Our four key (and often intertwining) program areas seek to connect rural municipalities and artists; activate rural community assets; support rural arts and cultural workers; and nurture the rural arts and culture field. We support rural communities through artist-led, creative, cross-disciplinary, and cross-sector initiatives that celebrate and build on existing efforts while inspiring new ideas, approaches, and ways of thinking.
Our work sits at the intersection of arts and rural economic and community development; we are a nonprofit organization that seeks grant funding, but we’re also distributing funds directly to artists and communities. Through piloting and building programs and networks with bird’s-eye-view fieldwork, we operate as connectors and pollinators, encouraging creativity and ideas to grow.
As arts and cultural workers, we listen to the stories that rural people and places tell about themselves and the stories that are told about them. We critically examine and adjust our role in shifting damaging narratives of scarcity, isolation, and decline to those of abundance, connection, and hope.
DoPT is a multi-centered organization that works on projects and programs in and with Southwest Minnesota; statewide throughout Greater Minnesota; regionally in the Upper Midwest; and nationally across the United States. Below is a selection of the work we do.
Activate Rural
Activate Rural is a cohort-based peer network, workshop series, and resource hub which supports community leaders and artists in cultivating welcoming and creative physical places of connection in rural communities.
IGNITE RURAL Artist RESIDENCY
Ignite Rural is an 8-month “at-home” artist residency program for rural arts and cultural workers in the Upper Midwest. This hybrid in-person and online residency program prioritizes the leadership and artistic growth of BIPOC and Native artists and culture bearers.
THE YES! HOUSE
The YES! House is an in-progress creative community gathering space in Granite Falls, MN. The programming and design of the space was determined through an Artist-Led Design Build (ALDB) process facilitated by local and national artists and architects including Homeboat, MO/EN Design Practice, and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership.
BEYOND THE CLOCK!
Beyond the Clock is a series of virtual learning exchanges & happy hours for rural connectors and cultural workers hosted by the Department of Public Transformation and Voices for Rural Resilience, in partnership with the Rural Assembly.
River Valley Ripple Artist Residency
River Valley Ripple (RVR) is a Southwest Minnesota Artist Residency program focused on uplifting and supporting emerging and established rural artists with time, space, and resources to further develop and/or expand their artistic practice.