NDCA Events and Programs

Call for Panelists

The North Dakota Council on the Arts is looking for people who are interested in serving as panelists for various grant programs. These programs include Institutional Support, Community Arts Access, Artist-in-Residence and Teacher Incentive, Presenter Support, and Individual Artist Fellowship grants. NDCA panelists' advice plays a central role in reviewing applications for funding and in discussing policy issues about the needs of the arts. Panels are composed of individuals who represent a broad range of artistic and cultural viewpoints and geographic and ethnic diversity. Panelists may be either arts experts - experienced in a specific art form- or a layperson that is knowledgeable about the arts but not engaged in the arts as a profession.

For further panelist Information

The Governor's Awards for the Arts was started in 1977 as a way of recognizing individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the state. Recipients are chosen for their efforts to expand arts opportunities to new audiences, improve the quality of arts experiences, create an appreciation for North Dakota's cultural heritage, and make the arts more central to education and an integral part of community life.

For Recipients and History.

• 2003 - 2005 North Dakota Blue Book: Profiles eight North Dakota visual artists who have received fellowships from the NDCA. Also features several essays and poems by North Dakota writers. Click here for more information on the North Dakota Blue Book.

Icelandic Artist Exchange: An artist exchange program between North Dakota and Iceland.

International Artist Exchange Took Place April 4-8

The International Artist Exchange Program hosted Thor Vigfusson, Icelandic artist in Cavalier from April 4-8, 2005. Thor is a saga teller from Selfoss, Iceland. He worked with the students in Cavalier Public Schools presenting Icelandic stories.                                                                                                                             

Thor is a gifted, engaging, and truly traditional storyteller from Selfoss, Iceland with a treasure trove of stories at the tip of his tongue.  Whether those tales are about ghosts guarding their valuables to ghosts who caused a bus to start on fire a few years ago to seals who saved the lives of fisherman, Thor effortlessly brings these narratives to life.  Ghost stories are abundant and found throughout Iceland – there are ghosts associated with the sea, ghosts associated with the land, ghosts associated with farmsteads, etc.  These stories are Thor’s specialty; in fact, he was instrumental in establishing the “Ghost Center” in Selfoss, Iceland.  

The International Exchange Project is in the third year of this exciting artistic exchange with Iceland. Sponsored by the North Dakota Council on the Arts in cooperation with the Icelandic Communities Association, Cavalier Public Schools and Superintendent Frank Schill.  Schools that would like to be considered for future international exchanges can contact the NDCA Arts in Education Coordinator at 701-328-7593 or lehreth@nd.gov

Click here to read about the prior Grand Forks residency of Icelandic visual artist Kristin Jonsdottir fra Munkathvera.

• The Fort Union Trading Post's Trails & Rails Program - a partnership between the National Park Service, Amtrak, and the North Dakota Council on the Arts - has completed its second season. Click here to learn more about Trails & Rails.