More Knight Foundation Support For Black Art And Institutions

Miami FL

24 December, 2020

9:47 AM

Description

the Miami Times By Bianca Marcof Miami Times Staff Writer Dec 23, 2020 We reported last week on the Knight New Work art initiative, which is providing funding to Miami-based artists to develop new performing arts work to reflect the times we are living in. Eighteen artists were chosen to receive $10,000 each to complete an artistic project and make it accessible to the public following social distancing guidelines. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, headquartered in Miami, invests locally and nationally and has been promoting innovation in the world of performing arts. The grants are an extension of the foundation's initiatives looking to increase funding and exposure for local artists and artistic organizations. "It takes a village to truly support the arts," said Adam Ganuza, arts program officer for Knight Foundation. "Beyond the artists, there is a whole web of leaders that help Miami become known as an arts hub for Americans. Knight's goal is to make art in Miami." The organization has since announced its 2020 Knight Arts Champions, which allows 19 cultural community leaders to designate an arts organization or artist as the recipient of a $10,000 grant. The grant goes entirely to each individual or entity; if a champion selected two recipients, the funding is split and each is given half. Those chosen include: PATH (Preserving, Archiving & Teaching Hip Hop) uses hip-hop culture to inspire, educate and entertain. Combating the negative stereotypes and destructive behaviors often associated with hip-hop, the organization uses the music genre and its five elements – DJing, MCing (rapping), B-boy/girling (breakdancing), urban art and knowledge – to advance scholarship, service learning, leadership, and entrepreneurship for youth and adults in the community. PATH partners with hip-hop industry professionals and practitioners to provide innovative programming in safe, drug-free, pro-social environments. PATH was selected by Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, founder and co-executive director of Third Horizon, a Miami-based creative collective. Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) supports emerging artists from the Latin and Caribbean diasporas, ensuring they receive validation, visibility and professional opportunities through an artist-in-residence program, international exchanges, education and community arts events that celebrate Miami-Dade's rich cultural and social fabric. DVCAI was selected by Gean Moreno, director of the Knight Foundation Art + Research Center at the Institute of Contemporary Art, and Chana Budgazad Sheldon, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami. The Florida Black Historical Research Project provides the public with previously hidden or forgotten facts about Florida's Black history, including early African arrivals, Black pirates, the mound builders, Southern Underground Railroad routes, and the Seminole Maroons and Seminole Wars. FBHRP brings these stories to light through research, presentations and publications. The organization was selected by artist, writer, preservationist and activist Dinizulu Gene Tinnie, who serves as the chair of the City of Miami Virginia Key Beach Park Trust. Lotus House Art and Activities Lab at Lotus House, a resource center and residential facility serving homeless women, youth and children in Overtown, utilizes the arts as alternative pathways to healing and creative expression. Weekly classes include ceramics, painting, sewing, drawing, science experiments and more. The shelter provides sanctuary, support, education, tools and resources that empower women to heal and grow. The lab was selected by Grela Orihuela, founder and executive producer of 1meter50, a full-service arts consultancy company, and co-founder and executive producer of Wet Heat Project, which produces independent and commissioned documentary films about artists. Sage cleansing at Loxahatchee Battlefield in January of this year. Courtesy of the Florida Black Historical Research Project Tradisyon Lakou Lakay is a Haitian arts and culture organization that offers camps, concerts and dance classes in Miami-Dade, promoting a positive image of Haitian arts and culture while motivating youth to drive positive social change. Through camp programs, children find a platform to create, collaborate, respect and embrace their heritage while learning to appreciate arts and culture at large. Emerging artists are also able to find opportunities to leverage their work during the organization's concert series and Haitian folkloric dance classes. TLL is one of two designees selected by Marie Vickles, director of education at Pérez Art Museum Miami. Tradisyon Lakou Lakay mid-performance at the Arsht Center's 2020 Heritage Festival. Amanda Smith FePouLi is dedicated to changing the lives of youth in South Florida through workshops that embody life skills and help empower them through practical conflict resolution strategies using the arts – poetry, photography and film. One of its popular monthly events, Poetic Lakay, takes place at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex and provides local poets a platform for their work. The organization was selected by Vickles. Frantz "Kiki" Wainwright is a Haitian playwright, singer, actor, author and poet. He is the co-founder of Sosyete Koukouy of Miami, an organization dedicated to preserving Haitian culture in the United States through education, arts and cultural presentations. Wainwright is one of two recipients selected by Jan Mapou, co-founder of Sosyete Koukouy and owner of Libreri Mapou Bookstore in Little Haiti. Marleine Bastien is an artist, dancer, actor, writer and social worker. She is the executive director of the Family Action Network Movement (FANM), a Little Haiti community organization that assists families and provides arts education for children in the community. Bastien is one of two recipients designated by Mapou. Marnino Toussaint is a South Florida-based R&B and hip-hop singer, rapper and songwriter who fuses the music genres with poetry. He gives back to the community by teaching poetry and songwriting workshops in partnership with different art initiatives across the country. Toussaint is one of two artists selected by Darius V. Daughtry, founder and artistic director of Art Prevails Project, a performing arts organization dedicated to expanding cultural conversation. JaShae Jones is an independent R&B and alternative soul singer, songwriter and poet. She is led by her strong upbringing, faith and the arts. Jones is one of two submissions by Daughtry. Knight Foundation also announced $2.2 million in total awards to support nine Miami arts and culture organizations in their collective quest to increase diversity and make advances in digital innovation in these unprecedented times. Recipients include: Third Horizon ($750,000), a Miami-based creative collective dedicated to developing, producing, exhibiting and distributing film and other art forms that give voice to stories of the Caribbean and its diaspora. Its flagship initiative is the Third Horizon Film Festival, an annual showcase of cinema. The grant encompasses a five-year plan of support for core staffing; a new artist residency that will commission and develop works by, at least, seven Miami filmmakers per cohort; and an expansion of the organization's online programming. Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami/MOCA ($250,000), which collects, preserves and exhibits contemporary art and is dedicated to making art accessible to diverse audiences, especially underserved populations. The grant will allow the museum to hire curatorial and communications staff to work on the production of global art that connects with the local community. A curator will oversee the museum's artistic vision and produce new content around exhibitions and the museum's permanent collection; a director of communications will implement digital outreach strategies to Miami's diverse community, work on increasing audiences and ensure ADA accessibility. Prizm Projects ($200,000), which promotes undiscovered and emerging artists from Africa and the African Diaspora to present yearlong arts programming that includes exhibitions, public talks and digital platforms. Funding support will enable the organization to develop its online platform, which kicked off with the virtual Prizm Arts Fair this month. In addition, the investment will allow Prizm to showcase digital and in-person exhibitions and to hire an operations manager. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.