Community Activation, Beautification, and Safety
Activations
in the corridor
Arts & Places
Community activation, beautification, and safety.
The Graves Foundation is committed to leveraging Lake Street Lift to make Lake Street the arts and events epicenter of Minneapolis this year. With our partners, the Lake Street Council and The Great Northern, we want to draw Minneapolis back to Lake Street through arts and culture, supporting local artists and leveraging the wider arts community to create unforgettable experiences and events.
Lake Street Lift’s goal is to directly support the hyper-local economy, businesses and artists on Lake Street, and to remind Minneapolis that Lake Street is the most vibrant corridor in the City. We will target five main areas:
Activation and beautification of underutilized spaces
Installations of new murals and public art
Hosting, sponsorship, and promoting community events and festivals
Marketing campaigns to promote the corridor to visitors
Addressing community safety through graffiti mitigation, lighting, and outreach teams.
Each of these programs and activities will have different opportunities to participate for businesses, non-profits, property owners, local creatives, and artists. See below for information about events and activations funding.
Have Questions? Contact:
Carla Godwin, carla@jdgravesfoundation.org
Arts & Events OppORTUNITIES
Business & Community Event Sponsorship
This program provides funding for community activation and events along the Lake Street corridor to continue to support healing, beautification efforts, and economic rehabilitation that are deeply needed to address the dynamic needs of our community. Sponsorship range from $2500 - $10,000.
apply here
Mural Bonanza
Utilizing the local creative economy of artists, designers, and more, the Graves Foundation, in partnership with the Lake Street Council is planning a Mural Bonanza! Between April and June 2024, murals and other beautification efforts will be popping up left and right along Lake Street. If you are a business or artist interested in participating, please let us know here.
Interested?
Arts & Places Big ideas!
We’re looking for big ideas to energize Lake Street! Through Lake Street Lift, the Graves Foundation and the Lake Street Council want to make this corridor the arts and events epicenter of Minneapolis in 2025. To get there we want to partner with you—local creatives and the wider arts community—to create unforgettable experiences and events. These experiences can be everything from cultural festivals or art installations to food tours or digital projections. Funding will be between $10-$75,000. We are looking to fund 10-15 projects with an average support of $25,000.
apply here
Festival Cohort
The festivals cohort is a partnership with The Great Northern to create a 6-month comprehensive initiative aimed at strengthening festival creators with skills, resources, and support to successfully manage and execute a high-quality festival. It will address the key components of festival production, including staff, programming, production, marketing, and outreach. Funding can range from $75,000-$100,000 and will require participation in the cohort. If you are interested in participating, please indicate though the Big Ideas! form.