TOM BORRUP
Minneapolis, MN

AFFILIATION: Executive Director, Intermedia Arts

AREA OF EXPERTISE: Nonprofit management, community cultural development, philanthropy, fundraising, artist development

BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE: Tom has been a leader and innovator in nonprofit community and cultural work for twenty-five years, generally declining to follow conventional paths. He has been director of Intermedia Arts since 1980, a Minneapolis-based organization recognized nationally for its work in nurturing artists and other cultural assets in its diverse urban community. The organization’s work is cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and inter-generational, bringing people together across many divides in dialogue and collaboration through the arts. Tom also serves as chair of the Jerome Foundation, a progressive funder of emerging artists in New York City and Minnesota, and he has served as a consultant to national and local arts funders.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:  Tom’s interests are in exploring intersections between culture and community building, and in the creation of civic dialogue and civic space, particularly in communities experiencing demographic changes. He also would like to further explore institutional behavior and responsibility in relation to neighborhoods and community development. In relation to the Knight Fellowship’s suburban emphasis for 2002, he wants to investigate the question, "How can communities that are increasingly diverse racially and economically, and in which there are few or no social and cultural institutions or civic associations, bridge diversity, strengthen their human fabric, and build social capital?"

E-MAIL: tom@intermediaarts.org