We believe that the arts and humanities are vital to the
life
of a sustainable
Agrarian community. Our purpose is
to increase access
to the arts and humanities
and develop
the community’s capacity
to understand, appreciate and participate.
Rural America Arts Partnership (RAAP) was formed in 1997 to create
the Center for
Rural America Arts, which bring the arts and humanities together on a unique campus in Plainview, MN. Plainview is located 90 miles southeast of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. A former farm implementation dealership is now the 223 seat Jon Hassler Theater
(JHT) and Greenwood Prairie Art Gallery. The building was named for famed and highly regarded Minnesota writer Jon Hassler, who spent his boyhood years in Plainview. Later
RAAP purchased, moved to the campus and renovated the early home of Jon Hassler which now houses the Rural America Writer’s Center as well as serves as quarters for the actors who are hired by RAAP for its creative theatrical endeavors.
Over the years, RAAP has kept its focus on productions based on the rural community way of life. RAAP has produced several adaptations of Jon Hassler’s work with great success as his work has been based on Plainview and other rural communities. Most recently, RAAP received rave reviews for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which the theater hired up and coming director, Jon Ferguson. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was picked one of the top ten theater productions for 2010 by Twin Cities Daily Planet.