Arts Alive | Fall 2022 | Member Edition

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Sisseton: Nicollet Tower & Interpretive

CenterFALL 2022 | VOLUME 24

On the cover: Michelle Reed performs as a dancer with the band Brulé and travels the world presenting cultural art programs. She visited several of the murals created during the RedCan Graffiti Jam in Eagle Butte, a destination in South Dakota’s new State of Create Passport Program.

Pringle: Bicycle Sculpture

Fresh faces guide our artistic initiatives.

18 Supporters

inside

Arts Alive is published by Arts South Dakota and the South Dakota Arts Council in partnership with South Dakota Magazine. Contact Arts South Dakota at P.O. Box 2496, Sioux Falls, SD 57101-2496 or by phone (605) 252-5979.

02 New Board Members

24 One Last Look

Pierre: South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center

Keeping up to date with the goings-on in the South Dakota art world.

Delta David Gier is bringing the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra to new heights.

A recap of our 2022 arts conference.

Faulkton: Grain elevator murals

By John Andrews

Tashina Red Hawk sings and dances to the steps of her grandmothers.

A new passport program rewards travelers for exploring South Dakota’s artistic destinations.

Need to change your Arts Alive mailing address? Contact Arts South Dakota directly! Email us at info@ArtsSouthDakota.org or visit the Contact Us page at www.ArtsSouthDakota.org. Please give us the current name and address to which Arts Alive is being mailed, along with all your new mailing address information.

8 Miss Indian World

04 Our State of Create

De Smet: Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 1

Chad Coppess photos

21 Meaningful Music

By Bernie Hunhoff

011 Brushing Up

Sarah Larson Communications Coordinator sarah@ArtsSouthDakota.org(605)252-5979,Ext.3

We thank the following outgoing board members: Dale Lamphere of Sturgis (2015-2022), Katrina Lehr-McKinney of Sioux Falls (2017-2022), Dr. Craig Howe of the Lacreek District in the Pine Ridge Reservation (2016-2022), Katie Hunhoff of Yankton (2016-2022) and Brian Hildebrant of Brookings (2016-2022). Here are the six South Dakotans joining the board. We thank them for joining us.

Community Development Director andrew@ArtsSouthDakota.org(605)252-5979,Ext.2

For me, arts and architecture are synonyms — they both are about evoking emotions and elevating our communities.

YouTubeFollowArtsSouthDakota.orginfo@ArtsSouthDakota.orgusonFacebook,Twitter,andInstagram@ArtsSD

Arts South Dakota PO Box 2496, Sioux Falls, SD (605)57101-2496252-5979

It’s

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Shari Kosel Program andDirectorCommunications shari@ArtsSouthDakota.org(605)252-5979,Ext.1

JimSTAFFSpeirs

Patri Acevedo Fuentes, Rapid City Lance Bertram, Pierre Stacy Braun, Aberdeen Keith BraveHeart, Kyle Lawrence Diggs, Roslyn Julie Garreau, Eagle Butte Troy Heinert, Mission Alan LaFave, Valley City, ND Jim Mathis, Sioux Falls

Executive Director jim@ArtsSouthDakota.org(605)252-5979,Ext.0

policy, planning, practice and participa tion. She understands that architecture is powerful and permanent and seeks to make the design and construction of places and spaces more just.

Patri Acevedo Fuentes was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She lived in New York, Florida and Texas before making the Black Hills her home. As an architect and Rapid City community member, Acevedo Fuentes finds joy in creating solutions that catalyze smart growth and renewal with a special love for rural and remote communities.AcevedoFuentes is a 2021 Bush Foundation Fellow. During the fellow ship, she is expanding her knowledge of public policy and social justice and her capacity for intercultural development with the goal of creating a more equi table approach to architecture through

— Rapid City architect Patri Acevedo Fuentes

Andrew Reinartz

Sen. Reynold Nesiba, Sioux Falls

Michael Pangburn, Pierre Kenny Putnam, Rapid City Larry Rohrer, Beresford Rep. Tamara St. John, Sisseton Shelley Stingley, Sioux Falls Lynn Verschoor, Brookings Kristine Wollman, Pierre

a time of change for the Arts South Dakota Board of Directors as some founding members leave the board due to term limits and we welcome new members from across the state.

Arts South Dakota Welcomes NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Keith BraveHeart grew up in Kyle on the Pine Ridge Indian Reser vation. He developed a passion for art in high school and earned his bachelor’s degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and a master’s of fine arts in painting at the University of South BraveHeartDakota.calls himself a contem

Email:

I believe art can do so much more than most people think. The art we have is a statement about our history, our culture and a message into the future for generations to come.

tribal archivist and works with the Tribal Historic Preservation Office on cultural preservation issues. St. John is also a Native American genealogist who has done extensive research in the history of the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota or Oceti Sakowin. In 2018 and again in 2020, she was elected to serve District 1 in the state House of Representatives.

— Reynold Nesiba

— Tamara St. John

Michael Pangburn is a former executive director of the South Dakota Arts Council. He joined the SDAC staff in 1998, and in 2009 he became the third executive director, a position he held until retirement in 2016. He was involved with the SDAC as a staff or board member for 32 years.Pangburn holds a teaching degree in theater and English. He taught high school drama, speech and English for 20 years and has directed over 70 school, college and community theater produc tions.He performs regularly with two Pierre-area vocal groups, Surprise Pack age and Pierre Four, and has directed several productions for the Pierre Play ers Community Theatre.

Tamara St. John is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of the Lake Traverse Res ervation of South Dakota. She is the

Lawrence Diggs is best known in South Dakota for founding the Inter national Vinegar Museum in Roslyn. Another of his major achievements was creating the first emergency medical system in Burkina Faso for which he was awarded that country’s medal of honor with two gold stars. Diggs has also pub lished numerous books, created his own radio and television shows in the United States, Japan and Europe and produced manyDiggsdocumentaries.isnowfocused on helping peo ple wrestle with complex issues on food and culture, while introducing under-ex posed ideas on those issues.

Reynold F. Nesiba, is a husband, father and grandfather as well as a professor, scholar and state senator.

porary or modern Native artist. “There is no Lakota word for art. I am only doing what I was born to do,” he writes.

Since 1995, Nesiba has taught at Augus tana University in Sioux Falls where he serves as Professor of Economics. Nesiba’s individual and collaborative research has been published in a variety of journals and he has co-authored two economics textbooks. Over the last two decades, Nesiba has led or co-led 11 travel seminars to Nicaragua, Aus tralia and Thailand. He thinks art allows us to experience reality in new ways, enhances the quality of our lives and can be a critical component of economic development.

