Artist in Residence Program

The Central MN Arts Board administers the Artist in Residence program for communities in Minnesota Region 7W. Funding for the program is made possible by Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The program provides grants of up to $3,500 to support artist residency activities that engage students and enable learning through the creative process. Resident artists are expected to enhance existing programs and curriculum rather than replace required curriculum, and an ideal residency balances artist demonstration with hands-on activity. Required proposal components include arts learning activities conducted with a core group, an opportunity for the surrounding public community to learn about residency activities, and a designated staff member who supports the residency. Eligible applicants must serve Region 7W residents and be located in Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, or Wright County, Minnesota. Eligible applicant types are nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, community groups with nonprofit fiscal sponsorship, public schools, and local government entities including cities, townships, and counties. For-profit businesses and individuals are not eligible, and CMAB grant recipients with overdue final reports are also ineligible. Eligible proposals must occur within Region 7W or directly benefit Region 7W residents and may include arts education experiences involving a professional artist, arts workshops, visits to artist studios or galleries and other pertinent locations, performances, and readings by literary artists. Activities must begin after the October 8, 2026 Board approval date. Grant funds may support personnel and artist fees, honoraria, stipends, supplies, publicity, evaluation, space rental, student transportation, and other directly related eligible expenses. Travel expenses associated with bringing an artist from outside Minnesota may constitute no more than 10 percent of the total grant amount requested. Grant funds may not support equipment or facility improvements, regular contractual compensation for school or organization personnel, activities outside Minnesota, relocation costs, religious socialization, attempts to influence legislation or appropriations, fundraising-focused events, required Minnesota K-12 arts curriculum, unrelated expenses, participation-fee residencies, or proposals already funded through another CMAB grant program. Restrictions also apply when an artist has already received specified CMAB residency or teaching artist funding to work with the same school or organization more than twice within a five-year period. No required applicant match or cost share is stated. Applications are submitted through the CMAB online grant system accessed through the Manage Grants function on the CMAB website. First-time applicants must create an account using an email address and password. Application materials include applicant and organizational information, a mission statement or goals and values statement, proposal name and description, activity dates and locations, a narrative describing artist activities, an artist resume or list of significant experiences, an explanation of artist selection, prior residency information, a community component, and evidence of artistic quality. Applicants also address the core group, learning goals, student and staff needs, accessibility, residency coordination, timeline, impact on the host organization or school, measurable outcomes, evaluation methods, and a detailed proposal budget. Public schools must identify Minnesota Academic Standards enhanced by the residency and explain how those standards are addressed in the regular curriculum. Fiscal-sponsored applicants must provide fiscal sponsor information, the sponsor's EIN Tax ID number, and a fiscal sponsor agreement. Applications are scored on a 30-point scale using four criteria. Artistic Merit and Quality is worth 9 points, Demonstrated Need is worth 9 points, Ability is worth 6 points, and Outcomes and Evaluation is worth 6 points. Reviewers consider artist qualifications and teaching experience, meaningful benefits to learners, the artistic discipline presented, public engagement, responsiveness to participant needs and barriers, availability of the proposed arts opportunity, staff capacity, the completeness and realism of the timeline, organizational impact, budget appropriateness, measurable outcomes, and appropriate evaluation methods. An application must receive an average score of at least 15 to be considered for funding. Applications are made available to the CMAB Board of Directors or review panel at least two weeks before review, final scores are assigned at the review meeting, and CMAB Directors give final approval to awards. The application deadline is September 17, 2026, and applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm on that date. Late applications are ineligible with no exceptions. The published draft review deadline is September 2, 2026, and applicants may request staff review by emailing media@centralmnartsboard.org at least two weeks before the application deadline. Draft review does not guarantee funding. Board review is scheduled for October 8, 2026 at 2:30 pm via Zoom. Proposed activities must begin after that Board approval date and must be completed within 12 months of Board approval. All applicants are notified of the Board's decision. Awardees must submit a contractual agreement within 30 days of notification, including a signed payment agreement with the artist. A final report is due within 60 days after completion of the residency. Applicants seeking assistance may contact the Central MN Arts Board at 320-968-4290 or toll free at 1-866-825-1471. The guidelines also provide MN Relay Service at 1-800-627-3529 and state that CMAB can make reasonable efforts to accommodate specific applicant needs, including alternative formats and assistance finding a language interpreter, when given at least 10 working days. The source provides a September 17, 2026 application deadline but does not state that the Artist in Residence opportunity recurs annually or on another defined schedule, so no recurrence is recorded.

Address all four scored criteria in the narrative: Artistic Merit and Quality and Demonstrated Need are each worth 9 of 30 points, while Ability and Outcomes and Evaluation are each worth 6. Use concrete, measurable learning outcomes and an evaluation method that can document completion and learning. Select an artist whose training and teaching experience fit the target learners, and explain why the artist was selected. Include a meaningful public community component and a complete, realistic residency timeline. Ensure the budget directly supports the proposal and appropriately compensates artists. Submit by 11:59 pm on the deadline date because late applications are ineligible with no exceptions. Request staff draft review by email at least two weeks before the deadline if useful; review does not guarantee funding.