October 6th, 2023
The Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council is offering $300 Arts Scholarships for Youth in grades 7–12, and $200 for students in grades 3-6, who live in the 9-county area. Students can apply for funds to take lessons, classes, or training with an independent instructor or an arts organization. Artistic areas include dance, literature, media arts, music, theater, visual art, folk and traditional art. All applications for both age groups are due November 1, 2023. There is only one deadline per year. Students must live in the nine-county region that Prairie Lakes serves including: Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Waseca and Watonwan Counties.
Students in grades 7-12 must be participating with an instructor, an organization or arts discipline for at least 2 years to be eligible. Students in grades 3-6 must be participating for at least one year to be eligible. Both age groups require an online letter of recommendation from an instructor as part of their application. Students may not use this scholarship to participate in a school or organization band or choir trip, or other arts trips. Lessons can be conducted in-person or online via Skype, Zoom, or other live platforms.
Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council has an online grant process. Go to our website www.plrac.org and click on the applicant Login button. Follow the instructions to register as an artist for the Youth Scholarship and complete the application.
In FY 2023 a total of 121 students were awarded Youth Scholarships, for a total of $30,600 from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. This is part of the Legacy funding from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment that Prairie Lakes receives from the State Legislature. We also provide grants to Non-profit Arts Organizations, Community Groups and Schools, and awarded over $450,000 last year.