ANNOUNCING THE 2024 KRESGE ARTIST FELLOWS AND GILDA AWARD RECIPIENTS!
2024 Kresge Artist Fellows
Kresge Arts in Detroit is pleased to announce the 2024 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients in Live Arts and Film & Music!
The 16th cohort of award recipients consists of 17 Kresge Artist Fellows in Film & Music and 7 Kresge Artist Fellows in Live Arts, in addition to 7 Gilda Awards in Film & Music and 3 in Live Arts. Awards in each category are proportional to the relative number of applications received.
In addition to the monetary prize, Kresge Arts in Detroit connects fellows and Gilda Award recipients to legal and accounting support, event and exhibition opportunities, and more. Fellows also are invited to participate in a film series highlighting Detroit artists.
It is thrilling to kick off the next chapter of Kresge Arts in Detroit’s unrestricted investment in artists with an incredible cohort and increased investment from The Kresge Foundation. We respect the expertise of artists. That includes knowing how best to leverage the monetary portion of the awards, whether that be to create, rest, save, travel, care for their family, or something else. These investments are foundational to a thriving Detroit because vibrant arts and culture communities are vital to our neighborhoods.
Christina deRoos
Director, Kresge Arts in Detroit
Photo of 2024 Kresge Artist Fellows by Noah Stephens.
Not pictured: Maurice Draughn, Lindsay McCaw (Flying Cardboard Theater), and Weam Namou.
FILM & 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
*Razi Jafri, Film Directing
Weam Namou, Film Directing
Lara Sfire, Film Directing
Ursula Walker, Music Performance
LIVE ARTS FELLOWS
Imani Ma’at AnkhmenRa 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
*past Gilda Award recipient
**collaboration includes past Kresge Artist Fellows
2024 Gilda Award recipients
GILDA AWARDS IN FILM & 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
Gilda Awards are $5,000 prizes for emerging artists, named in honor of Gilda Snowden’s legacy (1954–2014) as a mentor and champion of emerging artists in metro Detroit. Gilda Awards recognize artists who are early in their artistic career, are gaining momentum, and who demonstrate exceptional potential through creative risk-taking and pushing the boundaries of their chosen art form.
2024 Panelists
The award recipients are selected by panels of local, regional, and national arts experts and practitioners, in their respective disciplines. New panelists are assembled each award cycle. The application review process takes place over several months and numerous rounds of review.
2024 LIVE ARTS AND FILM & MUSIC PANELISTS
Nick Austin, Musician; on-air host and producer, 101.9 WDET-FM–Detroit’s NPR station
Kaina Castillo, Songwriter; musician; curator
Kim Delfina Gleason, Diné (Navajo) director; actor; cellist; filmmaker; instructor for creative entrepreneurship and Native American theater & producing
Madelyn Porter, Storyteller; actor; founder, Mad’s World Theatre Production; connectivity and engagement manager, Detroit Public Theatre; writer-in-residence, InsideOut Literary Arts; 2019 Kresge Artist Fellow
Leslie Raymond, Executive director, Ann Arbor Film Festival; board member, Film Festival Alliance
Candace Thompson-Zachery, Dancer; cultural producer; wellness professional; co-executive director, Dance/NYC
The cohort we selected is vibrant and a mix of people who deserve their flowers but also people we wanted to help uplift to their next level. I appreciate that everyone we selected has a specific and intentional vision for what they want to accomplish and how.
Kaina Castillo
2024 panelist