects involved many artists and community members.Operational funding grants were awarded to the Voyageur Winter Festival and Northern Lakes Arts Association. The operational funding grants are available to established arts organizations to help maintain their ongoing programs, services and facilities.The Trust board hopes to increase the number of grant rounds in 2005 to provide more funding opportunities in the community. The 2005 budget and grant round schedule will be finalized by the end of the year.If the public has any questions about the Trust or would like more information or a brochure, please contact Keiko Aylsworth, Executive Director, at 218-365-2812 or info@dgght.org.