South Dakota: Residencies for Recovery

Artists paint a mural titled Wanahca, the Lakota word for flower that blooms. This mural portrays a Native woman breathing life into the rest of the scene. She is seen braiding her hair, which flows into the Missouri River. The photo features project facilitator Amber Hansen, community member Anita Laxmi Sh restha, guest artist Jenae Porter and community member Geoffrey Gray-Lobe. Photo courtesy of Vermillion Community Mural Project

Residencies for Recovery, a new program of the South Dakota Arts Council (SDAC), uses artist-led practices to promote community recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, to prepare for future disasters and to build resiliency through the arts. The program is based on the premise that artists are creative problem solvers, able to build community bonds and find solutions to shared challenges. Residencies for Recovery grants will support collaborations, planning initiatives and special projects that enrich civic and cultural life and use art to strengthen and revive South Dakota communities in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residencies for Recovery awards of $7,225 will support payments to artists to work with cultural organizations, community service organizations and local government entities throughout the course of a 6- to 12-month residency. South Dakota arts organizations begin the application process by consulting with local stakeholders to define a challenge they would like to address through a community-involved approach. The organization must secure the participation of a local official (elected or appointed) on the planning team and describe the process that will be used to recruit and select artists. The grant category is open to nonprofit organizations that are eligible for SDAC Emergency Assistance Grants. Organizations approved for Residencies for Recovery projects will receive nonmatching amendments to their earlier SDAC Emergency Assistance Grants to encompass funds for artist payments.

This program is funded by the state using federal relief funds from the National Endowment for the Arts through the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act. For more information, contact SDAC Executive Director Patrick Baker.