Mission and History

COMPAS strengthens people and communities in Minnesota by engaging them in creating art. With 55 years of arts programming and four decades of arts education, COMPAS is Minnesota’s most widely-used resource for artist residencies and community-building through the arts. We engage nearly 600,000 people in the arts in over 100 Minnesota cities, towns, and suburbs each year. Begun as The Art of Poetry in 1968, COMPAS incorporated in 1974, merged with United Arts in 1998, and merged with Young Audiences of MN in July 2009.

COMPAS has demonstrated artistic leadership through its exemplary arts education partnerships; groundbreaking community programs in youth employment, rural arts, senior programming, and healthcare; and its innovative grant-making initiatives. Many of these programs have served as national and regional models.

COMPAS Reaches

People of all ages who have little or no opportunity to participate in making art of their own;
Rural towns and city neighborhoods by helping them celebrate culture and community in dynamic art projects they design themselves;
Students across the state who discover the beauty and power of art-making in schools, neighborhood centers, after-school programs, and other community settings;
Artists who — through our residencies, workshops, and performances — share their skills with children and adults in all 8 Minnesota congressional districts.

Click here to read our Community Relations Commitment.