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Bamboo Orchestra in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. “Our rural schools cannot afford to host performers of this caliber. Exposure to such great ambassadors… for these students was wonderful to see.” – Terri Connell, Prairie du Chien Committee on Performing Arts. Photo by Lindajoy Fenley.

Arts Midwest is a regional organization with nine member states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota,

and Wisconsin.

Esta interacting with students during a workshop at Hope Intermediate School in Hope, Indiana. Photo by Lindajoy Fenley.

ARTS MIDWEST 2007 PROGRAM REVIEW AND UPDATES

MISSION AND VISION

PERFORMING ARTS

ARTSMIDWESTWORLD FEST

Each week­long Arts Midwest World Fest residency immerses local schools and communities in a culture of which they may have little or no previous knowledge. All four ensembles travel to each of the participating Midwest communities over a two­year period, ensuring that the communities experience a broad range of the world’s cultures.

The 2005–2007 cycle ended on a high note with the conclusion of Esta’s tour to our Western states, and the feedback we received from our communities was very positive. Throughout the 2005–2007 cycle, participants reported life­ changing cultural experiences and deep personal connections made with each ensemble. The principal of Hope Intermediate School near Columbus, Indiana, remarked, “We are so grateful to be included in this musical celebration from Israel…It was truly hands­on and meaningful to our children here at Hope.”

2908 Hennepin Avenue Suite 200

Minneapolis, MN 55408

For additional information, please visit

www.artsmidwest.org.

Arts Midwest’s mission is to connect people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Our vision is that people in the communities we serve will find joy, meaning, and beauty in their lives through the arts. To those ends, cultural programs initiated by Arts Midwest – including performances by high­quality theater, dance, and music ensembles; educational arts activities; museum exhibitions; and conferences – reach close to one million people annually, enhancing the quality of life in hundreds of cities, towns, and rural areas across the Midwest.

Arts Midwest World Fest completed its 2005–2007 cycle and has started the 2007–2009 tours, bringing incredible cultural experiences to communities throughout the Midwest. We are excited by the diverse selection of talented ensembles for the 2007–2009 cycle: Mauvais Sort, a French­Canadian group from Québec; Los Utrera from Mexico; Esta from Israel; and An Da Union from the Inner Mongolia region of China.

The communities participating in this cycle are:

Spearfish, SD Menomonie, WI Elgin, IL Bismarck, ND Nelsonville, OH Traverse City, MI Hutchinson, MN Jasper, IN Grand Rapids, MI Ames, IA Muskegon, MI

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A Somali bride wears an American gown at her wedding.

Ubah Medical Center student posing in front of her photo.

VISUAL ARTS & EXHIBITIONS

THE SOMALI DOCUMENTARY PROJECT Four years ago, photographer Abdi Roble began documenting the surviving traditions of the first generation of Somali immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, as they adjusted to the new language and customs of the United States. The ensuing series of photographs was the first in what has become an ongoing, expansive initiative entitled The Somali Documentary Project. The project has a three­pronged goal: to archive a record of the community before assimilation, to educate and create understanding within the host community, and to draw international attention to current events in Somalia.

Following a successful initial partnership with The Somali Documentary Project, Arts Midwest continued to work with Roble to document the Somali Diaspora in Minneapolis and rural Minnesota. During a four­month residency in the state, Roble photographed Somali life in towns across Minnesota and taught students at the Ubah Medical Center, located within the International Education Center in Minneapolis. The students’ work with Roble was so compelling that Arts Midwest assembled an exhibition of their work, which hung in the windows of the Travelers Companies, Inc., building in downtown St. Paul during Ordway Center for the Performing Arts’ International Children’s Festival in June 2007, as well as during the Ordway Center’s ArtWalk in the month prior to the festival.

Roble’s own photographs from his Minnesota residency became the launching point for a national tour entitled Stories of the Somali Diaspora, which will tour as follows:

• Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio: September 9–November 25, 2007 • Weisman Museum, University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota: August 23–December 7, 2008 • Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston, Maine: January 23–May 29, 2009.

RUSSEL WRIGHT: LIVING WITH GOOD DESIGN Sincerely believing that good design was for everyone, Russel Wright (1904–1976) was the first industrial designer committed to creating high­design, functional items for everyday living. The exhibition Russel Wright: Living with Good Design traces the Ohio native’s career development as his designs and concepts for a new, relaxed style of living emerged and subsequently transformed a generation of Americans following World War II. Between 1939 and 1959, a quarter­billion pieces of his American Modern dinnerware were produced by Steubenville Pottery in Steubenville, Ohio, and were purchased by millions of Americans, making it the most widely popular dinnerware in history.

Sponsored by Target, this comprehensive exhibition is the first to be seen beyond the East Coast and provides visitors with a sequential view of Wright’s design evolution – including pieces from his early years in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey – and continuing through his career to his final creation, Manitoga, an 80­acre woodland garden and home.

The exhibition opened at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster, Ohio, and has traveled to the Columbus Museum of Art and Design in Columbus, Indiana; the Newcomb Gallery at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it was one of the early exhibitions touring to the gallery after Hurricane Katrina; and the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs, California, where attendance for the exhibit broke museum records. The exhibition is currently on view at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Washington, and will later travel to The Goldstein Museum of Design in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in February 2008.

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SERVICES TO OTHER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS

PERFORMING ARTS FUND

The Performing Arts Fund supports the touring of professional performing artists specializing in the fine arts of dance, theater, music, youth and family entertainment, and other meaningful performing arts forms appropriate for communities throughout Arts Midwest’s nine­state region. These engagements feature public performances and educational activities reaching audiences that may otherwise lack access to performing arts.

