Bright Stars

Charting the Impact of the Arts in Rural Minnesota

Greater Minnesota's communities are coping with economic challenges and a declining population by reinventing themselves. A new report about the arts in rural Minnesota finds that, for many towns, the tools of the reinvention are the arts and artists. The report confirms that the arts act as invaluable communication tools, economic drivers, and vital cultural links with the rest of Minnesota, the nation, and the world.

Bright Stars: Charting the Impact of the Arts in Rural Minnesota is published by The McKnight Foundation and was developed in partnership with Creation In Common in St. Paul, a firm dedicated to facilitating creative discourse and communication in order to strengthen communities. The stories featured in Bright Stars are examples of how the arts are playing a critical role in maintaining the traditional vitality of rural Minnesota.

The report explored the impact of the arts on eight Minnesota towns with populations from 500 to 13,000: Bemidji, Bigfork, Fergus Falls, Grand Marais, Harmony, Lanesboro, Montevideo, and New York Mills.

mnartists.org will present a series of collections featuring artists regisered on the site from each of these towns. Artists in this collection are registed in Beltrami, the county is in the Bemidji metro area.

The McKnight Foundation
To receive a copy of Bright Stars: Charting the Impact of the Arts in Rural Minnesota, please visit The McKnight Foundation web site.

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