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Minnesota Agencies

Information on Minnesota State Agencies, Boards, Task Forces, and Commissions

Compiled by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library


Governor's Commission on Economic Vitality in the Arts

Active dates:1984
Authority:
Governor Rudy Perpich
Function: The commission was to explore the possibility of creating a residential high school for students who are talented in the arts. The group was tasked with surveying the condition of the arts in Minnesota and examining ways in which the arts contribute to Minnesota's economy and national reputation and report to the governor.
History: Governor Perpich established the commission in January of 1984. On January 23 and 24, 1984 the Governor's Commission on Economic Vitality in the Arts met in St. Paul, Minnesota, to discuss arts initiatives which could be supported by a portion of dedicated proceeds of a state lottery.

The February 1984 preliminary report by this commission offered twenty-nine recommendations pertaining to the interdependence of the arts and the total economy of Minnesota. Several of these recommendations dealt with education in some way, including the creation of a High School for the Arts, the placing of "arts ombudsmen" in school districts, and expanding Master of Fine Arts programs in colleges subsidizing school performances by artists.
Membership: 37 members.
Chair: David Speer, executive at public relations firm, Padilla and Speer. Lola Perpich, honorary co-chair. Other members: Dave Moore, WCCO television; Donald Gillies, Campbell-Mithun Advertising; Ann Berkelew, Dayton-Hudson Corp.; John Cowles Jr., former chairman of Cowles Media Co.; David Hawley, St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press; Mike Steele of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune; Arthur Ballet, theater professor at the University of Minnesota; Lou Bellamy, actor and theater instructor; Phillip Brunelle, Minnesota Opera Company; Roberta Davis, jazz singer and teacher; Patricia Hampl, author; George Morrison, visual artist; Taeko Tanaka, potter and instructor; Odell Bjerkness, director of Minnesota Language Camps, Concordia College; Phillip Kaufman, professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth;

Tony Kuznik, assistant provost at the University of Minnesota-Crookston; Marjorie Hayden, retired banking executive; Patricia Bratnober, board member of the Jerome Foundation; Galle Hanson, Hallock, member of Region One Arts Committee; Ariene Helgeson, past president of St. Cloud Community Arts Counsil, and former Arts Board member; Larry Redmond, legilsative liaison for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts; Eleanor Hovda, president of Minnesota Regional Arts Forum; Karen Gray, member of Minnesota Arts Board;

John Meyers, associated with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra; Franklin Michaels, attorney; Albert Andrews Jr., attorney, former chair of Guthrie Theatre Foundation; Elizabeth Muslee, C.G. Rein Galleries; John Taylor, director of Northwest Area Foundation; Cheryl Dickson, Executive director of the Minnesota Humanities Commission; Kathryn Kjellsen, arts teacher; Lois Gibson, consultant to Midwest Arts Management Associates, musician; Kathryn Jensen, arts funding administrator, Blandin Foundation; James Sitter, executive director for Minnesota Center for the Book Arts; William Jones, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony, and Mary McKee, freelance artist.
Note: The Legislative Reference Library may have additional reports on or by this group available through our catalog.
Documents/Articles:
News clippings and documents. Agencies Notebook Collection, 1984.
Record last updated: 02/27/2017
 

All information on this group from the Library’s collection of agency notebooks has been digitized. These materials are incorporated into the “documents/articles” section of the record. Please contact a librarian with any questions. The Minnesota Agencies database is a work in progress.

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