The Activate Rural Learning Lab is a 2-year curated cohort experience for teams of entrepreneurs, artists, and activators to cultivate creative third places in rural communities.
The Learning Lab provides grant funding and ongoing curated technical assistance through monthly project check-ins, workshops and gatherings, and allocated staff time to support the development of systems for the project’s operations, activations, and stewardship.
Since the launch of the Learning Lab in 2023 with five activation projects, every $1 of Activate Rural funding leveraged an average of $4.30 from other public and private funding sources.
The second Learning Lab Cohort launched in May 2026, building off learnings from the first cohort experience while expanding the program geographically and financially thanks to continued support from the Mellon Foundation. The 2026-2028 Cohort is made up of ten building activation projects in rural communities with a population under 20,000 residents in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Native nations that share that geography.
2026-2028 Learning Lab Cohort
Ten building activation projects and teams in rural communities (populations ranging from 160 to 13,000) were selected to participate in the 2026-2028 Activate Rural Learning Lab Cohort.
Creative Healing Space is activating a downtown storefront as a “cultural living room” designed to function as a welcoming, arts-centered third place where shared tables and accessible creative materials invite informal gathering, conversation, and creative play, as well as regular creative programs such as open studios, drop-in art nights, open mics, storytelling circles, performances, and rotating exhibitions.
Cultivate Cut Bank is activating a 1940s commercial building and surrounding public space to connect their community through experiences that inspire belonging and shared understanding, while also celebrating local identity, culture, history, and traditions.
Ground Control is activating a 6,000-square foot industrial building as an indoor skatepark, performance venue, and multimedia studio functioning as a vibrant community hub for local youth, skaters, and community members of the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Folk Forum is activating the 114-year-old Oak Center General Store, continuing its legacy as a rural gathering place and performance hall while building new programming that expands outreach and develops a cultural archive of its rich history and stakeholder stories.
The Kingsley History Project is activating the Broadus CornerStore, an operating gas station/convenience store with an adjacent courtyard and a metal building, to reimagine their space as a cultural commons – Páeo'hé'e Commons – a place where you can still grab coffee and fuel, but also encounter public art, hear local music, join a story circle, or attend a small workshop.
Mainspring is activating a historic church building to intentionally and organically grow their rural community centering artists in the essential work of rural future-building, radical healing, and intentional justice-oriented work.
Mni Wichoni Health Circle is activating Tribal college spaces to carry out its mission as a cultural care community that provides wellness programming rooted in ancestral practices of kinship, traditional craft, food sovereignty, storytelling, and community gathering.
Nis’to, Inc is a part of a community collaborative of art organizations and Christophersons Corner that are activating a spacious historic downtown building to provide a variety of art studios, cultural arts workshops, gallery exhibitions, and pop-up art shows as well as health wellness activities and food sovereignty initiatives.
Project49 is activating the historic Teslow grain elevator and renovating it to become a permanent creative gathering place complete with artist studios, a community makerspace, and flexible spaces for youth programming, workshops, and events.
Roots & Grass Theater Co is activating agricultural spaces throughout its prairie ranching community, creating opportunities for neighbors to reconnect to food heritage, oral narratives, and shared human experience through summer stock-style theater productions, pay-what-you-can meals at the Sheep Shed Cafe and community garden, and a variety of local arts programming for visiting and local writers, musicians, and land-based artists.
2023-2025 Learning Lab Cohort
Five building activation projects and teams in rural Minnesota communities (populations ranging from 600 to 5,000) and the White Earth Nation (population of 10,000) were selected to participate in the 2023-2025 Learning Lab Cohort.
Frequently Asked Questions
ACTIVATE RURAL CONTACTS
Sarina Otaibi, Activate Rural Program Director, sarina@publictransformation.org
Courtney Bergey Swanson, Activate Rural Program Associate Director, courtney@publictransformation.org
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No, we are not accepting applications at this time.
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Creativity and community connection must be central to the project. The place is or will be regularly open to all members of the community. We welcome creative approaches to the reuse of buildings as long as the space is welcoming to all residents and supports artistic and creative expression. Examples of projects may include, but are not limited to:
An existing taproom or cafe transforming its space to support artists and culture bearers and/or to become more welcoming to the local community
A former barn or church building transforming into an arts and youth center for the community
A downtown commercial building transforming into a multi-use community hub housing a cafe, performance venue, and/or a meeting and event space
A former school building transforming into artists studios, commercial kitchen, and/or gathering spaces
A museum transforming spaces into a performance venue and/or gathering place for artists
A combination of all the above or an idea we haven’t thought of yet!
Learn about the activation projects from the 2023-2025 Cohort at the bottom of this page to view video stories or by downloading the Activate Rural Atlas.
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The primary contact listed in the letter of agreement must be an entity with an EIN number and a bank account. These types of entities would be eligible because they are inherently community-driven:
Municipal, tribal, or county governments
Quasi-government entities like regional development commissions or regional arts councils
Local nonprofit organizations or fiscally sponsored groups, including, but not limited to Main Street or downtown organizations, art centers, preservation groups, historical societies, or community development organizations
Chambers of Commerce
Cooperatives, including, but not limited to art collectives, restaurant or cafe, grocery
Public Libraries
Some entities that are NOT eligible to be the lead applicant include:
K-12 schools
Individual businesses that do not have a community-driven team
Churches (programming cannot be affiliated with a religion)
These types of entities can be partners but cannot be the lead applicant.
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DoPT intentionally defines the term “artist” broadly. An artist is anyone who is creative, resourceful, inspired, and driven to collaborate across all sectors of public, private, and civic life. This includes mediums such as visual, performance, multimedia, literary, social/ civic, culinary, land, traditional, folk, textile, and more. We mean culture bearers, craftspeople, artisans, hobbyists, contractors, and handypeople.
An activator is anyone who is an instigator, organizer, connector and cheerleader of the effort. They are the ones ready to show up first, roll up their sleeves, and encourage others to join the journey. Team members may be both an activator and artist.
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Activation is the implementation of creative community engagement activities to transform a place into a curious, open, and cultural experience for local residents. Activities may range from hosting artist workshops and exhibitions to performances, open mics, and community conversations. It can be collaborative mural making, game nights, meals shared with neighbors, haunted house frights, pop-up markets, and other activities that connect people and place.
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For the 2023-2025 Learning Lab, we received 19 eligible applications in Minnesota. For the 2026-2028 Learning Lab, we received 128 applications from communities in the expanded geographic area of rural Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Native nations that share that geography
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Yes! Your organization can access Activate Rural resources through:
Our series of public workshops and events, both virtual and in-person
The Activate Rural Resource Hub, which is full of digital resources for rural third space projects
Free coaching sessions with the Activate Rural team, which are available to rural projects anywhere in the United States
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