More than 30 local artists have been awarded a total of $1 million by Kresge Foundation to pursue their dreams.
This year’s cohort is the first in the long-running program to receive no-strings-attached awards of $40,000, which were increased from $25,000 each last fall.
The awards were announced Thursday by the Kresge Arts in Detroit program, administered by the College for Creative Studies on behalf of the Kresge Foundation.
They include the $40,000 Kresge Artist Fellowships and the $5,000 Gilda Snowden Emerging Artist Awards, named in honor of the late, beloved Detroit art mentor who died in 2014.
The winners are:
Film and Music Fellows
Juanita Anderson, Interdisciplinary
Beats Rhymes Everything Detroit, Interdisciplinary
Steffanie Christi'an, Music Composition & Performance
Damien Crutcher, Music Performance
Maurice Draughn, Music Composition & Performance
Katy Dresner, Interdisciplinary
Aisha Ellis, Music Performance
Ian Finkelstein, Music Composition & Performance
Tamara Finlay, Animation
Na Forest Lim, Film Directing
Gabriel Hall, Interdisciplinary
HiTech, Interdisciplinary
INK, Music Composition & Performance
ishKode, Music Composition
Razi Jafri, Film Directing
Weam Namou, Film Directing
Lara Sfire, Film Directing
Ursula Walker, Music Performance
Live Arts Fellows
Imani Ma’at AmkhmenRa Amen Taylor, Dance
Ava Ansari, Performance Art
Flying Cardboard Theater, Interdisciplinary
Jit Master Mike, Dance
Sowandé Keïta, Performance Art
Chaula Thacker, Choreography
The TETRA - Digital Underground Railroad, Interdisciplinary
Gilda Awards in Film and Music
Stevie Soul Ansara, Music Performance
Drummer B, Music Performance
Na Bonsai, Interdisciplinary
Hannah E. Fahoome, Film Directing
Ms. Shirel, Interdisciplinary
Maddie Shubeck, Film Directing
Skinny Trell, Interdisciplinary
Gilda Awards in Live Arts
Galaxy, Performance Art
Miryam G. Johnson, Dance & Choreography
Mack Thorsday, Storytelling
“It has been uplifting to see the work of the metro Detroit artistic community take center stage — literally — in some of the city’s most celebratory moments over the last months: the opening of the Michigan Central Station, the NFL Draft, the Movement Music Festival, The Kresge Foundation Centennial, and others,” said Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation. “These remarkable artists and arts collectives remind us that Detroit’s cultural creators have been fonts of vitality well before these monumental events, actively nurturing the dynamic Detroit we know today and the city that is coming into being. We are proud to support them.”
Kresge Arts in Detroit has awarded $9 million in unrestricted dollars directly to metro Detroit artists since 2008. The program also connects award recipients with legal and financial support, exhibition opportunities, and participation in a film series highlighting local artists.
