Arts Midwest

“The organization contracts with cliftonlarsonallen, llp, an accounting firm, to provide financial management services. During fy 2016, the organization paid $41,246 for these services.”

“The members of the organization are non-voting and consist of those interested in the goals and purposes of the corporation. Membership is attained upon application.”

“A detailed review was conducted by the organization's president & ceo and by the treasurer. The full board conducted a final review and approval of the return prior to filing.”

“Each director, officer, key employee and member of a committee with board delegated powers shall complete and sign a conflicts of interest policy annual statement at the time of his or her initial election or appointment and annually thereafter. An interested person may make a presentation at the board or committee meeting regarding the proposed transaction or arrangement, but after such presentation, there interested person shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the proposed transaction or arrangement that results in the conflict of interest. Additionally (1) the chairperson of the board (or committee) shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement (2) after exercising due diligence, the board (or committee) shall determine whether the organization can obtain a move advantageous transaction or arrangement with reasonable efforts from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest (3) If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonable attainable under the circumstances that would not give rise to a conflict of interest, the board (or committee) shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors (or committee members), whether the transaction or arrangement is in the organizations best interest and for its own benefit and whether the transaction is fair and reasonable to the organization and shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement in conformity with such determination. Detailed minutes of board of committee meetings are maintained to document all such situations.”

“The executive committee sets compensation for the president & CEO. The executive committee uses the following procedures to set the compensation of the president & CEO (1) for the purpose of setting the president & CEOs compensation, the executive committee shall be made up entirely of individuals who do not have a conflict of interest with respect to the compensation arrangement (2) the executive committee obtains and relies upon appropriate data as to comparability prior to making its determination regarding the compensation of the president & CEO. Appropriate comparability data includes compensation levels paid by organizations of similar size and complexity nationally, regionally and locally, and current compensation surveys. Detailed documents are maintained of all deliberations and decisions. The process of determining the compensation of the president & CEO last included review and approval by independent persons, comparability data and contemporaneous substantiation in 2015. The executive committee delegates to the president & CEO the authority to set compensation for other executives.”

“The organization does not make its governing documents or conflict of interest policy available to the public. The organizations financial statements are made available to the public through the Minnesota Attorney Generals office.”

“(Continuation from Part III) Arts Midwest works collaboratively with private and public arts supporters throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Arts Midwest designs and develops performing arts touring programs, leadership and strategic planning training, exhibitions, and funding programs that fulfill its mission.”

“(Continuation from Part III) Shakespeare in American Communities supports U.S. theater companies performing Shakespeare for high school and middle school students. NEA Performing Arts Discovery encourages international touring networks by introducing arts presenters from China and Chile to U.S. performing artists and artforms, primarily at our Arts Midwest Conference. The Native American / China Exchange tours highly-esteemed Native American performers to smaller cities and rural areas across China to introduce Chinese people to an often-overlooked facet of American culture. Arts Midwest touring fund engages people in meaningful experiences with the fine arts of dance, music, theater, and other performing arts forms. The program provides financial support to presenting organizations in the Midwest. Funded engagements feature public performances and community engagement activities by professional touring artists that reach underserved audiences and foster exchanges between artists and Midwest communities. During the 2016-2017 funding season, Arts Midwest Touring Fund awarded over $380,000 to more than 142 presenting organizations across the nine-state region. Arts Midwest World Fest connects small and mid-sized Midwestern communities to world cultures through week-long residencies with global performers. Ensembles from Israel (Baladino), China (Anda Union), South Africa/Canada (Lorraine Klaasen Ensemble), and Quebec (Le Vent Du Nord) are conducting week-long residencies consisting of public concerts, school concerts, and outreach activities in the following nine Midwest communities: Brookings, SD; Wahpeton, ND; Thief River Falls, MN; Rhinelander, WI; Forest City, IA; Lebanon, IL; Wilmington, OH; Adrian, MI; and Plymouth, IN. The program provides arts enrichment while inspiring multicultural outreach, awareness, and appreciation. In each two year cycle, we serve approximately 90,000 students and 15,000 adults through approximately 45 performances and 300 educational activities. Caravanserai: A Place Where Cultures Meet creates new pathways for Americans to experience the diversity of contemporary Muslim artistic expressions by introducing U.S. audiences to exciting and dynamic Muslim performing artists. The 2015-2016 Caravanserai: American Voices season featured contemporary Muslim American musical expressions shared by Palestinian-American multi-instrumentalist Ronnie Malley, Indian-American soul-singer Zeshan Bagewadi, popular hip-hop/soul duo The Reminders, hip-hip dance troupe MaMa2 and DJ Man-O-Wax. Three performing arts organizations in the Midwestern United States hosted two musical residencies featuring. Organizations included North Dakota Museum of Art (Grand Forks, ND); A Center for the Arts (Fergus Falls, MN) and The Dennos Museum Center (Traverse City, MI). Over the course of the performance season, the participating artists reached over 6,700 youth and adults through 32 educational events, 11 community outreach activities, and 9 public performances. The Arts Midwest Conference is the preeminent booking and educational conference for the Midwest performing arts industry. The 28th Annual Conference was held in Kansas City, Missouri, September 9-12, 2015; it served 1,026 performing artists, managers, and agents; performing arts presenters/venues; and arts administrators from 42 states and the District of Columbia, five Canadian provinces, and the countries of Chile, China, France and Germany. Each year the four-day Arts Midwest Conference provides opportunities to network, learn, and experience live performing arts. Arts Midwest continues to manage Shakespeare in American Communities, which supports theater companies bringing professional productions of Shakespeare to high school and middle school students across the country. In 2016-2017, this national program of the National Endowment for the Arts awarded $1 million in grants to 40 nonprofit, professional theater companies across the nation to perform the works of Wi”

