MN State Arts Board grants awarded to 10 Macalester people

St. Paul, Minn. – The Minnesota State Arts Board has awarded grants to eight Macalester alumni and two Art and Art History faculty members for 2013.

The Minnesota State Arts Board provides financial support to artists and organizations throughout the state to ensure that all Minnesotans have the opportunity to participate in the arts. 

Project grants are for artists at all stages of their careers, to support artistic development, nurture artistic creativity, and recognize the contributions individual artists make to the creative environment of the state of Minnesota.

The following alumni received grants:

Elisa K. Berry Fonseca of Minneapolis received $10,000 in the visual arts category.  Berry Fonseca will create a new body of work and meet with mentor, Elizabeth Simonson, to discuss her work and strategies for professional development. She will present a workshop about being an artist to art students at colleges and high schools. Berry Fonseca graduated in 2005.

Eric J. Dregni of Minneapolis received $5,400 in the prose category. Dregni will read from his books Vikings in the Attic and In Cod We Trust at libraries, bookstores, clubs, and lodges around the state.  Dregni graduated in 1990.

Douglas V. Little of Minneapolis received $10,000 in the music category. Little will present a recently discovered charanga repertoire of music from Cuba and compose new works inspired by this style. The project will conclude with a public performance at Salsa Fiesta at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.  Little graduated in 1991.

Brian T. Miller of Saint Paul received $8,000 in the music category. Miller will produce a new CD of Irish music from his “Lumber Camps” project and perform five concerts in greater Minnesota towns.  Miller graduated in 2002. Here’s a clip of him performing Irish music.

Rachel A. Moritz of Minneapolis received $8,500 in the poetry category. Moritz will complete a full-length poetry manuscript that considers the conjunction of two primary events: the birth of a child and the death of a parent. She will conduct a public reading and workshop that engages participants in writing about grief.  Moritz graduated in 1991.

Wayne E. Potratz of Minneapolis received $10,000 in the visual arts category. Potratz will study Damascus steel forging with nationally known blacksmith Thomas Gipe. The resulting work will be included in a retrospective exhibition at the Nash Gallery in Minneapolis to honor his nearly 50 years of creative work.  Potratz graduated in 1964.

Monica E. Rudquist of Minneapolis received $10,000 in the visual arts category.  Rudquist will create a new body of ceramic work that she will exhibit as an installation. She will also collaborate with a filmmaker and writer to develop and expand her public profile. An artist lecture is also planned.  Rudquist graduated in 1983.

Jenny R. Schmid of Minneapolis received $10,000 in the visual arts category. Schmid will create Dictionary of Libertines, a humorous taxonomy of youths and their obsessions in a series of etchings combined with letterpress quotes and bound as an artist’s book. The work will be exhibited at Air Sweet Air Gallery in Saint Paul.  Schmid graduated in 1992.

The following Art and Art History faculty members received grants:

Gary A. Erickson of Minneapolis received $4,500 in the visual arts category. Erickson will return to Jingdezhen, China (known as the Porcelain City), to pack and ship 50 pieces of his porcelain sculpture to Minnesota for exhibition at Minnesota State University, Mankato and at Concordia College in Saint Paul. 

Megan E. Vossler of Minneapolis received $10,000 in the visual arts category. Vossler will create a new series of drawings for a solo exhibition at Bethel University, in Saint Paul. An artist talk and other public events will accompany the exhibition. 

The Minnesota State Arts Board is a state agency that stimulates and encourages the creation, performance, and appreciation of the arts in the state.  The Minnesota State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and private donors provide funding for Arts Board programs.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 2,035 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu