Programs + Services

We advocate at the city and state levels and work a variety of businesses, educational and service clubs to ensure that our community values the arts as part of our social and economic success.

Aptitude, creative arts studios located inside West Acres Mall, gives artists affordable space to create while interacting with the public and marketing their work. Visit our Aptitude page to plan your next visit.

We compile local, regional and national resources for both artists and arts organizations. Stay on top of the next grant deadlines, apply to current calls for artists and get more involved.

ArtWORKS provides a regular rotation of dynamic exhibits to local businesses. Exhibiting artists receive a stipend, as well as exposure in a non-traditional art space such as restaurants, banks and meeting spaces.

The Arts Partnership develops opportunities for businesses to engage with art. The 2021 Board Leadership Academy and 2019 Business Breakfast Series are examples of how art helps businesses bottom lines.

Want to get more involved with the community either in person or online? Check out our calendar to see all the current arts-and-culture events happening in Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo.

The Arts Partnership regularly posts calls for artists soliciting artists to apply for paid opportunities to ply their trade, for example to paint a mural or design wraps for urban infrastructure like the benches downtown.

The Arts Partnership spearheaded the Campus FM initiative, aimed at strengthening the workforce by retaining college students after graduation.

The Arts Partnership’s ChalkFest, held annually at the Red River Zoo, has become the largest, free, hands-on art-making event in the Metro, attracting participants of all ages, ethnicities and abilities.

These grants, funded by the Tri-Cities, provide support for the Metro’s arts organizations and other non-profits seeking to incorporate the arts into their missions. 

Our comprehensive strategies to share about the arts are led by Communications Coordinator, Ethan Mickelson, who writes newspaper articles, e-newsletters, blogs and more.

Community Supported Art (CSA) brings together artists and audiences for three events from May through September. CSA shareholders experience a performance, culinary and visual art at each event.

Connecting the Dots, TAP’s weekly e-newsletter, showcases what's new in local art.

The IAP grants support artists working in any genre and at any career stage. The goal is to help them realize their artistic vision, improve their artistic skills and build sustainable careers.

A collaboration between the Fargo Public Library, the Moorhead branch of the Lake Agassiz Regional Library, the West Fargo Public Library and The Arts Partnership to offer library cardholders the ability to “check out” local arts and cultural organizations with special offers or free admission through a Metro Arts Pass.

Our Partners represent the Metro’s creative sector: arts organizations, artists, businesses and others that contribute to a more vibrant community in which to live and work.

In Fall 2020, TAP brought The FENCE to the Metro - a 1,000-foot-long, nationally juried public photography exhibition printed on vinyl and hung on fences across Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo.

The Salon Party event is part lecture series, part TED talk and part concert – designed to be thought-provoking but not stuffy.

This annual event highlights the importance of the arts in our community and debuts our organizational goals for the upcoming year.

A simple but powerful way for you to signal that you Support Local Art. Proceeds from the sale of our t-shirts, bags and other items benefit The Arts Partnership’s programs.

With the world both shut down and more (internet) connected than ever, The Arts Partnership launched TAPpy Hour in March 2020. This program included livestream conversation and/or art making opportunity with the incredible arts leaders, arts organizations and artists in the Metro.