A.P. Anderson Award
for Outstanding Contributions to Arts and Culture in Minnesota
The annual award is named for Dr. Alexander P. Anderson, who invented the process for creating Quaker Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat cereals. An educator, botanist, writer and naturalist, Anderson built the Tower View Estate, which today is stewarded by the Anderson Center who operates the historic site as a hub to develop, foster and promote creative endeavors and the exchange of ideas.
Nominations for the 2025 A.P. Anderson Award honree are open now through November 30, 2024. Honorees receive a cash award and are celebrated at a gala event in June.
The A.P. Anderson Gala is an annual signature event for the Anderson Center at Tower View. Taking place outdoors on the Anderson Center’s Rooftop Deck, the Gala combines the A.P. Anderson Award ceremony program with a fundraising benefit for the venerable non-profit arts institution featuring a silent auction, live music, and a gourmet plated dinner.
Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for the 2024 A.P. Anderson Award Gala. Together, we enjoyed an evening of connection and inspiration, celebrated Daniel Bergin's work advancing Minnesota's history and culture, and raised thousands of dollars to supports artists and the Anderson Center's operations.
2024 A.P. Anderson Awardee
Daniel Bergin
The Anderson Center at Tower View in Red Wing, Minnesota, will honor producer and documentary filmmaker Daniel Bergin with the 2024 A.P. Anderson Award for significant contributions to the cultural and artistic life of Minnesota during a public ceremony on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.
“The stories we tell about our communities shape a shared identity and define the limits of what is considered possible,” says Stephanie Rogers, Executive and Artistic Director of the Anderson Center. “Daniel Bergin has done a phenomenal job telling stories that have been erased or excluded from the broader narrative about what and who Minnesotans are. In doing so, his work has re-shaped public conversations and outlined new paths forward for us as a state and a society.”
“Anderson Center believes that arts and culture have an important role to play in society, and Bergin’s work exemplifies that idea,” she continues. “Through leadership, collaboration, empathy, and integrity he’s built a team and a network of researchers and community members that brings important, often overlooked stories to broad audiences around the state.”
Daniel Bergin is the Executive Producer for Twin Cities Public Television, where he creates media that explores diversity, history and community through restorative storytelling. Bergin is a member of the Upper Midwest Emmy Silver Circle, which recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to television well above what is required for their job. He received the Alumni of Notable Achievement Award from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, and in 2022 was named to Pollen Midwest’s 50 Over 50 list, which recognizes Minnesotans who have made significant achievements and contributions in their communities.
“Minnesota’s great multidisciplinary media artist Gordon Parks called out his camera as a healthy, creative ‘choice of weapons’ to combat the ills of our society,” Bergin says. “As a follower of Parks, I too hope that my media has lifted up our diverse, shared humanity, which itself pushes back into the shadows those things that hold us back like hate and ignorance.”
Bergin was born and raised in South Minneapolis. He has worked for TPT for more than 30 years, beginning as a production assistant shortly after graduating from the University of Minnesota. He has produced many impactful projects that share Minnesota’s history, including Jim Crow of the North, Out North, North Star: Minnesota’s Black Pioneers, and Flour Power. Bergin was first recognized by the National Association of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences when he won the NATAS college PSA competition, foreshadowing his work in media that matters. Since then, he has won 14 Regional Emmy awards. In the 1990s, Bergin co-produced the groundbreaking Don’t Believe the Hype, TPT’s award winning youth media program.
Daniel Bergin’s narrative films have screened at the American Film Institute, KQED San Francisco’s Living Room Film Festival, the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, The Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, and the Hollywood Black Film Festival.
In addition to extensive work for TPT, Bergin has created independent films. He is active in service to the broader community and has supported numerous community media and arts organizations as a board member.
Past recipients include last year’s recipient, composer, educator, and musician Nirmala Rajasekar, author Kao Kalia Yang, choreographer/scholar Ananya Chatterjea, musician Butch Thompson, actor/director Lou Bellamy, sculptor/architect Siah Armajani, poets Robert Bly & William Duffy, sculptor Judy Onofrio, author Louise Erdrich, and storyteller Kevin Kling.
AP Anderson Award 2018
Judy Onofrio
Award Recipients
2023 Nirmala Rajasekar
2022 Kao Kalia Yang
2019 Mary Ann Grossmann
2018 Judy Onofrio
2017 Lou Bellamy
2016 Cynthia Gehrig
2015 Butch Thompson
2014 Kate DiCamillo
2013 Louise Erdrich
2012 Larry Yazzie
2011 Lawrence Redmond and
Sheila Smith
2010 Emilie Buchwald
2009 Kevin Kling
2008 Jim Brandenburg
2007 Warren MacKenzie
2006 Lise Houlton
2005 Phillip Brunelle
2004 Betsy Bowen
2003 Patricia Hampl
2002 Siah Armajani
2001 Libby Larsen
2000 Joe Dowling
1999 Robert Bly and
William Duffy