Larry Rohrer is retired from a long career with South Dakota Public Broadcasting. As the assistant general manager and director of content, Rohrer hosted interviews and created stories and programs regarding the arts in South Dakota. He still helps produce au dio, video and digital content for SDPB. Rohrer is a musician and performs with a variety of groups throughout the state. He was named to the Legends of Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame.

As a board member I plan to become an “Arts Ambassador” for the state, taking the message of why the arts are important to all of us and how more arts can be brought in to help strengthen our communities.

— Lawrence Diggs

I am excited to be a part of Arts South Dakota and hope that we can continue to encourage public and private part nerships and investments to further enhance the quality of life for people across the state.

Anne Hatch S.D. Folk & Traditional Arts, Program Coordinator sdtraditionalarts@outlook.com(605)608-0490

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chad CoppessChad

CHAIR: Mary Bordeaux, Rapid City

Kristi Noem, Governor James D. Hagen, Secretary

SD Tourism

Ashley Boone Administrative Assistant

ashley.boone@state.sd.us605-773-5331

Montrose: Porter Sculpture Park

Custer: Crazy Horse Memorial

A STATE AGENCY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

PatrickSTAFFBaker Director

Email:

Fax: (605) 773-5977

VICE CHAIR: Lee Ann Roripaugh, Vermillion

TREASURER: Dohui Kim, Sioux Falls

kathryn.vandel@state.sd.us(605)773-5925

Sarah Carlson Program Coordinator sarah.carlson@state.sd.us(605)773-3102

FollowArtsCouncil.sd.govsdac@state.sd.ususonFacebook,Twitter,YouTubeandInstagram@SouthDakotaArts A FREE PASSPORT TO DOING What I Love to Do? Yes, state tourism and arts leaders are awarding prizes to travelers who explore our cities and backroads for art and culture

Jane Rasmussen, Sisseton

Cristen Roghair, Okaton

Coppess

MuseumMusicNational

John Mogen, Sioux Falls

Joanna Lawler, Rapid City

South Dakota Arts Council 711 E. Wells Avenue Pierre, SD 57501 (605) 773-3301

Vermillion: National Music Museum

Rebecca Cruse Deputy Director

patrick.baker@state.sd.us(605)773-5507

rebecca.cruse@state.sd.us(605)295-4052

SECRETARY: Nan Venhuizen, Sioux Falls

Roger Broer, Hill City

Joshua Spies, Sioux Falls Jim Walker, Bath

Kathryn Vandel Grant Specialist

ost travelers never imagine that they are welcome to just stop at Dick Termes’ Termesphere Gallery in Spear fish. They may not even realize that John Lopez’s sculpture studio is in the little town of Lemmon, on the border between the Dakotas. And who among us wouldn’t want to visit Dave Huebner’s pottery shop, a 50-year treasure in the tiny town of Bushnell — if only we knew how to findTravelersBushnell.are

welcome at those and dozens of other art and cultural treasures in South Dakota, and the new State of Create Passport Program makes it simple to find your way. In fact, the mobile-exclusive passport even awards prizes for the most accomplished explorers.

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 5

Mobridge: Oscar Howe Murals

“We’ve always known that South Dakota has a rich and vibrant arts scene,” says Erin Weinzettel,

Forty-five “stops” have been incorporated into the launch of the new program. Some will be very familiar even to travelers from afar, such as Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in De Smet. However, others may be new territory even for veteran backroad afficio nados. How many people know about the bicycle

Chad Coppess

M

Chamberlain: Dignity of Earth & Sky

the global marketing and brand manager of South Dakota Tourism. “We also know that our visitors increasingly are looking for new ways to enjoy and explore the state, and that especially includes learning more about our arts and culture.”

Weinzettel says the new passport program, which was developed with the South Dakota Arts Council, is intended as a fun way to let people know that there are theaters, playhouses, galleries, studios, sculptures, murals and museums to be discovered and enjoyed.

Hot Springs: Chautauqua Artisans Market

CoppessChad

a South Dakota vacation, which will be awarded in January of The2023.first tier prizes (awarded for 10 stops) are stickers designed and developed in Brookings by Kevin and Kaia Smith, father-daughter entrepreneurs who started a busi ness to fund Kaia’s eighth grade field trip to Washington, D.C. They now sell greeting cards, stickers and postcards at shops across South Dakota and they have a monthly subscription program for people who like to send imaginative cards. The Smiths’ participation illustrates the myriad ways the passport program might bolster small business connections across South Dakota.

sculpture at Pringle, the Chautauqua Artisans Market at Hot Springs, or the RedCan Graffiti Jam in Eagle Butte?

Lopez, the Lemmon metal sculptor, is enthused about the new passport program. “We love visitors,” he says. In fact, his Kokomo Inn is an interactive gallery that has a scavenger hunt for kids and both indoor and outdoor sculptures. Lopez believes people who take the time to discover Lemmon will be delighted to find that the historic cowtown also has a Petrified Wood Park, a museum that features Native American ranching and geological history, one-of-a-kind shops, several eateries and the nearby Shadehill Reservoir and campground.

Those sorts of surprises are the genesis of the passport program, but it doesn’t just welcome visitors. Even better, it rewards people for stopping. The prizes range from local artist stickers to gift certificates, vintage South Dakota park posters, custom Vans shoes and even a chance to win

Hill City: Quilt Show

6 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov

HunhoffBernie

Weinzettel believes the passport program also addresses several goals of tourism and arts organizations in South Dakota. “Though we are gearing up for it in our peak travel season, it will continue on through the off-season.” She says most artists are operating their own small businesses;

Chamberlain: Dignity of Earth & Sky

Sioux Falls: BronzeAge Art Casting, Jennifer White’s Post Pilgrim Art Gallery, Visual Arts Center at Washington Pavilion

Hot Springs: Chautauqua Artisans Market

She says the passport program is a multi-year effort that will be modified as it grows. New “stops” will be added, and the prizes may change.

Bushnell: Dakota Stoneware Pottery

Pringle: Bicycle Sculpture

Sisseton: Nicollet Tower & Interpretive Center

Huebner, Lopez and Termes are three good examples. “So we also hope this becomes a boost for our main streets and small towns throughout the year.”

