By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota Arts South Dakota supports public art of all varieties. Our organization often features the multitude of great public art projects happening across South Dakota in our magazine, Arts Alive. And in a creative place like our state, there always seems to be an important new piece of [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota While the educational experience has changed in South Dakota—with virtual learning, staggered schedules and a variety of measures to cope with the pandemic—every community understands how vital it is to keep kids learning. The arts have played a vital role for all of us throughout 2020, and [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota As a musician, I’m aware of the unique way that music draws people together. As we play, musicians look out on audiences that are diverse—all ages, races, genders—and yet all moving to the beat of the same tune. The arts do that—bring us together around a single [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota South Dakota’s working artists have been among the groups hardest hit by the economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the best of times, artists must struggle to weave together a livelihood, and now this group is particularly vulnerable as their work relies on public gatherings and [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota The path of an artist is not an easy one. It takes courage in the best of times and today we need you to be extra courageous, facing our current challenges with your creative spirit. That creativity will help us all negotiate the uncertainties of tomorrow, embrace [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota As the situation in our state continues with a growing number of cases of COVID-19, most of us are trying to shelter in place to do our part to not spread the virus. We are all grateful to those essential services employees who continue to keep things [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota These are incredible times. Our world seems to be upside down and life as we know it has essentially come to a standstill. What did you have planned for last weekend? What did you end up doing? I'm sure most of us followed health experts’ advice by [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota New ideas have the power to energize people and organizations, and the State Arts Conference in Rapid City May 14-16 will be a catalyst of great creative ideas. This year’s conference featured speakers are Mary Anne Carter, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; Torrie Allen, [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota If you make art, support the arts and want to gather with people like you—the State Arts Conference in Rapid City May 14-16 is the place to be. This year’s conference celebrates the world-class artists of South Dakota, our state’s unique cultural heritage and our incredibly diverse [...]
By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota One of the key roles of Arts South Dakota is to encourage South Dakotans to speak out in support of the arts. We call it arts advocacy—but it is really just telling positive stories about the many ways the arts make a difference in your life. It’s [...]
