Art on the Prairie in Perry, IA (population 7,700)

Art on the Prairie is a nonprofit organization that brings together artists, entrepreneurs, and community members through arts programming. After a population decline in the 1990s, Perry, IA has experienced a population resurgence due in part to an influx of Latinx residents, who now make up over forty percent of the town’s population.

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Sisseton Arts Council in Sisseton, SD (population 2,500)

Sisseton Art Council’s mission is to build an appreciation and awareness of the arts by recognizing resources and promoting cultural enrichment. The town of Sisseton, SD is located on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, which is home to the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Indian tribe. Today, approximately half of the population of Sisseton is Native American. The small but diverse community has city, county, and tribal governments with a tribal college.

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The Honeywell Foundation in Wabash, IN (population 10,600)

The Honeywell Foundation is an organization dedicated to enhancing the livability of the region through world-class performing arts programming across multiple communities. The area was first home to the Miami Nation of Indians. Today, Native American residents and people of color comprise approximately five percent of the population of Wabash County.

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Erik Dominguez will be working with Art on the Prairie in Perry, Iowa (Population 7,700). Erik is an immigrant who grew up between two cultures and mixed messages, which fueled him to learn and share the tools to overcome those obstacles. For nearly 25 years, his team-oriented teaching style has centered around shared experiences, a philosophy that everyone has a unique story, and a belief that everyone can share their minds and hearts through powerful presentations.

Alex Barreto Hathaway will be working with the Sisseton Arts Council in Sisseton, South Dakota (Population 2,500), along with the communities of Veblen (population 558) and Agency Village (population 181). Alex is a process-based artist and educator that leans into playfulness, clown, mask and physical theatre, clown again, stories that celebrate the Latinx experience, and projects that partner with non-theatre groups. He earned his BA in Theatre Arts at the University of Minnesota with a thesis project exhibiting Mask, Puppetry, and Street Theatre practices studied in Pernambuco, Brazil. Beyond theatre, Barreto Hathaway makes illustrations, writes tri-lingual folk songs, hosts artist “salons” for new work, and sustains an ongoing project that serves artists, farmers and grass-roots organizers in Puerto Rico, where he is originally from.

Ana Velazquez will be working with The Honeywell Foundation in Wabash, Indiana (Population 10,600). Ana is a Mexican American director and teaching artist in her native Chicago. Her directing experience is deeply tied to new play development and is often in collaboration with playwrights exploring underrepresented stories. Ana received her BA in Theatre from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a Playmakers Laboratory company member. Her teaching artist experience includes Disney Musicals in Schools and Playbuild Youth Intensive Program with Goodman Theatre; Timeline South Living History Program with Timeline Theatre and Young Playwrights Festival with Pegasus Theatre. She proudly served as the Associate Director for the Chicago August Wilson Monologue Competition.