Do you miss connecting with other rural artists in-person? Apply to the Rural Connection Fund!

The Rural Connection Fund will provide rural artists in the Upper Midwest with $2,000 to support informal gatherings of rural artists and creatives to witness one another’s work, exchange ideas and learning, and build a foundation for long lasting peer support.

Who is Eligible? Culture bearers, makers, artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, performers and other creatives in rural and tribal communities of 30,000 people or less in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and the Native Nations that share those geographies). Gatherings must connect at least two rural artists who live at least 75 miles apart.

Types of gatherings may include but are not limited to:

  • Informal exchanges to visit one another’s community and witness one another’s work in person

  • Mini-retreats of 2 or more rural artists/creatives to explore a specific topic and share learning

  • Gatherings of artists from multiple locations to connect.

    Note: we encourage simplicity! It is rare to get a chance to visit another artist without an obligation to fulfill, so consider how this can nurture other aspects of your artistic life without adding new major commitments to your life.

The Rural Connection Fund has 3 rolling deadlines to enter your request in our lottery-based selection process. The lottery pool is reset after each selection, but in your form, you can choose to automatically resubmit your request for each deadline.

  • November 1, 2022
  • January 6, 2023
  • March 3, 2023