The Rural Arts and Culture Summit is a biennial, practitioner-driven gathering that celebrates and expands the field of rural arts-based community development.

The 2019 Summit took place October 3 – 5, 2019 at the Reif Center for Performing Arts in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Interested in what was covered? You can look at the schedule here, or download a pdf of the program.

Dates and location for the 2021 RAC Summit will be announced in September 2020. Please join our mailing list or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to receive updates.

2019 Featured Speakers

Pam Breaux

President and CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Delina White

Anishinaabe fashion designer and bead work artist (Onigum, Minnesota)

Thomas X

Hip hop artist (Red Lake Band Ojibwe)

Moira Villiard

Artist, Activist, and Arts and Cultural Program Coordinator, American Community Indian Housing Organization

Susan DuPlessis

Community Arts Development Director for South Carolina Arts Commission (Columbia, South Carolina)

Em Johnson

Executive Director of Blue Sky Center (Cuyama Valley, California)

Nevada Littlewolf

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Erin Dorbin

Multimedia Historian (Houston County, Minnesota)

Annie Humphrey

Native American Music Awards 2018 Artist of the Year (Deer River, Minnesota)

Joseph Claunch

Zuni Pueblo Youth Enrichment Project (Zuni, New Mexico)

Jamie Horter

Rural advocate, small town artist and community coach (Lyons, Nebraska)

Sonja Merrild

Director of Grants, Blandin Foundation (Grand Rapids, Minnesota)

Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux

Mayor of Grand Marais, Minnesota

Whitney Kimball Coe

Coordinator of the National Rural Assembly (Athens, Tennessee)

Michele Lee Anderson

Rural Program Director, Springboard for the Arts (Fergus Falls, Minnesota)

2019 Organizing Partners


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