Jim Hagen, secretary of the Department of Tourism, says he and his team are excited about the passport program because it spotlights what he has always championed as “a world-class arts community.”

Avon: Johnny Swatek Fine Arts

Spearfish: Termesphere Gallery, Matthews Opera House

Custer: Crazy Horse Memorial, The Custer Beacon music venue

Brandon: Wilde Prairie Winery

Mobridge: Oscar Howe Murals

The Department of Tourism and the state Arts Council partnered with Bandwango, which has provided technical support for similar travel programs in the U.S. and Canada. South Dakotans and prospective visitors can receive their free mobile passport and all the details about the program on the tourism website at TravelSouthDakota. com/StateofCreate.

Deadwood: Deadwood Alive re-enactments, Paha Sapa Cowboys & Indians Art Festival, Wild West Songwriters Festival

Watertown: Goss Opera House

Vermillion: National Music Museum, University of South Dakota Art Galleries

Lemmon: John Lopez’s Kokomo Inn

Brookings: South Dakota Art Museum

De Smet: Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant

Rapid City: Dahl Fine Arts Center, Racing Magpie gallery & studios, Suzie Cappa Art Center, Tusweca Gallery

Chad Coppess

Mitchell: Carnegie Resource Center, Corn Palace

Freeman: Heritage Hall Museum

Pierre: South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center

Faulkton: Grain elevator murals

Eagle Butte: RedCan Graffiti Jam

Black Hills Film Festival

Custer State Park: Black Hills Playhouse

Hill City: Quilt Show

PASSPORT STOPS

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 7

Keystone: Dahl’s Chainsaw Art

Pine Ridge: The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School

Aberdeen: Capitol Theater & Cinema

Watertown: Goss Opera House

TourismSD

Lead: Homestake Opera House

Montrose: Porter Sculpture Park

Canton: Sioux River Folk Festival

Eagle Butte: RedCan Graffiti Jam murals

8 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov

Gathering of Nations / Will Huston

during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 9

ashina Red Hawk lives at Old Ring Thunder, a tiny village in the Rosebud In dian Reservation that may lack some urban amenities but is rich in other ways.

T

Red Hawk, 18, was raised with the songs, dances and artistry of her father’s Sicangu Lakota heritage. In Albuquerque last April, the rural teen proudly displayed the culture of her ancestors, and the judges enthusiasti-

Friends and family in the Rose bud Indian Reservation were not surprised that she wowed the New Mexico judges. They’ve seen the teen dynamo with the big smile win the hearts of all she meets. She won the honor of South Dakota Rodeo Queen twice in the past three years.

Red Hawk is also a barrel racer at rodeos. She trains horses. She plays 12 musical instruments. She plans to be a veterinarian, and this fall she started her college career.

The New Mexico pageant stage became a showcase of those traditions. Red Hawk performed a Lakota prayer song that has been passed down from her great-great-grand-

She plays 12 instruments, sings ancient prayer songs and dances the steps of her grandmothers

cally crowned her Miss Indian World 2022. She was the youngest competitor at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, and only the second South Dakotan to ever win the honor.

Miss Indian World Credits Her Horses, Family Heritage and the Arts

There seems to be no challenge too big for the girl from Old Ring Thun der. In fact, she likes to quip, “Don’t tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” But she credits her rural upbringing and the artistic and spiritual traditions of her Lakota family for her achievements.

She earned the national 4-H Youth in Action Award for Agriculture. She started a drive-up coffee shop in the city of Mission, introducing lattes and espressos to the town when she thought her neighbors needed a boost

Story by Bernie Hunhoff

The teen from Old Ring Thunder impressed the judges and audiences in New Mexico with songs and artistry, including beadwork on her horse Tokala.

10 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov

HustonWill/NationsofGathering

The family’s appaloosas, corralled on the Red Hawk ranch, have La kota names. She says they and other creatures are part of “who we are as a people.”“Lakota are called the Buffalo Nation,” she adds. The buffalo constitut ed the housing, diet and clothing of the Native communities, so it’s natural that they and the horses became important symbols in Indian art and spirituality.Thenew Miss Indian World is now a freshman at South Dakota State University, joining 9,000 fellow students on the bustling campus in Brookings, 300 miles away from her parents’ quiet ranch on the Little White River. She hopes to someday be a Noveterinarian.onewhoknows the teen from Old Ring Thunder doubts that she’ll reach that goal, or that she’ll remem ber and honor her Native heritage along the way.

mother Viola Good Voice. She wore a Lakota robe that she designed and hand-beaded, and showed the crowd a photo of her horse, Tokala, in full regalia made by her mother, Noella, from her grandmother’s designs. She also performed a traditional dance as part of the competition.

She has a deep respect for the tra

She has lived her Native culture. She says ceremonies and dancing were “as close as my back door,” and her family resides on the same land, along the forested White River valley, where Good Voice lived in the 19th century.

“We are artists,” she says of her Lakota community. “The arts are part of our life.”An equestrian tradition is also reflected in the culture and art. Her father raises and trains horses. “My dad says he’s earned his boots but not his cowboy hat,” she laughs. “He works with our horses, but he doesn’t have any cows.”

At the Miss Indian World pageant, Tashina Red Hawk sang a Lakota prayer song passed down from her great-great grandmother Viola Good Voice.

ditions and customs, yet — showing wisdom beyond her 18 years — she says she also believes in balancing that with modern education. She remembers her grandmother once telling her father, Shane, that today’s youth need to live in two worlds — the traditional Lakota and the outside world of technology, business and science. She hopes her accomplishments are an ex ample to others of how that’s possible. Red Hawk says her family’s roots in the arts are integral to both worlds.

“My goals are to carry forward the work that has already been done here,” Rencountre says. “Korczak Ziolkowski and Henry Standing Bear had a vision to develop a relationship and share the understanding that building bridges brings. Having a place for native peoples to understand and celebrate their culture is important.”

Rencountre, a member of the Crow Creek Hunkpati Dakota Nation, says there three major components at Crazy Horse Memorial — the largest carving in the world, the Indian Museum

“We invite people to learn more and try to do their part to educate people and provide opportunities for education for native peoples. It will be better if everyone does their part,” RencountreRencountresays.succeeds

Jadwiga and Monique Ziolkowski, who transitioned from their roles as co-CEOs of the foundation, but can still be found on the grounds supporting and serving the mission and legacy of their parents, Korczak and RuthRencountreZiolkowski.lives in Rapid City with his wife, author Jessie Taken Alive-Rencountre.

