Kresge Arts in Detroit announces its 2021 Fellows

Kresge Arts in Detroit has announced its 2021 Kresge Art Fellows and Gilda Awards recipients, allocating $550,000 in grants to 30 local artists.

Last year, Kresge expanded funding to allow for additional fellowships and Gilda Awards (named after the late Detroit artist, Gilda Snowden), bringing the total award amount from 20 to 30.

“There’s no doubt the past year-plus of pandemic and unrest has been particularly challenging for the arts sector, and we hope that the elevation of these 30 artists — exciting as they are — speaks also to our admiration and support for our community of artists writ large,” Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, said in a press release.

Each Kresge Art Fellow will receive $25,000 in grants, while Gilda Award recipients will receive $5,000 each. In addition, the Kresge Fellows will also receive one year of professional development support, including strategic planning workshops, professional mentorship, and artist salons.

The awards ceremony will be celebrated virtually, and is open to the public. The ceremony will include remarks from this year’s fellows as well as performances and reflections from previous fellows and Kresge Foundation board members. Information for the 2021 Kresge Arts in Detroit Celebration can be found on Eventbrite.

The 2021 Kresge Art Fellows and Gilda Award recipients are:

LITERARY ARTS FELLOWS
Emell Derra Adolphus, Creative Nonfiction
Danielle Aubert, Interdisciplinary Work
Jeni De La O, Poetry
Ann Eskridge, Playwriting
Tariq Luthun, Poetry
MARS Marshall, Poetry
Jassmine Parks, Spoken Word
B. Van Randall, Graphic Novels
Casey Rocheteau, Poetry
Zig Zag Claybourne, Fiction

GILDA AWARDS IN LITERARY ARTS
Bayan the Poet, Spoken Word
Ana Gavrilovska, Arts Criticism
Rochelle Marrett, Fiction
Donnevan Tolbert, Playwriting

VISUAL ARTS FELLOWS
Peter Daniel Bernal, Painting
Judy Bowman, Collage
Brian Day, Photography
Darcel Deneau, Glass
Solomon Johnson, Illustration
Gisela McDaniel, Painting
Sabrina Nelson, Interdisciplinary Work
Rachel Reid, Animation
Andrew “AndyT” Thompson, Installation
Graem Whyte, Interdisciplinary Work

GILDA AWARDS IN VISUAL ARTS
Ijania Cortez, Painting
Bakpak Durden, Painting
Jessica Frelinghuysen, Performance Art
Cyrus Karimipour, Photography
Cinnamon Triano, Video Art
Neha Vedpathak, Painting

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