State arts agencies are increasingly cultivating partnerships with their state departments of natural resources. These cross-sector collaborations can promote public access to the arts and employment opportunities for artists while also boosting public enjoyment of park lands. Arts in the parks programs strengthen the connections between natural and cultural resources, encouraging both healthier living and…
Partnering with an organization that is both trusted and highly networked in the Native community can help to facilitate access to state resources. This strategy is exemplified by a partnership between the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) and Sacred Pipe Resource Center. A custom star quilt made by Eternal Bloom Blankets. Photo courtesy…
The North Dakota Council on the Arts is building stronger relationships with Native communities by collaborating with Indigenous artists and culture bearers to archive, repatriate, and share traditional songs and important cultural stories. With a collaboration spanning over 10 years, the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA), 13 Native artists and the North Dakota…
“Creative Placemaking: Joining the State’s Eight Regions” is a new initiative of the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA). This multiyear effort will use public art as a vehicle for rural community development. North Dakota is comprised of eight geographic regions. While each contains an anchor city or town, the regions are predominantly rural.…
The North Dakota Governor’s Photo Contest for Travel and Tourism is an annual event that recognizes the creative talent of North Dakotans as well as the natural beauty, abundant wildlife, unique places and vibrant communities of the Peace Garden State. The contest, which is open only to photographers who live in North Dakota, is a…
A recent $100,000 Community Creativity Cohort grant from the Bush Foundation is enabling the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) to expand its creative aging work. Through its Art for Life program, NDCA supports arts activities—such as combining traditional dance and a mobile painting device—in eldercare facilities in effort to improve the emotional and…
Because the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) knows that STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education enhanced by the integration of the arts is key to nurturing both sides of the brain and to preparing whole students for the 21st century, it supports STEAM education through financial assistance as well as professional development…
Through its participation in the National Park Service and Amtrak’s Trails & Rails Program, the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) cultivates audiences and opportunities for local performing artists while simultaneously introducing travelers to the state’s cultural and geographic diversity. The national Trails & Rails Program, which began in 2002, aims to connect Amtrak…
Education policy is a complex tapestry in America, consisting of a dynamic mixture of federal, state and local resources and regulations. Within this multilayered system, many important decisions affecting the quality and availability of arts education are made at the state level. This year, a number of state legislatures introduced bills affecting arts education. Some…
The North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) recently sponsored a youth photography exchange between rural communities in North Dakota and Iceland. Many families of Icelandic heritage reside in northeastern North Dakota, creating one of the largest Icelandic communities outside of Iceland. NDCA supports international residency programs that encourage intercultural understanding through arts learning, with…
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