(bright music) - Hello, and welcome to "Prairie Pulse."

Coming up later in the show, we'll tour the new Native American Treaties Museum in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

But first, our guest joining us now is Tania Blanich, the Arts Partnership executive director.

Tania, thanks for joining us today.

- Thanks for having me.

- As we get started, tell the folks a little bit about yourself and your background.

- Sure.

I was born and raised in Fargo, moved away for college, and then ended up in New York City, working for the City of New York and then nonprofits.

And as I was growing up, I studied dance and piano and violin.

So I grew up in the arts.

Never thought I'd really be working in the arts, but there you have it.

(laughs) - Well, with that said, let's start off with what is the Arts Partnership?

- Sure.

The Arts Partnership is the local arts council for Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo.

And arts councils do different things, but basically they're there to support art in all its guises.

And we advocate for the arts, we communicate about the arts, and we support the arts through grants and other things like technical services.

We also have a couple of programs that we run that introduce artists to new audiences.

- Well, now you've been with the organization a while, but you've been executive director since last May.

- Yes.

- So tell us about how's it going as executive director?

- Oh, I think it's going pretty well.

I'd like to think that, anyway.

It's certainly a different perspective to be the head of the organization.

You have to think a little more broadly and deeply about everything.

But it's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

So it's been a pretty easy transition.

- What was it like growing up, I understand, in an arts family, and how that might've influenced your career choices?

- My mom was a dance teacher and she also started the FM Community Theater.

And that's actually how my folks met.

Dad was at the first meeting of when they were establishing the entity, and he was in the first play.

And so I grew up with art and going to the symphony, and mom was a great amateur artist.

And we had art on our walls from local artists, but also from travels.

And I think I just understood the value of the arts, although I didn't really set out to work in the arts.

But here I am, many years later with, I would say, more than half of my career having been spent supporting the arts.

- Well, I understand you were in a big national study, the Arts Partnership was in.

What was it and what was it about?

- Yeah, the Arts and Economic Prosperity Study number six, it's the sixth one.

It is something that Americans For the Arts has done kind of every five years.

COVID threw the last one off.

And what it is, is to study the impact of the arts and culture industry across the country, including nationally, but then locally.

So Americans For the Arts works with a cohort of smaller entities across the country, like the Arts Partnership.

So we manage the process in the Tri-Cities.

And it is really an important study because it proves the value of the arts with hard numbers.

- So what do the national results reveal, or what did they reveal?

- Yes, in 2022, and I hope I'm getting the numbers right, $152 billion was generated by the arts and culture industry, and about two and a half million jobs.

And of course, that translates into money that goes into tax revenue.

It translates into people having income.

It is a big number and it shows that when businesses and government, and frankly those of us who donate to the arts, when we invest in the arts, it really has a big payback, financially as well as the social implications.

- Well, those are sort of national numbers.

What about the results for Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo?

- $55 million in 2022.

And that's just about 40% of the arts organizations in the three cities that replied.

So that's a huge number.

We're not gonna extrapolate because that wouldn't be a great idea, (laughs) but it really, I think, generated something like $10 million in taxes.

It's a pretty big number.

So it's just a smaller version of the national numbers, 'cause clearly we're not a huge entity.

- What about the...

Understand some rigorous standards that went into this study?

- I will not pretend I'm an economist, (laughs) but they used a highly-regarded model.

It's called Implan, and it measures input and output.

Again, do not ask me tough questions about that because I'm not an economist.

But basically, the idea is to not assume that what happens in Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo is the same as happens in Montana or in New York, or...

So it's really looking at a regional economic base because $25 spent in our community is not the same as $25 spent in Sioux Falls or anywhere else.

So it takes into account all of that.

- Well, can you even talk about some of the, I guess, amazing artists really that we have around here?

I know you can't get them all, boy, you hate to name any, but can you talk about some of them?

- You are asking me to choose a favorite child and I will not do that.

(laughs) But what I will say is that we do have amazing artists and performers in this town.

That's a little bit...

