talent dividend : Featured Stories

Microloans help artists bridge the gaps between other sources of funding. Springboard for the Arts is currently testing a microloan model and has partnered with Kiva, a microlending platform that funds small businesses around the world.  

Artspace enjoys a long history of working with culturally distinct groups in the development of affordable artist live/work housing and community spaces. From El Barrio in NY to Honolulu, HI, these projects allow artists to celebrate themselves.

Not-to-miss Fringe shows, a neighborhood happy hour, beer and bikes…a few of our favorite things for August arts and culture.    

The Line and Creative Exchange Present “Creating Community,” a dynamic, participatory event featuring community builders and creative producers from fine art, technology, design and nonprofits.  

According to a recent panel discussion, we need to own our cold climate and our ingenuity in order to attract new talent, continue fueling the innovation at the heart of our economy, and create a new and authentic national identity. Shall we call ourselves the North?  

Creative collaborations on St. Paul’s East Side, throughout Little Africa in St. Paul and along West Broadway in North Minneapolis are helping small businesses thrive while sparking economic vitality and community pride.

CommonBond, an innovative non-profit organization that operates 95 housing developments throughout the Upper Midwest, also offers residents classes and one-on-one counseling about school, employment, finances, and health and wellness.

"What's next for your city?" That the question Urban Innovation Exchange (UIX) will explore at its first national convening this September 24-26, 2014 in Detroit.

MSP isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as Silicon Valley and Austin. But our local tech startup scene is leaping forward due to homegrown co-working companies, which lower barriers to success, growth and profitability through collaboration.

Since 2010, JXTA has been providing paid opportunities for young people to gain skills in art and design. These youth make an hourly wage, between minimum wage and $10 per hour, while being trained in areas like graphic design and contemporary art.

The Minneapolis theater company Ten Thousand Things builds connections  both radical and backed by tradition by telling  stories for intimate and often non-traditional audiences, with the lights up and minimal staging, using the power of communal imagination.

Galtier Community School in Saint Paul decided to revolutionize education through design thinking after the American Architectural Foundation’s (AAF) Design for Learning program.

What do Black Hawk Down star Josh Hartnett, Tony award nominee Laura Osnes, and Comedy Central writers Charlie Sanders and Colton Dunn have in common? They all once belonged to this stellar Minneapolis youth theater company.