St. Paul Knight Arts Challenge from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

On April 7, we will be launching the St. Paul .Knight Arts Challenge, looking for the best arts ideas that engage and enrich St. Paul.

Over the next three years, Knight will be giving away up to $4.5 million in matching grants to innovative ideas. The application, open to everyone, will be available here at KnightArts.org. Applying is designed to be very easy.  In fact, the application is just short two questions, with only 150 words allotted. And there are three rules to follow:

1. The idea must be about arts.
2. The project must take place in or benefit St. Paul.
3. You must find other funding to match the Knight Foundation grant.

To help get out the word – and to answer your questions –  Knight will be hosting a series of Community Q&As  the week of April 13. There, Knight Foundation’s Tatiana Hernandez and Polly Talen will talk about how to  craft your application,  discuss the challenge timeline, and answer pretty much any question you throw at them.  (A hint: though you may want to read our list of Frequently Asked Questions first. And for the very motivated, we have a list of all previous winners of the Knight Arts Challenge in the other cities where the contest has taken place.)

The full meeting schedule is below. So save the date for our Q&As, and  of course – get those ideas ready!

• Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m.: Dayton’s Bluff Recreation Center, 800 Conway St., St. Paul
• Sunday, April 13, 6 p.m.: Bedlam Lowertown, 213 Fourth St. E, St. Paul
• Monday, April 14, 6 p.m.: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis
• Tuesday, April 15, 8:30 a.m.: The Dubliner, 2162 University Ave W, St. Paul
• Tuesday, April 15, 6 p.m.: Neighborhood House, The Wellstone Center, 179 Robie St. E, St. Paul
• Wednesday, April 16, 6 p.m.: Penumbra Theatre, 270 North Kent St., St. Paul

Thanks too to our great Q&A co-hosts: East Side Arts Council, Bedlam Lowertown,  Springboard for the Arts, Giant Steps, Intermedia Arts, Mixed Blood Theatre, Creative Enterprise Zone, St. Anthony Park Community Council, West Side Community Organization, Penumbra Theatre, TU Dance and City of St. Paul Mayor’s Office.