Rencountre was recently named the CEO of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation after serving as Associate Director of the Indian University of North America at Crazy Horse and in other roles at the mountain carving for five years.

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 11

BRUSHING

UP FoundationMemorialHorseCrazy

of North America, and the Indian University of North America. More than 350 students have been through the university, and 80 percent of those have graduated or are in college.

CRAZY HORSE CEO ISSUES AN INVITATION

Whitney

to win a reality TV competition. In 2023, FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play will open on Broadway, making her the first female Native American play wright to ever appear there. The Thanksgiving Play is one of the top ten most produced plays in America.FastHorse has worked with Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Netflix and others, writ ing, directing and producing short films. In 2000 she was a delegate to the United Nations in Geneva, speaking on the impact cinema can have on Native peoples. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2020.

She

FoundationMacArthurTCatherine&DJon

LARISSA FASTHORSE

This fall Custer is hosting Ghanaian musician Okaidja Afroso and his ensemble for a weeklong residency, which will spread out to Hot Springs and the southern Black Hills.

“We believe the creativity and community present in these smaller Midwestern communities make them a perfect place to host artists who work to foster appreciation and understanding of culture through music,” says Torrie Allen, President and CEO of Arts Midwest.

Larissa FastHorse served as artist-in-residence at the Black Hills Community Theater in September and October.

Ensemble members will spend the week sharing their music and culture through school workshops, masterclasses, and a public concert celebration at the end of the week.

Other musicians participating during this World Fest cycle are Okra Playground, a folk music group from Finland, and Pamyua, Inuit soul musicians from Alaska. The Custer Area Arts Council and Chautauqua Artisans of the Black Hills are the hosting organizations for this three-year cycle of World Fest. Arts Midwest and the South Dakota Arts Council help sponsor the program.

Small towns and international musicians from across the globe are working together through World Fest, a program of Arts Midwest.

12 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov BRUSHING UP

grew up in South Dakota, but Larissa FastHorse’s career has taken her to Hollywood and the United Na tions. With experience in dance, choreography and film produc tion, FastHorse is now becoming well known as a playwright. In September and October, she served as artist-in-residence at the Black Hills Community Theatre in Rapid City.

MACARTHUR FELLOW SERVES AS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Several events based around FastHorse’s play Average Family highlighted the residency. The play centers around two families, one white and one Indigenous, who are challenged to survive in an 1840s frontier setting in order

BLACK HILLS TOWNS JOIN WORLD FEST

Okaidja Afroso strives to blend diverse expres sion in pursuit of global harmony. Storytelling with percussion and dance calls back to his upbringing in a village on the western coast of Ghana.

for South Dakota Arts Council grant support opens Jan. 1, 2023, with a March 1 deadline. Visit ArtsCouncil.sd.gov for more information or to sign up for newsletter updates.

If you have questions, contact the South Dakota Arts Council (605-773-3301). Staff is available to assist applicants during busi ness hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday.

Diana Behl, a Brookings artist, is creating a serial project titled “Line is a Thread,” a set of 28 works using traditional etchings and relief prints, drawings, collages and text-based works. Sioux Falls filmmaker Dalton Coffey is working on a full-length feature film shot in South Dakota.

GRANT DEADLINE MARCH 1

FOUR ’22 FELLOWS

She has already exhibited the series in Vermillion, Sioux City, Sioux Falls and Omaha. “Thanks to the support from the fellowship, I am looking forward to exhibiting the new artwork I create in South Dakota and nationwide.”

Applications

South Dakota Arts Council

William Cedeno, a musician with the South Dakota Symphony in Sioux Falls, plans to upgrade his flute with the award, a benefit not only to audiences but students in his teaching engagements.

South Dakota Arts Council grants are available for artists, organizations and schools, public arts programs, and educa tional programs. Some of these categories have sub-categories as well for finding the perfect grant funding fit. All arts disciplines are eligible for funding.

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 13

Four South Dakotans have been named Art Fellows by the South Dakota Arts Council. Honorees include Diana Behl, William Cedeno, Klaire Lockheart and Dalton Coffey.

The fellowship program, designed to reward artistic excellence, includes a $5,000 grant to support the artists’ current projects. The council’s grant panel does an extensive review before making decisions on the annual applicants. This year’s grantees represent both the variety and quality of art in the state.

SAVE THE DATE: Individuals and busi nesses that make a statewide impact will be honored at the Governor’s Awards in the Arts, February 15, 2023 at Drifters Bar and Grille in Fort Pierre.

Nominations will be accepted September 1 through November 15 for the South Dakota Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Classifications are Distinction in Creative Achievement, Outstanding Service in Arts Education, Outstanding Support of the Arts by an Individual, Outstanding Support of the Arts by an Organization or Business, and Outstanding Support of the Arts to Native Nations with Lands in South Dakota. The nomination form is available at ArtsSouthDakota.org.

Vermillion painter Klaire Lockheart (pictured) is working on a series called Brodalisques that humorously challenges the traditional role of women in the arts. “I invented ‘brodaslique’ as a combination of ‘bro’ with an ‘odalisque’,” she explains. “My realistic paintings of dudes in man caves permits me the ability to address the inequities women traditionally face within the art world while incorporating my sense of humor.”

ARTS COUNCIL HONORS

GOVERNOR’S ART AWARDS

Sioux Falls musician Mark Roma nowski’s next album, History of the Middle Ages, is due out in spring of 2023. After years of collaboration with several different bands and types of music, Romanowski wanted to do something different. “It was time to do my own thing. I wanted to try something that was my own sound and my own voice.”

Reinartz on bass and Joel Shotwell on saxophone and clarinet. He also included guest performances from Catherine Holland with backing vocals, Rich Hastings on muted trum pet and Patrick Sayler on percussion.Romanowski has two other albums along with History of the Middle Ages coming out in the spring of 2023. But if you’d like to expe rience his music sooner, he will perform on October 21 in Sioux Falls with Habeas Porpoise, an instrumental surf rock band. They will play the music of the TV show Twin Peaks with vocals by Erin Castle. Twin Peaks-inspired visuals created by Patrick Sayler will accompany the music. For more information, visit the Icon Event Hall website at IconSiouxFalls.com.

In South Dakota, the South Dakota Humanities Council has supported and encouraged museums, libraries, writing work shops, arts organizations, speak ers bureaus and countless other initiatives. Perhaps its most visible effort is the South Dakota Festival of Books, which just celebrated its 20th year with another successful event in Brookings and Sioux Falls.

