Mayor Melvin Carter Appoints Lao American Playwright Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay to Arts and Cultural Board
Mayor Carter looks on as Saymoukda introduces a poet at a reading to celebrate World Refugee Day in Saint Paul's SpringBOX. The event was co-organized with Ka Oskar Ly, featured immigrant and refugee poets, and remarks by the Mayor. Photo by Melissa Vang
On January 13, 2021, the Saint Paul City Council approved Lao American playwright and cultural producer Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay's appointment to the City of Saint Paul Cultural STAR Board.
Saint Paul's 46th and first African American Mayor, the Honorable Melvin Carter appointed Saymoukda to serve a 3-year term on the nine-seat Cultural STAR Board. Members of the board advise the Mayor and the City Council on funding for arts and cultural projects. Saymoukda will be serving alongside leadership from institutions that includes the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Minnesota Public Radio, Hmong Cultural Center, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, and the Bush Foundation. Several board members are practicing artists and Saint Paul residents themselves.
Based in the Eastside, poet and playwright Saymoukda will bring her perspectives and experiences as a former refugee, cultural producer, and social practice artist to serve the board's key missions. She currently serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at Theater Mu and is a McKnight Foundation Fellow in Community-Engaged Practice Art, administered by Pillsbury House + Theatre.
Photo by Mica Lee Anders
"I'm honored to be serving my city. Saint Paul is the love of my life. I grew up here and I'm raising my family here. I make art about Saint Paul and I make art for the people who call this city home. I want to make a difference by advocating for my community, particularly artists and arts and cultural projects that haven't gotten the signal boost they needed over the years."
—Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay
Established in 1994, the purpose of the Cultural STAR fund is to promote cultural vitality and economic growth by strengthening the arts and culture community through grants and loans. Cultural STAR grows Saint Paul's economy by strengthening the arts and cultural sector and supporting Downtown as a vital cultural center. The four major goals of Cultural STAR are: build and diversify audiences; promote a broad range of cultural offerings; produce a long-term impact; and leverage additional financial support.
About the Cultural STAR Board
In May 1993, the Minnesota State Legislature authorized the City of Saint Paul to levy an additional half-cent sales tax to make needed improvements to the Saint Paul RiverCentre complex and create the Neighborhood Sales Tax Revitalization or STAR Program and the Cultural STAR Program. The goal of Neighborhood STAR is to utilize funds for capital improvements to further residential, economic, and commercial development in Saint Paul. Cultural STAR funds capital, special projects, and operating support for cultural organizations. In 1994, the City Council established the Sales Tax Revitalization (STAR) Program to distribute the remaining sales tax proceeds.