For the 2007–2008 cycle, Arts Midwest awarded $430,484 to Midwest presenters on a first­come, first­served basis to support 174 engagements within our region. These engagements will feature more than 289 performances and 729 educational activities. Awards are based on the contracted fee of the performing artist/ensemble. An increased level of support is granted to organizations who present professional performing artists/ensembles residing in Arts Midwest’s region. During this cycle, 72 engagements will feature performing artists from the Midwest.

MIDWESTARTSCONFERENCE

The annual Midwest Arts Conference, one of the largest booking and educational conferences for the performing arts in the United States, provides a productive environment to facilitate touring of the performing arts. Each year, hundreds of performing artists, artist managers/agents, performing arts presenters, and service organization representatives gather at the Conference to conduct business in the Marketplace exhibit hall, to experience unique showcases by a diverse range of artists and disciplines, to learn from in­depth professional development sessions, to network and reconnect with colleagues, to revitalize professional energies, and to gain new insights into the world of performing arts touring and presenting. The only meeting of its kind in the Midwest, the Conference is managed by Arts Midwest and serves both the Arts Midwest and Mid­America Arts Alliance regions.

This year marked the 20 th anniversary of the Midwest Arts Conference, and it proved to be a wonderful success! Columbus, Ohio, provided an exceptional setting for this year’s Conference, which drew more than 900 attendees representing more than 550

organizations. Highlights of this year’s Conference included a wonderful Opening­Night Party, with eclectic foods and entertainment; the new addition of fast­paced “Speed Lead” business sessions; and Rebecca Ryan’s excellent keynote address at the Plenary Session, which focused on engaging younger generations of arts audiences. Our inaugural podcast, which highlights this year’s Conference, features interviews with attendees; you can listen to it on the Midwest Arts Conference home page at www.artsmidwest.org/programs/mac. Plans are underway for next year’s Conference, which will take place from September 17–20, 2008, in Kansas City, Missouri.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

BEST PLACETO WORK

Arts Midwest has become the first arts organization to be named one of the Twin Cities’ “Best Places to Work” by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Based on an examination of size, location, benefits, and employees’ opinions, Arts Midwest was selected from a group of 200 organizations to receive this award. The Business Journal highlighted the benefits received

by Arts Midwest employees, as well as the stimulating and creative work environment.

DAVID FRAHER RECEIVES 2007 GARY YOUNGAWARD

In recognition of his exemplary leadership, innovative thinking, enduring commitment to public support for the arts, and dedication to diverse artistic expression, Arts Midwest Executive Director David Fraher has received the 2007 Gary Young Award from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. The annual Gary Young Award recognizes an executive director who has made a significant contribution to the cultural community of their state or region.

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Student theater residency with Milwaukee Shakespeare. Photo

courtesy of Milwaukee Shakespeare.

A book group reading Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 as part of The Big Read.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS INITIATIVES

THE BIG READ Arts Midwest continues to administer The Big Read, a national initiative designed to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. Since its inception, the program has served approximately 275 communities across the United States by engaging libraries, literary organizations, colleges, and arts organizations with other community and school partners to encourage the reading of seminal works of American literature. The growing list of books include Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and many more. Arts Midwest has also been selected to manage the production of The Big Read Film, a forthcoming documentary featuring interviews with many of the renowned authors whose works were chosen for The Big Read.

NEA JAZZ MASTERS

Through our management, NEA Jazz Masters on Tour reached all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands between June 2005 and June 2007. Twenty­seven NEA Jazz Masters participated in the program, conducting 193 performances and reaching an audience of more than 165,000.

We are currently working with the National Endowment for the Arts to launch NEA Jazz Masters Live, a follow­up effort to NEA Jazz Masters on Tour that will provide funding nationally to organizations presenting one or more NEA Jazz Master in a variety of engagements, such as performances, extended residencies, commissions, or educational seminars. A select group of organizations will be chosen to participate in NEA Jazz Masters Live over the next two years.

SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: SHAKESPEARE FOR A NEW GENERATION

In the 2006–2007 phase of Shakespeare for a New Generation, 36 theater companies received matching grants to support performances and educational activities in their communities, states, or regions. These theater companies reached 1,270 communities in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, bringing 871 live performances of Shakespeare’s plays and 2,328 educational activities to approximately 242,000 middle­ and high­school students from 2,154 schools. For the 2007–2008 phase of Shakespeare for a New Generation, 36 theater companies have been selected and many performances and educational activities are already underway.

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

THE BIG READEGYPT/U.S. Recognizing our experience with international programming, the U.S. Department of State has chosen Arts Midwest to develop and manage The Big Read Egypt/U.S., a landmark collaboration based upon the successful model of The Big Read and designed to encourage discussion between citizens of the United States and Egypt. As an extension of the Big Read philosophy, Big Read Egypt/U.S. is internationally aimed at deepening cultural understanding through reading and discussion of literary works. Big Read Egypt/U.S. will introduce seminal works in American literature, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, and The Grapes of Wrath, to four institutions in Egypt, which will host discussion groups, talks, readings, and other programming modeled on the successful format of the Big Read in the United States. In turn, four participating Big Read communities in the United States will read and discuss a selection by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz. Over an eighteen­month period, four participating U.S. communities will join the four Egyptian institutions in a true literary exchange that will promote expansive international discussion and cultural discourse.