The album title comes from Romanowski’s journey through life, with “middle ages” meaning midlife, not medieval Europe. Romanowski has collaborated with many local artists, and is known locally for being in the band Vio let. Although Romanowski struck out on his own on this particular album, he still needed help from many friends, including Lance Beier on drums, (a band mate from Violet in the early ’90s), Andrew

R

ichard Nixon was president of the United States, Dick Kneip was governor of South Dakota and Fran Tarkenton was quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings in 1972 when the South Dakota Humanities Council was created to expand access to the arts and Tarkentonhumanities.playedno role in that effort, but a diverse and bipartisan group made it happen. Nixon, Kneip and many other state and federal leaders supported the National Endowment for the Humanities’ goal of strengthening knowledge, understanding and culture in America.

1972: a very good year

A MILESTONE FOR THE HUMANITIES

NEW ROMANOWSKI ALBUM

14 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov BRUSHING UP

The year 1972 is memorable in South Dakota, no thanks to Tarkenton and the Vikings, who finished 7-7 and missed the play offs.

‘THEY ARE ARTISTS, NOT GRANT WRITERS’

“Why do we need that upfront?” she asks. “Not all are going to be chosen.

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 15

Kellen Boice: breaking the rules.

W

hen the Sioux Falls Arts Council began to give mini-grants in January 2022, its members were excited to get money in the hands of artists. What happened was much bigger than that. “We thought we’d be buying artists paintbrushes,” says Kellen Boice, executive director. “But there are so many things I didn’t re alize. I didn’t know it would be this emotional and we’d be so invested in all these stories.”

the questions verbally, and she has received two video applications. In one instance, Boice traveled to an assisted living center to facilitate the application process. Applications have been translated into five languages and are available at the public libraries and other public spaces.

These processes are harder on administration but easier on everyone else.” And that’s the point. “We are forgetting everything we knew about art administration and saying it’s about the people. My job depends on artists in the community and I need to make things easier for them.”

Boice says it’s time for the process of applying for grants to be easier for the artists even if it’s harder on the administration. She cites the request in most grant applications for high resolution images as an example.

One artist asked for help to replace art supplies that were lost when his basement flooded. An elderly writer asked for help to buy new eyeglasses so she could continue her passion of writing. “It’s not ‘show me the quality of your work,’ or ‘show me the money,’ it’s more personal than that. It’s been completely eye opening and really resonates with the kind of work we need to be doing,” says Boice.

That accessibility has been the reason for a high volume of applica tions. In the first round, the council received 80 applications and funded nine. To date, it has received 231 applications and funded 45, with the remainder staying in the pool for the next round of funding, which runs quarterly.“Wewant to encourage and educate artists on writing grants and to feel comfortable in the process. Writing grants is hard and I didn’t have experience myself when I start ed,” says Boice. “In talking with other artists who have applied for grants, they get anxiety and have a hard time talking about their work or having confidence. They are artists but they aren’t grant writers.”

Such stories may not have been known to the arts council if the board hadn’t made the application process so easy and accessible to artists. The application has just four questions and Boice accepts them on paper and through email. Boice has also taken applications over the phone with artists answering

Easing Up

The micro-grants are possible through funding from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation and the South Dakota Arts Council with generous support from the South Dakota State Legislature. To apply or find more information, visit cro-grants/ArtsSiouxFalls.org/artist-mi-

ART & INSTITUTESMUSIC

Instructors pre-kindergarten through 12th grade can learn and earn credits at the Arts Educa tion, Band and Choral Director Institutes on the Northern State University campus in Aberdeen, July 17-20, 2023.

16 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov BRUSHING UP

The Arts Education Institute offers an educational and fun-filled week of hands-on learning to infuse the arts into classrooms and curriculum development. You do not need to be an educator to attend. Every one is welcome. All workshops are offered for three graduate or continuing ed credits for teacher recertification.

Maybe

it began with Mozart for babies. Somewhere along the way, parents and teachers have come to recognize that the arts play a major role in learning. Now, arts educa tors in South Dakota have an opportunity to work toward a master’s degree in Art Education thanks to Northern State University in Aberdeen.

The Band Director Institute is an intensive program designed to expose music teachers to the best in current and standard literature in addition to teaching methods and materials. The institute will include new band literature sessions, mas ter classes and clinic sessions that focus on a wide variety of teaching subjects for band directors. The headline clinician will be Stephen

Save The Date!

“This will be the state’s first, and currently the only, online graduate level degree program,” says Peter Kilian, pro

fessor and chair of NSU’s Department of Art and Theater. “We will provide working teachers and arts professionals the opportunity to advance their education while continuing their current employment.”Theprogram, designed to serve up to 12 students, will combine a deeper understanding of art history, theory and methods with a broader knowledge of art techniques and processes. The first class will begin in January of 2023.

TEACHING THE TEACHERS

tor, and composer based in the Denver-Metro area and a 4-time Finalist for GRAMMY® Music Educator of the Year.

K. Rivero, Director of Bands at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Commander and Conductor of the Florida National Guard’s 13th Army Band.

The Choral Director Institute is an extensive and focused program designed to introduce choral music educators to the best in current and standard literature in addition to teaching methods and materials. The headline clinician will be Chris Maunu — conductor, educa

ArtsSouthDakota.org • Fall 2022 Member Edition • 17

CONGRESSIONAL ART CONTEST WINNER

U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson announced Isabelle Hastings of Sioux Falls as the winner of the 2022 Congressional Art Competition for South Dakota. Hastings’ acrylic painting, Blushing, received the top ranking from the South Dakota Arts Council. Hastings is a freshman at Jefferson High School. Her art teacher is Brittany Carmany. The artwork is on exhibit in the Cannon Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol along with the winning artwork from other congressional districts for the next year. Vick Becker, a senior at Riggs High School in Pierre, was announced runner up with his photograph What the Light Sees, which is displayed in Rep. Johnson’s Washington, D.C., office. His teacher is Jill Kokesh.