“(Continuation from Part III) Each community event lasts approximately one month and includes a kick-off event to launch the program locally, ideally attended by the mayor and other local luminaries; major events devoted specifically to the book (e.g. panel discussions and author reading); events using the book as a point of departure (e.g. film screenings and theatrical readings); and book discussions in diverse locations and aimed at a wide range of audiences. In 2015-2016, 75 nonprofit organizations (including arts organizations, universities, libraries, and municipalities) representing 31 states received grants totaling $1,012,500 to host Big Read programs between September 2015 and June 2016. Each community focused on one of 37 featured books, which included such well-known titles as 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' by Mark Twain, 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London, and the stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe.”

“(Continuation from Part III) ArtsLab is rooted in the belief that the arts are essential to a Midwest filled with vibrant communities, competitive industries, and strong economies. Since fall 2014, Arts Midwest has been conducting research to understand existing, deeply held public values, and we have been pursuing communications strategies that demonstrate the connection between those values and arts, culture, and creative expression. These efforts are informing a long-term Creating Connection initiative, which is driven by a goal of making arts and culture a more recognized, valued, and expected part of everyday life through catalyzing social change around the way people support, advocate for, and expect creativity in their lives. Our activities include sharing our research at national conferences, providing trainings to arts organizations and community leaders across the country, and developing tools and resources to guide those leaders in identifying new audiences, engaging new stakeholders, and delivering programs and services that are aligned with community values.”

“The Arts Midwest Printmaker Exchange is a visual arts program of Arts Midwest with support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. Through a two-way exchange, the program encourages artistic development for established visual artists while building lasting relationships between artists and organizations in the United States and Chile. The program worked with two lead printmaking studios: Artists Image Resource in Pittsburgh, USA, and Taller 99 in Santiago, Chile. The program began with a leadership exchange: in June 2015, leaders from Artists Image Resource traveled to Chile, and in September 2016, leaders from Taller 99 traveled to Pittsburgh. These leadership visits created deep relationships between the two studios and facilitated planning for the following artist exchanges. From April 12May 12, 2016, two Chilean artists visited Artists Image Resource in Pittsburgh. From June 6June 25, 2016, two U.S. artists visited Taller 99 in Santiago. Each set of artists worked in residency alongside local printmakers, explored new methods to create work, hosted discussions and exhibitions, and visited key cultural venues. The participating studios will expand on the relationship established through this exchange with activities planned separately in 20162017.”

“Description:other professional fees total fees:1105560”