MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM PLANS JUNE RESIDENCY OF THESSALONIKI-BASED CHOREOGRAPHER MERYL ZAYTOUN MURMAN
Choreography residency runs June 1—29, 2024, in Winona and the Twin Cities
We are thrilled to announce the schedule of events and public engagements as part of the 2024 McKnight International Choreographer Residency. The residency will host Thessaloniki-based choreographer Meryl Zaytoun Murman in partnership with Winona-based dance/interdisciplinary artist Sharon Mansur and her creative platform, The Cedar Tree Project.
for more information visit our international residency page.
McKnight Fellowships for Choreographers and the McKnight Fellowships for Dancers provide awards to individual choreographers and dancers who are beyond early practice and who reside in Minnesota. The McKnight Fellowships are designed to enrich and strengthen our community by acknowledging the accomplishments of individual choreographers and dancers and providing for their artistic growth.
The McKnight Foundation funds individual artist and culture bearer fellowships in 15 artistic disciplines. The Cowles Center For Dance & The Performing Arts is the administrative home for the McKnight Fellowships for Dancers and the McKnight Fellowships for Choreographers. Support for individual artists has been a cornerstone of The McKnight Foundation’s Arts and Culture program since it began in 1982. The foundation recognizes that the arts cannot flourish or enhance community life without the ideas, energy, and drive of individual artists and that artists cannot make these contributions without unfettered creative time.
For more information about the recent Fellowship Program name change, read the article “Celebrating Our Renamed Artist and Culture Bearer Fellowships: An Invitation to Shift Culture” by McKnight Foundation Program Officer Bao Phi.
See the links below for program information as translated written and audio files:
English Audio Recording Hmong / Hmoob Dawb Somali / Af Soomaaliga Spanish / Español
THE FELLOWSHIPS
The McKnight Fellowships for Choreographers and Dancers annually awards three $25,000 fellowships to Minnesota choreographers and three $25,000 fellowships to Minnesota dancers. The awards are unrestricted and can help an artist set aside periods of time for study, reflection, experimentation, and exploration; take advantage of an opportunity; or work on a new project.
INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS
The McKnight International Choreographer program invites one international choreographer each year to spend time in residence in Minnesota, collaborating with Minnesota dance artists and showcasing new work. International Choreographer residencies are offered by invitation only. Applications are not accepted.
SOLO
Through the SOLO Commissioning Program each McKnight Dancer Fellow selects a choreographer to create a new solo work expressly for the fellow.
Photo of Demetrius McClendon/ImagineJoy by Canaan Mattson
To our Fellowship Program friends and colleagues:
As the news of changes at the Cowles Center for Dance is shared, we want to assure you that the McKnight Artist and Culture Bearer Fellowships for Dancers and Choreographers will move forward with all planned programs.
The 2024 application is currently open and the deadline and selection process will unfold as scheduled. Current and recent Fellows will be supported fully in all their activities, including the much-anticipated SOLO concert next fall, albeit in a different venue. The 2022 and 2023 McKnight Dancer Fellows are deep in their creative processes and we are excited to share these new works!
The McKnight International Choreographer Residency will take place in June 2024, with events in Winona and the Twin Cities. Residency partner Sharon Mansur and The Cedar Tree Project will work with Thessaloniki-based choreographer Meryl Murman to create a new work, and classes and events will be offered. Look for more details in the coming months.
The McKnight Foundation’s Arts and Culture Program team recognizes how important the dance community is to Minnesota and the critical support the Fellowship Program offers dancers and choreographers. “We look forward to working with the Fellowship Program team and the dance community as decisions are made about the future of the Cowles Center and the home of the Fellowship Program” said DeAnna Cummings, Arts & Culture Program Director.
Support for individual artists has been a focus of the McKnight Foundation since its inception. McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships increase the exploratory opportunity, economic stability, and productive capacity of artists by providing $25,000 in unrestricted support for midcareer artists and discipline-specific artistic and professional development opportunities. The Fellowship Program for Choreographers was one of the initial eight disciplines offered a fellowship when the program began in 1982. The Dancer Fellowship was added in 1997. Over 160 Choreographers and 80 Dancers have been awarded, having a remarkable and lasting impact on the field of dance in Minnesota.
We want to assure the dance community that the McKnight Foundation and Fellowship Program staff are steadfast in their support of the dance artists in Minnesota. Please reach out to us with any questions: mckfell@thecowlescenter.org