NDCA’s Community Arts Access grant offers up to $4000 of funding to organizations for community arts events and projects. The goals of the grant are to encourage groups to enhance the quality of programming and expand audiences while building arts capacity and to promote knowledge and appreciation of the arts in the state. In fiscal year 2025, NDCA’s Community Arts Access grant program awarded $96,219 to 28 organizations supporting a variety of concerts, festivals, mural projects, exhibits, theater performances, and other public arts activities—each bringing arts appreciation to communities across North Dakota.
Musical Performances
Several Community Arts Access grant recipients held concert performances throughout the year.
The Missouri River Community Band of Bismarck-Mandan performed two public concerts and three concerts with local 6th and 7th grade school bands. Performing with the school bands offered the band members “the unique and special opportunity to interact with and encourage student musicians,” wrote Steven Vogelpohl, Board Member.
Dakota Pro Musica held choral music performances in Bismarck, Mandan, Turtle Lake, and at the Assumption Abbey in Richardton, a location that drew over two hundred attendees.
Brass Band of Minot’s concerts in November and March exceeded expectations in both audience size and donations received, according to Julie Reiten, Board Vice President. Additionally, youth band members improved their musical abilities.
Sweet Adelines River Rhapsody’s barbershop-style performance of “That’s Christmas to Me” in Bismarck received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback, wrote Linda Harmsen, member of River Rhapsody. The show’s success helped motivate the group to participate in a regional competition in spring 2025, where they took first place in their division. “Taking a chance and thinking out of the box at Christmas helped set us up for success in our competition,” added Harmsen. River Rhapsody plans to compete in the Sweet Adelines international competition in spring 2026.
Lake Region Public Library Foundation of Devils Lake held concerts in early summer 2025. The three concerts showcased a kora (West African harp) performance, a vocalist from Bangladesh, and an Americana trio. The concert series resulted in a new partnership with the UND International Organization, “to continue to bring cultural experiences to Devils Lake,” noted Maddie Cummings, Library Director.
Musicians Association organized forty outdoor Summer Bandshell concerts in Mandan. Bands offered a variety of music, including country, big band, acoustic, community band, barbershop, choir, jazz, classic rock, gospel, and bluegrass. One concert was also dedicated to young musicians, who performed individually.
Three Rivers Arts Council organized weekly musical performances at Chahinkapa Park and Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton in summer 2024 and summer 2025. A range of local musicians played country, rock, and folk, while the community band played patriotic marches. The New York Kammermusiker visited from New York and performed at the zoo beside the orangutan exhibit. People of all ages and backgrounds attend the yearly concerts and often meet the musicians “to let them know how much they appreciate their music,” wrote Brad Edwardson, member of Three Rivers Arts Council.
Opera, Woodcarving, Theater, Visual Arts
While musical performances were the focus of several CAA grant recipients, other groups focused on opera, woodcarving, theater, and visual arts.
The North Dakota-Manitoba District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition held its annual competition in Grand Forks for the 60th year. The event included a masterclass for local high-school- and college-aged singers and pianists, live audition performances by aspiring opera singers, advising sessions, and an awards ceremony. The singers performed at a local music store as well.
The Flickertail Woodcarvers held its 54th Annual Woodcarving Show in Bismarck. The show incorporated woodcarving exhibits from members of the group and classes by renowned woodcarvers. Held at Bismarck State College, the show gave community members a chance to view local artworks and talk with woodcarvers about their craft.
West Fargo Events held its Theatre for Young Audiences series in summer 2024. West Fargo Events’ arts-focused group Stage West put on Winnie-the-Pooh at seven parks and other public sites in West Fargo, Fargo, and Horace. The half-hour, pop-up performances “gave our group excellent engagement and visibility,” noted Adam Pankow, Producing Artistic Director of West Fargo Events. The project was “100% successful,” Pankow wrote, with adults and children enjoying the screen-free entertainment—along with popcorn.
Gallery 522 of Bismarck exhibited works by the Prairie Plein Air Artists and by silkscreen artist Erik Hougen. The gallery also held a show titled “Scandinavian Threads of Inheritance,” featuring paintings and photography by four family members with connections to the gallery.
Sheyenne GRIT (Growth, Renewal, Imagination, Teamwork) held its first Folk Fest in February 2025. The event included an art fair featuring local artists, a silent art auction, live music, a volunteer job fair, and artwork displays by two elementary school classes. Attendees remarked on how relaxing and fun the family-friendly event was. “I did not know there were so many talented artists in the area,” one visitor said. Putting on the event for the first time and having it be a “resounding success” was due to dedicated volunteers and a supportive community, said Patti Larson, Board President. “Rural North Dakota has a lot of opportunity for people to be creative.”
The City of Casselton put grant funds toward its first public mural titled, “Home Sweet Cassleton Home,” installed on an outside wall of City Hall. Artist and longtime art teacher Mary Kensok’s design is “a color explosion of agriculture, our lovely historic business district, odes to Central Cass School, and the railroad that started it all,” wrote Adrienne Olson of the Public Arts Task Force. The mural is a “vibrant artistic landmark, offering a space for public interaction, artistic appreciation, and community engagement.” The work is also seen as a tribute to Mary Kensok, who shared her love of art with generations of students.
The City of Grafton installed a mural on the side of Carnegie Regional Library. The mural, filled with images of local crops, people, and cultural symbols, was created with the help of GoodSpace Murals and community members of all ages who joined painting parties to add their artistic touches to the work. Residents of a local care facility “didn’t want to stop painting when the painting party was over,” relayed Laura Glanner, member of the Grafton Beautification Committee. Participants from CHI Friendship posted that they were “honored to have helped create the masterpiece.”
See the complete list of Community Arts Access FY25 grant recipients
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*Community Arts Access applicant organizations must be located in North Dakota and have the majority of their arts programming, services, and activities take place within the state. An educational element may be included as part of the project. Learn more about the Community Arts Access grant.