Resetting the Stage: Healing Communities in Post-2020 Realities

Shá Cage is a curator and cultural consultant. She is also a writer, activist, theater/film maker, performer and director who has been called a Change-maker, one of the leading artists of her generation, and a mover and maker. Her work has taken her to Japan, South Africa, Germany, England, West Africa, Canada, The Netherlands, Bosnia and Croatia, Sweden, and across the U.S. She holds both Emmy and Ivey awards, a TCG Career fellowship, a McKnight Theater Artist Fellowship, artists of the year recognitions, and international awards. She is the co-founder of several organizations and initiatives including The Million Artist Movement, The MN Artist Coalition, Tru Ruts, MN Spoken Word Association, Mama Mosaic, Black Film MN, Catalyst Arts, The Black Arts Healing Retreat, and the Black Arts Alliance. She was seen last as Lady Capulet on stage at the Guthrie Theater and has held lead roles at the Jungle, Penumbra, Frank Theater and Mixed Blood. She is the editor and curator of the Moment of Silence forthcoming anthology www.blackmnvoices.com and has 3 plays and 6 films to her credit. She has been using art to elevate Black and Brown narratives through Tru Ruts for over 20 years.

DeAnna Cummings joined McKnight in June 2020 as Arts program director. Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive, McKnight invests in the arts and other sectors to support the state’s working artists and advocate for the value of their work. Cummings is a cofounder, board member, and the former CEO of Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA), a social enterprise business in north Minneapolis that trains and employs historically underestimated youth as a springboard to higher education and careers in art and design. Established in 1995 as an after-school program in the North Side’s Sumner-Glenwood neighborhood, JXTA has become one of the most important cultural institutions in the Twin Cities. Prior to cofounding JXTA, Cummings served as a program officer for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and as a senior administrator for the Council on Black Minnesotans, since renamed the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage. Cummings has served on the Bush Foundation’s board of trustees since 2013. She is a 2016 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Women in Business awardee and a Minnesota Public Radio 2013 Arts Hero. From 2016 to 2018, she was a DeVos Institute Fellow in the selective international fellowship program in arts management at the University of Maryland, College Park. She holds a master’s in public administration from Harvard University and studied sociology and psychology at the University of Minnesota. Photo Credit: Ryan Stopera

Robert Lilligren is President and CEO of the Native America Community Development Institute (NACDI). He is enrolled in the White Earth Ojibwe Nation. Robert served for 12 years as the Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council. In his professional, political and activist work, Robert emphasizes empowering historically disenfranchised people. Robert lives the asset-based community development vision of NACDI. He was appointed to the Metropolitan Council in March of 2019 and is Chair of Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID), a regional leadership forum comprised of the executives of some three dozen Native organizations. Robert is a housing developer, transportation policy wonk, and year ‘round bike commuter. Robert’s work includes developing a strong Native cultural identity to a part of the city, policy work related to development on a neighborhood, city, and regional level and operating a cultural space

Erik Takeshita is passionate about advancing the role of art and culture in building stronger communities. Erik is currently a Senior Fellow at ArtPlace America. He previously served as Portfolio Director for Community Creativity at the Bush Foundation and Director of Creative Placemaking at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Erik also ran an arts center in Honolulu, HI and served a Senior Policy Aide to the Mayor of the City Minneapolis. Erik was trained as a potter, holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two daughters.