20. Scientifically Fringe-tastic! A Story of a Scientist in the Arts

Dawn Bentley is the Executive Director of Minnesota Fringe, an amazing performance arts festival in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul). Minnesota Fringe connects adventurous artists with adventurous audiences by creating open, supportive forums for free and diverse artistic expression. Dawn and her dynamic team of 3 (including herself) manage all aspects of the largest performing arts festival in the Midwest and they drum up the entire operations for the summer festival and year-round programming - reaching over 30,000 participants per year. Minnesota Fringe is an artistic disruptor for local and national artists — to take bold risks, develop new ideas, and hoist themselves to the next rung of their artistic ladder. Minnesota Fringe works with more than 1,000 artists annually to craft a performing arts extravaganza attended by tens of thousands in a variety of Twin Cities theaters. Dawn has a diverse and eclectic background that started as a microbiologist. She has gone back to school multiple times to earn higher education degrees to best follow her passion while sharing her amazing skill to bring festivals to life. Watching the Fringe come back into full force from COVID shut downs to venue challenges...I don't know about YOU but I'm going to Minnesota Fringe this summer! The next Minnesota Fringe Festival is August 1-11, 2024. More information here: https://minnesotafringe.org/fringe-festival Dawn's resource recommendation: Non Profit AF - https://nonprofitaf.com/