The Cedar’s mission is to promote intercultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance. The Cedar is committed to artistic excellence and integrity, diversity of programming, support for emerging artists, and community outreach. The Cedar leverages the power of artists’ voices and instrumentation to build bridges between communities, establish a culture of unity and understanding, and inspire positive change in attitude and perception.

The only all-ages venue of its kind in the Midwest, The Cedar was established in 1989 and operates in a building that was constructed as a movie theater. Located in the heart of Cedar-Riverside—one of the most prolific neighborhoods for live music in Minneapolis and home to the largest Somali diaspora in the U.S.—The Cedar plays a key role in maintaining the vibrance and diversity of the Twin Cities’ arts scene. Led today by Executive Director Michelle Woster, The Cedar presents unique voices from around the globe—from world legends to up-and-coming new bands—with programming that spans global roots, folk, indie, experimental, bluegrass, Americana, and blues genres, and includes artist residencies, educational programs, workshops, films, dances, comedy, spoken word, and community events.

Jerome Foundation supports The Cedar Cultural Center’s Cedar Commissions program. Launched in 2010, The Cedar’s Commissions program supports six early career Minnesota-based performing artists and composers who represent different cultural backgrounds and aesthetic perspectives, culminating in performances of their new work for local audiences. The Cedar provides career and creative guidance through a mentor of the artist’s choice, group and individual mentoring with Cedar and non-Cedar staff,  a full-length professional video with multitrack audio and photos of their work’s premiere at The Cedar, a set of professional promotional portraits, a blog post feature about the commissioned new work on their website, and a full publicity and marketing campaign for performances.