Greetings from Perpich Center for Arts Education!

Perpich is both a place people come to and a resource we bring to communities across Minnesota.

Allegra Smisek, Executive Director

This August offered a wonderful reminder of both sides of that mission. Perpich Professional Development and Resource Programs hosted workshops, cohorts, and conferences on our campus, bringing arts educators together to learn and connect. At the same time, our arts specialists are traveling to districts across Minnesota, providing personalized professional development directly to educators in their own communities.

Our Arts High School students have returned, bringing our classrooms, studios, residence hall, and performance spaces back to life. We also welcomed young people from CENTRO to experience Perpich, meet our students, and imagine themselves as part of this community. Our second annual BIPOC Authors & Illustrators Book Fair brought artists, educators, families, and community members together around books, art, identity, and storytelling.

Amid all of this, our Board of Directors gathered for its annual retreat to reflect on where Perpich is headed. As we discussed our new strategic directions, I was struck by how much of that future was already visible in the work happening around us.

We want more young people to discover Perpich, experience what happens here, and see themselves as part of this community. At the same time, being a statewide organization gives us the opportunity to bring Perpich’s expertise, resources, and opportunities to students and educators throughout Minnesota.

As we begin the 2026–27 school year, I am excited to continue growing the community we welcome to Perpich and the ways Perpich shows up across our state.

With gratitude,

Allegra Smisek
Executive Director | Perpich Center for Arts Education