We’re reaching out to share some difficult news.
Our National Endowment for the Arts grant has been terminated. That means funding for our visual arts program for young people, Emerging Young Artists, will be impacted due to a shift in national funding priorities. This year, those funds enabled 59 students to showcase their creativity in a month-long gallery exhibition, and more than 600 students to learn from a professional COMPAS teaching artist during in-school residencies. Here’s a glimpse of what that experience meant to them.
We have appealed the decision but don’t know if it will be reversed. For the young people we serve, that means fewer chances to create, explore, and grow through art. These opportunities matter. We know this because we see it every day, and the research backs it up. Creative experiences are not luxuries. They are tied to better outcomes in school, stronger mental health, and greater success throughout life.
COMPAS has been doing this work for 50 years. We have weathered many changes, and we will keep moving forward. We also know we are not alone. Many arts organizations in Minnesota and across the country are facing similar losses. We stand with them.
If you are wondering how you can help, here are three things we invite you to do:
- Contact your elected officials, particularly those in Congress, and let them know you support public investment in the arts. Our friends at Americans for the Arts have provided an easy way to do this.
- Share this message with others who care about creativity and equity.
- Support COMPAS and other community arts organizations continuing this work in challenging times
Thank you for standing with us. We will keep doing the work because the people of Minnesota deserve nothing less.
Warmly,