Partly the reason that is because we have three colleges and universities.

So we have a lot of professors, but they're teaching kids great stuff.

And so I think what's really amazing in a town or a community of this size, the variety of artists and performers we have.

So we have a symphony and we have an opera and we have two art museums and we have a lot of artists, who range from sculptors to painters to graphic designers.

And we've got artisans and it's kind of this amazing depth of talent in this town.

We're really lucky.

And I don't know if people always know what there is to offer.

- Well, can you talk about the grants you give out and how artists and organizations can apply for them?

- Yeah, so we have two longstanding programs.

One is to give grants to arts organizations in town.

And that's funded by the three cities.

So we re-grant money to them.

And those grants, a lot of them are for general operating support, but they can also be used for projects.

And we give grants to artists, and that's funded by private donations.

And we don't...

It's for any kind of artist and it's for any point in their career.

So sometimes we're giving to very emerging artists and sometimes to very established artists.

And information about those programs, it's competitive, there's an application process, can be found on our website at theartspartnership.net.

- Well, let's talk a little bit about the, maybe, what is the Arts for All grant program?

- Well, that's a new grant that we're doing, that we initiated two years ago with Choice Financial.

And the idea is to provide small grants to our health and human services organizations that wanna incorporate the arts in their mission-related work.

So for example, Soul Solutions, which is a recovery program, has gotten funding to do a ceramic room.

One of their counselors there is a ceramicist himself and he really credits ceramics with getting him through recovery.

So he's passing that along to their people who are recovering.

It's a great program.

We keep the grants quite small.

We don't want them to become arts organizations.

We want them to use this to further their missions.

- So what about, what kind of programming do you do?

- We have two basic programs that are all about trying to get artists in front of new audiences.

We do not do anything that would replicate what our colleagues in the art sector are doing.

We don't need to be another symphony.

(laughs) We don't need to replicate any of that.

So one of the programs is called Community Supported Art.

It's based on community supported agriculture.

So people buy a share and they get three events at which they get a performance of some kind.

They get take home art, and they get food cooked by local chefs.

And it's a really great way for the artists to kind of interact with these new audiences.

We also do something called Artworks, that places primarily art exhibits in non-traditional spaces.

So we are in a number of banks and corporate offices.

We're at the airport.

And at the airport, we actually also curate 12 mini concerts a year.

So it's kind of a great way for people to get a little bit relaxed as they enter into TSA territory.

So, (laughs) those are our two main programs.

- I'm getting tired of asking these kinds of questions, but what impact did COVID have on artists and the arts community?

- Well, I think it's still having an impact.

No organizations that I know of, no arts organizations lost any staff.

They didn't close their doors.

And that's a really positive thing, but if you go to a concert or a play, it's not the same number of audience members as it was before COVID.

And so that's hard.

I mean, so I think we're seeing now a little bit more of the impact in a way, because many of the arts organizations benefited from federal dollars during COVID.

I think for artists, individuals, I think it was hard.

I mean, a lot of them work on their own anyway, but when there wasn't the opportunity to hang out at an artist reception or go to Joe's to play, practice in the garage for your next gig, I think it was really, really hard for a lot of those artists.

They're thrilled to be back and able to do those things now.

- What about you?

Can you talk about your art collection in your North Fargo home?

- Sure, I think I have a little disease that would be called art collection.

I caught it from my mother, for sure.

So I've collected art since I was in high school.

And I really know probably almost every artist personally.

And some of the work I collected while I traveled.

Pieces have been given to me by artists and by friends.

I am not the kind of person who buys art to match the couch.

I buy the couch to match the art.

(laughs) I am trying to stop a little bit, for just...

I need a little bit of a break, so.

But I think art needs to be personal.

You need to have a connection to it.

Really almost all of my art is local, whether I bought it in New York from New York artists or other places.

Like I said, I know most of the artists or I've met them, of the work I have.

And that means a lot to me.

- Okay, what are the goals for the Arts Partnership now?

- We are trying to keep on keeping on.