CANDIDATES SURVEYED ON THE ARTS

Arts

South Dakota’s

South Dakota is conducting a survey of our candidates for governor, state legislature, United States representative and United States senator. Survey questions seek their perspectives on the arts and government.Asthestate’s only arts advocacy group, Arts South Dakota is the public

partner to the state arts agency, the South Dakota Arts Council. They do not endorse candidates for public office and all responses are published verbatim. Please September.surveys,survey-on-the-arts/ArtsSouthDakota.org/candidates-visittoviewcandidatewhichwillbeavailablein

Historic Lead Deadwood Arts Council Johns & Kosel Law, LLC Jacqualyn & Peter Fuller Joe and Shari Kosel Dan and Dot O’Connor

Bath

Major Gifts

Fulton Con Brio Studio

Historic Homestake Opera House

Faulkton Faulkton Area Arts Council Linda Bartholomew Beth Deiter

Van and Barbara Fishback

Jody and Jim Moritz

Cheryl Whetham and Jukka Huhtiniemi Lesta and Mike Turchen

De Smet Area Arts Council Amy Kruse

James and Ardis Johnson Mildred Juel

Britton Northern Fort Playhouse

Houghton Herseth Ranch Lead

Larry* & Marilyn Rohrer

F

Bette DennisGerberdingHopfinger and Carolyn Clague

Custer

Jan Speirs

Deb and Peter Klebanoff

Nancy Anne Barker Lynn and Frank Mason Brad Richardson

Karen & Keith Kinder

Dacotah Prairie Museum Stacy* & LeRoy Braun

Supporters ArtsSouthDakota.org

Brenda Lanphere

Belle Fourche

Dan Van Dover

Brookings Expanding Harmony Dance Studio South Dakota Art Museum Tim and Monica Campbell Mary BrianMargaretCogswellDentonHildebrantand Laura Diddle

Mildred K. Hugghins

John MerrittLynnLindaRychtarikStuerman-PurringtonVerschoor*andPamelaWarren

Hill City Arts Council

Clear Lake Mark Law

Gettysburg Janet B. Cronin Glenham

Debby Walker Harrold Sharon and Marty Winckler

Livia Wallace

David Reynolds

Hot Springs

James Walker and Jerry Oligmueller

Green Ink Gallery & Studios Mark and Rose Speirs Mary and Mark Zimmerman

Jon & Gail Crane

Okaton Cristen J. Roghair

Jim DougMcKinneyandMary Miller

Deadwood

Eagle Butte Anne Beckwith Julie Garreau*

Chautauqua Craftsmen & Artisans of the Black Hills

18 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov

Mitchell Marica Shannon Montrose Joseph Bartmann

Aberdeen Aberdeen Area Arts Council

Robert and Kathleen Webb

Patricia Miller Daniel and Rebecca Schenk Lonnie SandyBarbaraSchumacherWoodZinter

Fort Pierre Dave and Linda Bonde William V. Fischer Gloria Hanson and Ron Schreiner

Burbank Dennis Navrat

Betty Sheldon

Onida Rodney and Marla Mosiman

Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies

Custer Area Arts Council Mary Jo Marcy Monica McGowan

Madison Madison Area Arts Council

Rosemary Buchmann Dr. Craig Howe

Bea and Herschel Premack

Herreid Campbell County Arts Council

De Smet

Jon Crane Gallery & Custom Framing Warrior’s Work & Ben West Gallery

Dell Rapids Allen and Gloria Brown

Hill City

A special thank you to Janet M. Kahler and her daughter Deonne Kahler, as well as Jim & Kara Mathis for their significant gifts to Arts South Dakota. Their belief in a creative South Dakota, and accompanying financial support, will help drive this important work forward!

South Dakota Individual & Organizational Donors by City

Batic

Dr. Larry Green Donna TerryCharlesHazelwoodJ.JohnsonandMaryRyan

Martin

or this issue of Arts Alive, we wanted to take an opportunity to recognize the many supporters of Arts South Dakota. While you can still find our donor recognition list by gift level on ArtsSouthDakota.org, we wanted to highlight how the vibrant arts communities support each other statewide. These individuals and organizations believe in a strong collective voice for the arts, and demonstrate that by their membership gifts, leading the way in advocating for a creative state. We can’t do this important work without you all!

Donors supporting the Arts South Dakota Annual Fund with a sustaining gift from July 1, 2020 to August 21, 2022 are listed below.

Beresford

Anna Robinson

Mikel and Deborah Holland Larry and Mary Jo Johnson

Parker

Roslyn Lawrence Diggs* Monte & Fran Rougemont

Sioux Falls Augustana University School of Music Avera BadgerHealthClark Foundation Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. First Lutheran Church Foundation Great Plains Watercolor Society Institute of Design & Technology of SD Levitt at the Falls Rehfeld’s Art & Framing Sanford Arts

Dody and Boyd Hopkins

Dahl Fine Arts Center & Rapid City Arts DakotaCouncilArtists Guild

Mike and Kathi Mueller

John E. Brockelsby Susan Callahan

James Fishback

Carol JohnReubenBaileyBareisandAnne Barlow

Shoemaker Visual Art Studio

MartyPatrickKenny*TamaraSandraDeborahMarkAndreaDeannaChristineJoannaJanetNickJenneweinJohnsonM.KahlerLawlerLeichtnamLienMaestasandKristolMcKieMitchellNewmanPierandLinneaPutnamRoselandSeim

Redfield Area Arts Council

South Dakota Symphony Orchestra

Josh and Rose Ann Hofland

Jeff and Darlene Hallem

Plankinton Verna L. Edinger

LeEtta Bennett

Beverly Daniel English Carla Fauske and Peter Lieberman

• Fall 2022 Member Edition • 19

Vance and Virginia Sneve Clayton and Anella Southwick James and Cary Speirs

Pierre

Pierre Players Inc.

