From Bach to Qeej: St. Paul awards $1.3 million in Cultural STAR grants to 66 nonprofits

The St. Paul City Council this week approved nearly $1.3 million in grant funding to 66 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

The grants are funded by a portion of the city’s half-cent sales tax, which for 25 years has supported the Cultural Sales Tax Revitalization (STAR) program. A nine-member board appointed by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter reviewed the applications and made recommendations to the mayor and city council prior to council approval on Wednesday.

The board received more than $3 million in funding requests, making it one of the most competitive years in recent memory, said Bethany Gladhill, business director for FilmNorth and the vice-chair of the Cultural STAR board, in a statement.

“The applications were incredibly diverse, highlighting our city’s rich cultural life,” she said.

A separate program, Neighborhood STAR, provides competitive funding for capital projects in St. Paul neighborhoods.

Among the Cultural STAR grant recipients announced this week were a series of events to be held in downtown St. Paul, including Rondo Night at the Winter Carnival, mobile mini concerts from the Bach Society of Minnesota, the Transforming Generations Pride BBQ Festival, the Flint Hills Family Festival, the Lowertown Sounds music series, the Minnesota Qeej and Hmong Arts Festival, and the COMPAS Emerging Young Artists Juried Student Show.

Overall, grants will support programs and events in each of the city’s seven political wards, from new digital access to materials at the East Side Freedom Library to the Marydale Festival and a production at the Six Points Theater. Other recipients include the African American Railway Workers Exhibit at the Minnesota Transportation Museum, the Ballet Minnesota Dance Festival, Art from the Inside, Cantus, the Creative Enterprise Zone, Historic St. Paul, the Irish Fair of Minnesota and the Lower Phalen Creek Project.

A full list of the 66 grant recipients is available online at tinyurl.com/StpSTAR2023.

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