When you're an arts council, there are certainly opportunities to take advantage of, but we have a big job, which is to give grants to the arts organizations.

And we are really focused, we're taking some time to not launch anything new immediately, but to really look at our programs and make sure we're being as efficient and effective as possible.

So it's a little bit of an internal moment.

I'm hoping we'll be announcing a few things in the spring, but it's a little early.

(laughs) - Well, a little early, but then expand on that, what are your long-term goals?

- Yes, I would like to...

I hope my board won't get mad at me (laughs) for saying this, but in an ideal world, I think that we would try to find some funders for a program that could help arts-adjacent organizations with art projects.

So we're already doing something with Health and Human Services nonprofits, but there's some that don't really fit in that Health and Human Services or strictly in the arts.

So I'd like to capture some of those entities in the middle that want to do or have been doing some artwork, but we just don't have the vehicle to fund them.

- So how many staff do you have?

- Oh, we've got all three of us.

(laughs) I have two fantastic colleagues, and we occasionally use part-time people.

But yeah, it's a mighty staff of three.

- All right, any volunteers for your organization?

- Occasionally, yes.

- And you mentioned your board, What's the make-up of your board?

- We have a great board, I'm so pleased to work with them.

We've got 11 people on the board.

Some have been on the board for a while, but we got a new crop of people.

They're kind of...

They run the gamut in terms of ages and job.

They have different kinds of jobs.

So we've got marketing people and bank people and it's a great board.

(laughs) Very happy to be working with them.

- And I'll circle back to your three strong of your staff.

What are their roles?

- Christina Johnson manages our program that puts art into businesses.

And actually, I can't believe I forgot this.

We run artist studios out at West Acres and she is the manager of that.

So we've got 19 studios at West Acres that artists rent.

There's a kiln room so that people can fire their ceramics.

It's a really great space.

It's occasionally open to the public on the weekends.

And then Lana Wedding is our communications person.

We write a weekly feature for the forum, and about the arts, and she manages all the other things that one does these days with social media, et cetera.

- So why does local art matter?

- Oh my gosh, why would it not?

It connects us to where we're from.

It is a reminder of where we're from.

And going back to the arts and economic prosperity study, it's not just making us healthier and happier, it's actually contributing to our economy.

So if you don't like the soft arguments about health and wellbeing, understand that it is driving economic activity in our region.

- Well, it is and you're absolutely correct.

But if people wanna get involved, where can they go?

Who can they contact?

How do they get involved?

- They can email me directly, at Tania, T-A-N-I-A at theartspartnership.net.

Theartspartnership.net has some great information.

We have a calendar that has arts activities on it, so people can find out there.

They can sign up for our newsletter, all there on our website, theartspartnership.net.

- Well, and for an artist or an organization, when are your grants awarded?

- We will be launching them a little later, probably around March, and they tend to be awarded in June.

- Okay, and there's information on the website on how to apply for that.

- [Tania] Yes.

- Well, Tania, I think we've covered it for today and we're about out of time, but I thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you.

- Stay tuned for more.

(gentle music) A brand new museum in Park Rapids, Minnesota is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of Native Americans in that area.

The Anishinaabe Museum of Treaties and Culture chronicles historic tribal treaties, Native American culture, and the longstanding fight to protect water.

(gentle music) - [Sarah] Giiwedinong means in the north.

It is the little museum that could.

We did that in seven months, which is unheard of.

- [Winona] Each of these treaties had some agreements, the only part that they kept was they promised to take our land and they took it.

- When folks come into this museum, the vision we have is when you come in, is like you're walking into the world of the Anishinaabe people.

Who we are, who we are as a culture, who we are as a society, what are our beliefs, what are our morals?

So that's why you see some of the clans when you come in, you see the mural of the clans, you'll see the migration map.

- And then you come in and the outside display is on treaties.

But it's not just treaties with Americans.

The first treaty is with the creation.

And then the treaties with Haudenosaunee, the six nations, with the Dakota, the Buffalo Treaties.