Black Hills Symphony Orchestra

Anna Marie Thatcher

Dick LynneJanetBrownBrownandBill Byrne

Lyle AdamEhlersEmerson & Dohui Kim

Phil and Kiki Hegg

Arline Hammer

Rapid City

Don and Mary Downs Michael and Marnie Gould Susan Hines Lin

Music

Washington Pavilion

WOPILA TANKA

Greg Boris and Joan Reddy Bill and Cathy Britton

Connie Herring

Mike and Judy Connor Claudia Dail

Saint Lawrence Beverly Letsche Salem

Shrine of Democracy Chorus Stanford and Lynda Adelstein

Don Hon.TheyeJeffrey L. Viken

Linda Clement Kay R. Coddington

Black Hills Playhouse

Monte Amende and Michelle DeyoePatrickAmandaAmendeBachmannandJennifer Baker

Margaret Blomberg

Diane Kehrwald Ellen and Tom Lee Dorothy Liegl

RonKristineRobertaKateJimChuckRandallEricJimKenMichaelNelsonPangburn*andLavonnePickeringPollockandRuthRaveling&TeriRoyerandBonnySchroyerandSandySzanaandAndyVandelWilliamsWollman*andGlendaWoodburn

Milo StevenWinterZellmer and Kitty Kinsman

The Center for Western Studies, Augustana University

Jim & Deann Clark

Short Grass Arts Council

Doris BruceGraeberandNancy Halverson

Lance Bertram* Susan Burgard

Egger

SouthSiouxSiouxSculptureWalkProgramSiouxFallsFallsArtsCouncilFallsMariachiIncDakotaFriendsofTraditional

Sarah Carlson Karen A. Gerdes

Bristow Melanie and Norman Bliss

Sandra

Redfield

ArtsSouthDakota.org

Brian and Kaija Bonde

Marty Davidsohn Kara KrisKiraDanielDirksonDoyleDyllaandSteve

Larry and Gail Lyngstad Jay and Beverly Mickelson

Bonnie and Tim Bjork Mark & Katie Bray Ruth Brennan

Ann and Tim Deckert

Wolf DarRichPhilJanelleBronzeAtyeoandJillBakerBarnettBerkenpas&Boyd

Steve and Monica Harding Helen Harryman

Rolf Olson & Anne E. Waltner

ArtsSouthDakota.org

Dick and Ginger Carstensen

South Dakota Shakespeare Festival

Chubby Chipmunk Kiwanis Square, LLC

Edith Lien

John and Jane Rasmussen

The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center

Barry Furze

Jami Olson

Dr. Margaret Downie Banks

Terry Hall and Kristi Vensand-Hall

Phyllis Packard

Black Hills Art Association

Dan & Anne Marie Manning

Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies

Caitlin Collier

David Xenakis

Ariadne Albright

Larson

Larry and Diane Ness James and Marilyn Nyberg Marcia and Marvin Olnes Roger and Mary Jo Renner Lea Ann Schramm

Michele Mechling

Anne Bodman and Andrew Hollander

*Denotes an Arts South Dakota Board Member

John Mogen Jack and Marilynn Mohlenhoff

Spearfish

John Banasiak

DeVee and Kevin Dietz

Cindy EstelleMarohlReierson Pearson Sharon Prendergast

Mike Yaeger

Stanford & Lynda Adelstein

National Music Museum

Cheryl Koch

Vermillion

David Barber

Wall Wounded Knee Museum Rick and Patt Hustead

In-Kind Donors

Watertown Redlin Art Center

Kappen

Paul MerleMarilynKatieHarensHunhoffKratzandVirginia

Delta Dental of South Dakota

Sisseton Area Arts Council

Tea

Winner

Terry and Sandi Jaspers

Scott and Marianne Johnson

Wessington Springs Springs Area Council of the Arts

Norma and Jerry Wilson

Marsha Bertsch

Rod & Sandy Garnett

Rosemarie Hanssen

Susan Gray

Dr. Susanne Skyrm

Brian D. Hagg

Carol Wright

Anita Kealey and John Brannian

Shelley Stingley* Rose Marie Tornow

Gary and Angie Hanson

Bill J. and Jane Bobzin

Scherschligt

Ruth Youngers

Darlene Dulitz

Jim* and Kara Mathis Patrick & Bobbi McGowan

Lynne PhilRobertJonesJoyceandDiana

BrianFundraisingHildebrant CPA

Steven Zellmer and Kitty Kinsman

Lori Long Springfield Cheryl Halsey Sturgis

Dan and Arlene Kirby

Don and Janet Beeman

Sponsors

Sturgis Area Arts Council

Bank West

Katrina Lehr-McKinney

Kay JeffKristiBetsyReinartzRiceSaxlundandKatie

Dalesburg Heritage

Doris Symens Armstrong Webster

Mary Ellen Bowes Kathie and Rudy Gerstner

Craig NormanShermanandKathleen West

Chaya & Ryan Bland

Greg Schmitz

Lisa PatrickSherryAnnaBobBirgitPhilipBobPamBlakeBorglumBosseBrelandSmithBurtonCarterChristensenDeBoerFeeley

Jim and Jill Speirs

Kent and Zindie Meyers

Tami Comp Yankton Yankton Area Arts

Supporters

Ellen & Richard Plocek

Brian Bonde, Advanced Certified

Jim and Katie Hood

Seven Council Fires Native Art Charlene Arens

Linda and Jon Wiley Spencer

Carol Cook Geu

Dale Lamphere and Jane Murphy

Judith Zwolak

20 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov

Dennis and Julie Walkins

Byron Petersen Kris AndrewReavesand Rosanne Reinartz

Albertson Engineering

Janice Nicolay

Elizabeth Freer & Michael Headley

Nancy Olive Judith Payne

Miles and Vickie Schumacher

Sisseton

Corliss and Anne Johnson

Creative Care LLC

Out of State or Unknown Community

Karyn Veenis

Gary and Nan Steinley

Paula Manley and Jim Knutson

David J. DeeLisaKaylynDarylJudithToddLisaShirleyEviePamelaBonnieGailSonjaJosephRuthTerriAlan*BobbyBrianSteveRickMarkDorothyFraherGruppHansonHauffeHoffmanJonesKoethIIIandKariLaFaveLiermannLippincottandNormaMcFaddenNilesPerryRiggenbachSheppardSlaathaugSneveandThomasRickersTainterThoelkeThompsonUpsallWelchWilsonYaroch

Dr. Boyd and Jessica Perkins

Jack and Linda Stengel

Arts South Dakota is in part supported through the generous grant support of the South Dakota Arts Council, the Bush Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

South Dakota Magazine

Dick and Cindy Koch

Dana Yost

Monument Health TerraSite Design

Gordy Pratt

In the fall of 2003, Delta David Gier was among five finalists to be the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s next music director. When the search committee asked why he was interested in moving to Sioux Falls, he said, “I’m looking for someplace to build something significant.” Gier got the job, and his innovations over nearly 20 years have elevated the orchestra to nation al stein.Georgeincluded David Zinman,inceptionvancingductorsinductor’shim themusicperhapsprominence, elicited praise fromthenation’smostrespectedcritic and, mostrecently, earnedprestigious2022 Ditson Con-Award.PresentedbyColumbiaUniversityNewYork,theaward isgiventocon-whoare passionate about adAmericanmusic. Sinceitsin1945, recipients haveAlanGilbert,Manahan andLeonardBern

