MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD GRANT

GRANT FOR CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS 2023

Bruno Press is a fiscal year 2023 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from The Minnesota State Arts Board.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Stronger By Nature July 2023

My friend Annelise has started a support group for young women who have lost family members. She is grant funded and meets with these young women once a month for a year. Her and I talked many times about bringing the group to Bruno Press to have a print party. Finally it could happen! I designed a poster with the names of the people they had lost as the background, and then we added “Stronger by Nature” which is their group name as well as their individual names. It was really a lovely day, they started out really shy and by the end we were talking, sharing and hugging.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS October 2023

This lively group came out to Bruno Press one October evening to learn a few things about some old timey presses. There was a group of 6 Bigs along with 6 littles. It was so fun to have this diverse group of young and older folks curious about how all of this works. I created a pressure print with the BBBS logo to teach them how printing on a giant press works. They then learned how to set type and got to choose their own type to set they names. They had a blast and asked great questions. Everyone left with a poster that was signed by each person that attended!

Boys and Girls Club of st. Cloud June 2023

I reached out to the local Boys and Girls club, infact, they had actually reached out to me to inquire about bringing a group but said that they had a very tiny budget. I Was able to tell them that since I had these grant funds they could gather their kids and we could plan a day! They brought their lunch and had a ball! I designed this poster with the Boys and Girls Club logo which we pressure printed. We added a quote that they came up with in their art room. Each child got to set their names and add them to the poster. It was a great group.

SCSU Graduate Students April 2023

The SCSU professor, Muhammad Algarhy, had introduced himself to me at an art event in at I Like That in which I was part of a panel talk. I was there to talk about Bruno Press and how it had came to be. He learned that I was a graduate from St. Cloud State and wanted to talk about my business and how I have mentored interns for over a decade. He inquired if he might be able to bring his MBA students to the shop to have a print party. Once we got everything set up it was a go. Twelve students from all over the world came to the shop to not only learn about printing but to brainstorm about businesses, entrepreneurship, and all things related. We had a wonderful evening learning about analog methods of printing as well as how to utilized social media, marketing, and many other things. We ate pizza and became friends.

Dream Academy March 2023

There was 2 groups from the Dream Technical Academy located in Wilmar, Minnesota. This is a tuition-free, 7th-12th grade public charter school for students in grades 7-12 that focuses on 21st Century Skills as part of our career and college preparedness objective. We use a project-based learning curriculum that is entirely student-driven. I had the first group in the morning and we designed a poster that read: Dreams are the seeds of change. I talked about how I have made a living in the creative field, I taught them a bit about the history and resurgence of letterpress. Then I showed them how to set type and everyone set their name and created a poster that they got to keep. The students enjoyed the hands on learning and had a ball in the shop.