Congratulations to Annie Hough, Bethany Lacktorin, and Inkpa Mani!
Left to right: Annie Hough, Bethany Lacktorin, Inkpa Mani
On August 26, Springboard for the Arts announced the selection of 11 artists for the inaugural cohort of Rural Regenerator Fellows for 2021. Springboard’s Rural Regenerator Fellows live or work in communities of 50,000 people or fewer across the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois and the Native Nations that share those geographies).
The peer selection process prioritized people who are Black, Indigenous, Native, People of Color, LGBTQIA+, women and gender non-binary people, and/or people with disabilities. Each fellow will receive $10,000 in flexible funds to support their existing work or to launch a new project in their community, and will participate in two years of learning exchanges with their fellow rural artists.
“This is one of few programs in the United States that provides unrestricted financial support and long term learning exchanges between rural artists, and it’s long overdue,” said Michele Anderson, Rural Program Director at Springboard for the Arts. “The artists in this cohort have been doing essential work in their communities. They see wild possibilities when communities are most stuck, and they use art, culture and creativity to help reframe challenges and opportunities, build relationships, repair historic harms, and dream big about a future that works better for everyone. They’re doing much of this work without consistent or reliable resources and without opportunities to learn deeply with other rural practitioners. We’re so excited to support and amplify their work, and to learn alongside them about the best ways to sustain and expand the impact of rural artists in general.”
Three of the eleven are from this region, and have received support from LRAC: Annie Hough received a Career Development grant, Bethany Lacktorin is this year’s Fellowship awardee, and Inkpa Mani participated in the Arts Mentorship program.
Portrait of Annie Hough
Annie Hough
North Moorhead, MN
Annie Hough was born and raised in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Her first loves were nature and literature. After sustaining a traumatic brain injury during adolescence, those loves helped her to stay positive. They actually became passions -- guiding her towards a Master's degree in Horticulture and a career writing educational plays for children.
Annie is delighted to live in Moorhead, Minnesota with her wonderful friend Richard and their adorable little dog, Elmer. As a new home and garden owner, she has joined the Clay County Master Gardener program and fallen in love with gardening.
Staying healthy and active is a top priority for Annie. In addition to writing and gardening, her interests include exploring nature, reading, eating, triking, swimming and kayaking with friends and family. Annie is having a blast working on her seventh educational play for children.
Portrait of Bethany Lacktorin
Bethany Lacktorin
Pope County, Ordway Prairie
Bethany Lacktorin is a performance artist and community organizer who lives and was raised in Pope County, on the Ordway Prairie. An adopted Korean raised by Scandinavians on this stolen Dakota land, her artistic work is a navigation and interpretation of dual identities and reconciliations. Mindful of the layers of history this land embodies for herself, the Dakota who were forced off, and for the neighboring Scandinavian descendants, Lacktorin's artistic practice rests on modes of co-existence: the understanding that You and I are host and guest to the places we occupy and to each other. And that this relationship is one of continuous exchange and reciprocity. With the hope of reflecting these principals in her work, relationships and in whatever she puts into the world, Lacktorin serves as chair of the New London Arts Alliance, is the Director of Little Theatre Auditorium and chairs the New London Human Rights Commission.
Portrait of Inkpa Mani
Inkpa Mani
Wheaton, MN
Inkpa Mani is an Indigenous artist who grew up in the lands now known as Mexico and the United States and he currently lives in Wheaton, Minnesota. He earned his BFA at the University of South Dakota in 2019. Inkpa is a multi-disciplinary artist and academic. Inkpa works with paints, stone, paper, and digital media to explore his culture. His process involves community, oral histories, institutional research, and critical theory to highlight the concerns and values of his people. He integrates art, history, and tradition to share new ideas of contemporary life. Inkpa shares the continuum of Indian art that has evolved for thousands of years. He shares his knowledge of Native American history, art and culture and how Indigenous people have adapted to changes in social and cultural landscapes. He has worked on large scale sculptures, murals, and community-based arts in the Midwest as well as working with Dakota language education. Inkpa currently works at Tiospa Zina Tribal School and is earning his Business Administration degree and his Dakota Teaching Certificate from Sisseton Wahpeton College. He is working on an extensive portrait series and a large-scale stone sculpture in Sisseton, SD.
