Pop-Up Art & Culture Activations Program
To download the Notice of Funding Availability, click HERE
To download a list of application questions, click HERE
Purpose
The Pop-Up Art & Culture Activations Program supports projects that incorporate a primary creative component and leverage the unique and specialized skills and creative ambition of local creatives/artists to enhance community-building. This program is geared to incentivize temporary new and innovative projects/activities.
Terms And Conditions
Awards of up to $5,000 per selected applicant will be provided.
The awardee must have a signed contract before December 20, 2024.
Funding will be available to selected awardees during a 12-month period.
Selection Criteria
Eligible Locations
All Pop-Up Art Activations must benefit communities and residents within the City of Minneapolis Cultural Districts, with projects taking place within and in *close proximity to the Minneapolis Cultural Districts.
*ACA is open to considering proposals located within a 5-block radius of the boundaries delineating the cultural district. Each proposal will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine its alignment with our objectives and requirements.
The seven Cultural Districts include:
Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be Minnesota residents and be able to work in-person throughout the term of their work on this Program. Preference to Minneapolis residents.
If the applicant is a group, art space, school, or neighborhood association, an individual representing this group must be named.
If the applicant is an informal collective that is not a registered business with the state, a Minnesotan resident in compliance with state laws must be willing to contract with the City on behalf of the group
Local individual artists, artist groups/teams, arts organizations and arts/culture service organizations focusing on these artistic and community-building practices: visual, performing, literary, media, traditional, digital and public arts as well as design and craft and those working in non-traditional media.
Application must be submitted by the application deadline. Late applications will not be considered.
IMPORTANT DATES
Applications open: June 21, 2024
Program information webinar: June 28, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. (Sign Up)
Questions on NOFA due: July 2, 2024
Responses to Questions posted: July 8, 2024
Application deadline: July 26, 2024, at 4:30 PM CST
Applications review: July 29 to August 9, 2024
Award notifications: August 15, 2024
Eligible funding period: August 20, 2024, to July 31, 2025
Eligible Activations
Programming and Activations may include, but are not limited to the following:
Projects representing new thought and innovation that invest in the creative ambition of Minneapolis residents.
Projects/activities can include disciplines such as dance, drumming, puppetry, fashion events, songwriting, performance, improv theater, poetry, bilingual plays, sound healing, audio storytelling, dance parties, technology, interactive installations, hands-on activities for youth, storytelling through film and visual art, and radically new forms of creativity.
Artist-driven gatherings, creative collaborative engagement sessions, community dialogues and celebrations. Therapeutic creative projects to promote stress-relief, safety, racial healing, belonging, and social connection.
Artist-led temporary art projects such as murals, sculpture and/or interactive installations located on private property and in vacant lots, parks, plazas, and underutilized spaces.
Artist-created outdoor spaces on private or public property for community gathering and celebrations.
All arts project proposals are welcome, including programs that serve diverse communities including but not limited to: childcare, youth, teens, single parents, college-aged communities, seniors, families, migrants, people with disabilities, K-12 arts programs, Two-Spirit and LGBTAQI+, POCII communities, hospitality/culture workers, unsheltered, formally and currently incarcerated, and recovery communities.
Eligible Project Expenses
Budget, including any proposed expenses, must be pre-approved by Arts & Cultural Affairs staff and meet the state’s public purpose expenditures criteria
Staff wages and benefits expended on program work
Artist fees
Supplies and equipment necessary to carry out program activities
Convening expenses
Communication expenses
Marketing expenses
Team-Building expenses
Expenses to enhance accessibility
Expenses supporting representation and inclusion
Offset Free and/or affordable events
funding cannot be used for costs such as an applicant’s general operating expenses; political, religious, or lobbying activities; and gift cards, cash incentives, or giveaway items.
Applicant’s final budget, including any proposed expenses, must be pre-approved by ACA staff and all expenditures must meet a public purpose.
(Note: this program is not intended to fund or engage with the City’s ongoing public art programming. Public art projects, such as murals created through this program may need to follow the City’s public art policies, particularly all projects in the Right of Way or on City property. Project timelines will need to accommodate these processes.)
Evaluation Criteria
In reviewing applications, the review team/panel will consider the criteria below. The City may, in its sole discretion, expand or reduce the criteria upon which it bases its final decisions.
Priority will be given to applicants who either live in and/or work in or near one of the city's seven Cultural Districts.
Priority will be given to applicants with cultural competency and authentic connections to Minneapolis communities.
Applicant must demonstrate the capacity to engage communities in diverse, deep and meaningful ways.
Applicant must demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of their selected Cultural District’s history, culture, and local community.
Applicant must demonstrate artistic merit and innovation as well as site-specific and site-responsive sensibility in their proposed project.
Applicant must demonstrate community impact and the ability to stimulate dialogue, provoke thought and/or inspire action in their proposed projects.
Applicant must demonstrate ability to ensure project is accessible to a diverse audience and inclusive of various backgrounds, abilities and perspectives.
Applicant and application must meet all eligibility criteria and satisfy all Notice for Funding Availability (NOFA) requirements.
Whether NOFA Project funds are available.
How well the application meets City goals, priorities and plans, including the reduction of climate impact and ensure equity.
Expressed needs of the applicant and affiliated arts sector
Quality, thoroughness, and clarity of the application.
Qualifications and experience of the applicant.
Feasibility of proposed activities and ability of applicant to complete proposed activities.
Level of creativity, innovation, and community building expressed in the application.
Ability to support a broad range of unique artists and diverse arts activities that support creative art making and cultural exchange.