We wanted to show that treaties are agreements made between nations in civil society to make things better.

The two inner exhibits are really the water protector exhibits.

We wanted to actually honor people's courage and honor the water protector movement.

- [Sarah] And also, when you come in here, we're in this beautiful room for Rabbit Strickland.

His paintings tells these stories as well, spiritually.

We said we wanted to buy this and put this together and everything we said it was gonna be, talking about the Anishinaabe people, justice, our art and culture, and also the water protector exhibit.

This is all done by donations.

This wasn't done by grants or anything.

And then there was a handful of us who volunteered to remodel this and gut it out.

- [Winona] Well, this was once a Carnegie Library.

I think of Carnegie Libraries as a place of enlightenment.

I always thought it should be this.

And then when Enbridge bought this museum and turned it into their headquarters for basically expansion in this area, I was really offended and I really wanted to see something better come of it.

And so when Enbridge started selling off their properties, we were able to buy it.

I and Sarah are both veterans of Standing Rock.

We spent a lot of time out there at Standing Rock, and we spent seven years fighting Enbridge.

In that territory and in that land, we learned a lot.

And we saw a lot of courageous people and we saw a lot of people who went to great risk.

We saw corporations that did wrong.

- For me personally, it's a cultural duty.

It's because it brings back to the whole vital that it's life.

My children and nobody else's children can live without water, nothing can.

So that's what it means to be a water protector.

(man singing in foreign language) - I think we should all be water protectors.

You can live without oil, but you can't live without water.

And water is life.

And in this area, we have a lot of water.

And this is a fifth of the world's water.

And in a world that is parched and is water challenged, increasing people do not have access to drinkable water, we have water.

And so we think that it should be protected.

None of us were really familiar with pipelines.

I wasn't either.

They're outta sight and out of mind.

I don't think about them, but this country is crisscrossed with millions of miles of pipelines and a lot of those pipes were put in a long time ago and they're falling apart.

And so I really think that the company that made the money off of the pipeline should clean it up.

It's just kinda basic common sense.

You made the mess, you clean it up.

They put the pipeline in a new corridor, which cut through this pristine territory.

We tried to stop them.

I, as a citizen, went to almost every public hearing.

I'm with thousands of other people.

69,000 people testified against the pipeline.

- We did everything we could.

The regulatory system, to us, I felt that it was rogue.

I remember coming to a community meeting here in Park Rapids and the school was full.

And Enbridge and everything was here.

And it was overwhelming residents from Park Rapids said they didn't want the pipeline, but still they get it.

I would do it over again.

Some water protectors would come in and we're here.

To them, when they left the building, they felt healed.

First of all, the native folks that do come in, they're excited.

They're like, "Is this just temporary or are you here forever?"

And I was like, "We bought it, we're here forever."

And especially elders, they're excited and they think it's good.

As far as folks non-native, oh my God, they're so excited.

(laughs) Every person that comes in or didn't even know what to expect when they walked around, I've seen some folks in tears.

I've had some folks come up to me and say, "I just wanna say to you, I'm sorry."

I've seen that.

And they're like, "Thank you for doing this.

This is so great."

My biggest goal when they come out is that our children can have that equal balance of who they belong, where they belong, and to the native students, I'm Anishinaabe, I'm Dakota, and I'm proud.

Did you hear about us?

Did you learn about us in this museum?

So that's what I want folks, when they come out of here, - One wouldn't wake up and say, "I'm gonna put together a museum."

In my mind, I had this, that this should be something great.

I was raised in museums, so I realized that people can make museums.

You don't have to be a professor.

People can make museums.

- At the end of the day, we're still here.

Who left?

Enbridge.

Our territory and our land is beautiful.

This is healing.

To create this was like a creation of healing, to be honest with you.

And yeah, it is a victory to me.

Because you know what?

We're still here.

(upbeat music) - Well, that's all we have on "Prairie Pulse" for this week.

And as always, thanks for watching.

(bright music) - [Announcer] Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008.

And by the members of Prairie Public.