Springboard for the Arts Selects OACC as a Host Site for the Creative Community Leadership Institute

When Glenn and Emily Swanson moved into Carlton's Oldenburg House ten years ago, they had a vision to replicate the spirit of the family that established it in 1894. The Classical Revival-style home would be more than just a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It would become a touchstone for the community.

One bi-product of their original vision was the Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community. According to Executive Director Lori Peterson, "The OACC's mission is to encourage our region’s vitality through locally inspired, arts activated community development. The geography, wisdom and talent abundantly and irreplaceably around us guides us toward a vision of an inclusive, equitable, healthy and sustainable future where all residents prosper."

This year, the Springboard for the Arts has chosen the OACC as one of three host sites for the Creative Community Leadership Institute (CCLI).

CCLI is an intensive, in-person, cohort-based training program with real-world practice for artists, culture bearers, community organizers, community development practitioners, and other leaders seeking to deepen their impact in creative community building.

The OACC's artistic vision is grounded in the belief that artists and culture bearers have a special responsibility during this intense time of pandemic recovery and racial reconciliation. Their aim is to help us remember that beauty, change and loss have always co-existed and that we are always capable of expressing care, empathy and stewardship.

CCLI’s program aligns perfectly with OACC’s Carlton Area Creatives Collaborative begun in 2021. "We know the degree of impact possible from a project like CCLI based upon its previous success," says Peterson. "This is an opportunity for this area’s artists to shine and make a difference while broadening the economic impact of the creative community."

Follow the links below to learn more, to sign up for info sessions, and to apply to participate. Creatives, YOU are the most important part to this process!

Application closes 2/27/2022. East Cohort meets online and at Cloquet Forestry Center.     

For more information, follow the link CCLI or visit:  

https://springboardforthearts.org/events/creative-community-leadership-institute-ccli-information-session-central-east-cohorts-2

The CCLI venture serves the arts community throughout this region. Though the meeting site is in Cloquet, it is inclusive for artists throughout the Arrowhead. 

OACC was selected because of all the great arts and culture work happening here that we all know and care about—all of it highly recognized because of your talents and contributions as artists—and valued by our community partners and supported locally by various funders such as Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Minnesota State Arts Board, Northland Foundation, Fond du Lac Reservation and Tribal Community Council, Minnesota Humanities Council, and numerous other cities and counties in the region.

About the Oldenburgs

Henry Oldenburg left a legacy that included the establishment of Jay Cooke State Park as well as a lead role in the restoration of dozens of communities destroyed in the great fire of 1918. His wife Margaret was similarly dedicated to the community, hosting civic and social occasions as well as playing a role speaking out for the rights of women.