Rapid City Arts Council relaunches their emerging artists workshop program
A collaborative program to support artists in crafting their future
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The Rapid City Arts Council has announced it is bringing back a program to provide performers with opportunities to develop their form and careers through the Emerging Artists Program at the Dahl Arts Center. The relaunch will include a special performance at 6 p.m. on September 1 during First Friday Downtown Art Walk. All performances will be held in the Bruce H. Lien Cultural Cafe & Gallery at the Dahl Arts Center. Artists are encouraged to sign up now and people can visit the Rapid City Arts Council website for more information.
Jacqui Dietrich and Josh Miranda from the Rapid City Arts Council shared that, “The returning performing artists program will be a great opportunity for artists to work on their craft in a supportive environment and perform what they’ve been practicing and get supportive feedback which helps them get to the next level based on the goals they set for themselves.”
Dietrich says, despite halting the program due to the pandemic, “The community has encouraged us to bring it back. We’re excited to relaunch in September.” Dietrich says they are excited to start because they know how passionate Rapid City and the Black Hills are about supporting its up-and-coming artists. She says this program is another way for the community to come together to support these artists as audience members, mentors, and peers and recommends the community come out and support future performances.
Miranda adds, “We created the Emerging Artists Program to support performance artists in any form and had a wide range of artists participate in past years. Some perform regularly here in the area, have gone on to music schools, or formed new bands. Audiences are often pleasantly surprised by the level of talent. One singer-songwriter has over 1 million downloads on Spotify and another went on to compete on The Voice. Everyone’s goals are a little different but one the real highlight is the diversity of the artists that come together.”
Miranda and Dietrich remind the community that all ages are encouraged to participate in the program, “We invite artists in all forms of performance to get involved and we welcome spoken word, poetry, dance, and of course, music, which is what the program is most known for. Most of our participants are young adults or adults, but we don’t require participants to be any certain age. Participants will be able to sign up for performance opportunities after submitting a demo or attending an informal live audition. Performances will be held monthly, with additional opportunities for visiting artist workshops, mentor sessions, and peer networking. The community can attend performances with a suggested donation and can become volunteers, sponsors, and mentors by reaching out to our team via the Rapid City Arts Council website.”
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