Alex Ross, a music writer who has covered Adams’ career for 30 years, traveled to South Dakota to write about the composer’s newest work. But as Ross learned more about the orchestra’s history, programming and community connections, he changed course. The resulting piece, published in The New Yorker in May, lauded the symphony as one of the country’s best. “The South Dakota Symphony is bolder and savvier in its programming than all but a handful of American ensembles,” Ross wrote, describing the group as “the model of an engaged orchestra.”“Itwasa big attaboy, probably the biggest one I could get,” Gier says. “For the musicians, it’s the same feeling, a

“It really was quite an honor,” Gier  says. “We’ve made contemporary music  a mainstay of our repertoire since I became music director 18 years ago. We’ve devoted ourselves significantly to living American composers. We’ve had a long relationship with the Pulitzer Prize, and many Pulitzer Prize-winning composers regular ly visit Sioux Falls. It was a concerted effort to play music by composers on every level, starting with the greatest living composers and including local composers, young composers, Native American composers, all mixed in with our standard repertoire of Beethoven and Brahms and so on.”

That approach to programming has allowed audiences to hear work by lo cals like Stephen Yarbrough, a former music professor at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, and nationally renowned composers such as John Luther Adams, winner of the

OrchestraSymphonyDakotaSouth

Story by John Andrews

2014 Pulitzer Prize in music. The orchestra’s world premiere perfor mance of Adams’ An Atlas of Deep Time at its centennial finale in April 2022 truly validated Gier’s direction.

MeaningfulMusic

Delta David Gier’s innovations have elevated the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and the nation is noticing

huge pat on the back and encourage ment to keep going. The hope is that leaders, not just in Sioux Falls but across the state, will say this is something we really need to support. The vision is there, it’s been validated at the highest level, so let’s continue to help this orchestra build and have an even greater impact across the state.”

in schools, hospitals, senior andcommunities and behaviorallivinghealthcommunitycentersthroughout the region.Gier arrived in Sioux Falls with a solid musical background. After earning a master’s degree at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, a Fulbright Scholarship allowed him to begin a career in professional conducting in Europe. He completed an apprenticeship with the Philadelphia Orchestra and then spent 15 years as an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic. The last five years dovetailed with his appointment with the South Dakota

Gier began making his own impact on the century-old orchestra and its historic local connections as soon as he arrived. The orchestra was formed in 1922 in conjunction with Augustana University. It was known for some time as the Augustana Town and Gown Symphony, became the Sioux Falls Symphony in November of 1965 and finally the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra in 1977. Based in Sioux Falls’ Washington Pavilion, the fully professional 75-member orchestra stages nearly a dozen performances throughout its season. Additionally, nine full-time musicians comprise the Dakota String Quartet and the Dakota Wind Quintet, which perform

The Lakota Music Project is an outreach program of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra designed to enhance cultural under standing. The group has recorded an album (left) and given live performances featuring Dakota flutist Bryan Akipa (right).

concerts in the Pavilion — what else the orchestra was doing and what else could be done.”

At a reception one evening, Gier met a young African American woman who was involved in the city’s Mar tin Luther King Jr. Day activities. “I suggested to her that maybe we should do something together, because a lot of orchestras have MLK concerts and bring in Black composers and Black artists,” Gier recalls. “She smiled and nodded and said, ‘If you really want to talk about racial prejudice in South Dakota, you should be talking to the Native Americans.’ After 20 years of living in New York, my jaw hit the ground.”Theseed was planted for what became the Lakota Music Project. The SDSO hosted a lunch for Lakota and Dakota leaders that spring where Gier met Barry LeBeau, a tribal relations consultant and Indian affairs and arts lobbyist, who offered to help. The pair traveled to reservations around the state, meeting tribal elders, cultural

photosOrchestraSymphonyDakotaSouth

As Gier plannedSymphony.hisinaugural 20042005 season, he also wanted to gain a sense of how the orchestra fit into the fabric of Sioux Falls and South Dakota. “The one thing that was an unknown for me was how the orches tra was really serving its community and what the potential was for that,” he says. “During my first year, I was assessing — other than just playing

leaders and musicians. “It took us four years to build the Lakota Mu sic Project before we played a single note,” Gier says. “What’s unique is that we built it together with Lakota and Dakota elders and musicians. It wasn’t us going in and saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool for us to play this music for you?’ It was starting from the ground up. ‘What’s the most meaningful way we can make music together in order to address racial prejudice?’”

and one arrangement. The group has toured the state and performed in Washington, D.C., in 2019. The template has since been applied to other ethnic communities to create the Bridging Cultures program.

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra begins its 2022-2023 season at the Washington Pavilion on October 8. The evening will feature pianist Conrad Tao playing a concerto by Tchaikovsky as well as Brahms’ Sym phony No. 1. But as always, Gier is looking at the big picture. That

includes solidifying the orchestra’s infrastructure and touring to help create a more statewide presence. “There are several artistic things I would love to accomplish, including commissions and world premieres, composers in residence and artists in residence that have been on our dance card,” he says. “Maybe this is the moment where we can capitalize on it and take the whole organization forward.”

If the last 20 years are any indica tion, it would seem nothing is out of reach.

Since its launch, the Lakota Music Project has commissioned four pieces

Delta David Gier was awarded the 2022 Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University for his commitment to advancing American music. That direction has brought several Pulitzer Prize-winning composers to Sioux Falls.

24 • South Dakota Arts Alive • ArtsCouncil.sd.gov ONE LAST LOOK

art educators, art lovers and advocates from across South Dakota gathered in May at Rapid City for the 2022 Arts Conference. They experienced a high-energy weekend of entertainment, education, team building and networking. They also enjoyed festive foods and live performances from the Stampede Singers, the Sophia Beatty band, James Janis, Tyler Brink and Tashina Red Hawk. Special events, including a walking tour of Native art in downtown Rapid City hosted by Dr. Craig Howe, made the conference a uniquely South Dakota experience. The next conference will be held in 2024.

Artists,

Photos by Richard Carlson

SOUTH DAKOTA ARTS CONFERENCE RECAP

Your donation to Arts South Dakota will enable us to continue our work to strengthen the arts in our state.

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Please join Arts South Dakota today.

Arts South Dakota, a nonpartisan and nonprofit service organization, advances the arts for South Dakotans and our visitors by connecting, advocating and educating.

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