Announcing the 2023 WaveMaker Grantees

Locust Projects, Miami’s longest running alternative art space, announces the 2023 recipients of WaveMaker Grants made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation’s Regional Regranting Program, a network of 32 regranting partners across the country. Thirteen Miami-based artists and collectives will each receive up to $6,000 in three categories: New Work / Projects, Long-Haul Projects, and Research & Development + Implementation. In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-centric mission, WaveMakers take risks to experiment beyond traditional models for presenting art, creating innovative work that is accessible to the public via process, presentation, production, or publication. 

The 2023 WaveMakers are: New Work / Projects: Trish Gutierrez and Nicole Pedraza, Monica Lopez de Victoria, Laura Marsh, Karen McKinnon and Caecilia Tripp, misael soto, and Hsieh Yi Chin; Long-Haul Projects: Nicole Nyariri and Third Portal; Research & Development + Implementation: Isabella Marie Garcia, Luna Palazzolo, Christina Pettersson, Martina Malka Potlach, and Monica Sorelle. 

The announcement of Cycle 10 marks $570,000 in WaveMaker incubator grants awarded to 116 of Miami’s most visionary artists, curators, and collectives since WaveMaker launched in Miami in 2015. Administered by Locust Projects, WaveMaker grants provide vital funds at critical moments in the development and implementation of publicly accessible, innovative projects across Miami-Dade County, including supporting the launch and long term sustainability of artist-run initiatives such as: Commissioner, Dimensions Variable, EXILE Books, Fringe Projects, Women’s Artist Archive Miami, Page Slayers, Public Hives, and Third Horizon, among others. 

Focused on supporting projects intended for non-institutional/non-traditional spaces accessible to the public, WaveMaker introduces audiences to innovative artistic practices, responds to issues and ideas relevant to our community, and serves as a catalyst for dialogue and exchange. Visit wavemakergrants.org to view all current and past WaveMaker grantees. 

“As part of Locust Projects’ mission to ADVOCATE FOR ARTISTS, we support artists with opportunities and resources to advance their creative careers. Among those resources is WaveMaker grants, a vital incubator grant providing Miami-based artists with funds to support their vision–from idea and implementation to sustaining their work over the long-haul,” says Lorie Mertes, Executive Director at Locust Projects. “WaveMaker grants are unique in that they encourage anyone with a compelling idea to experiment and take risks in developing and realizing innovative projects that add value to our community.” 

The 2023 WaveMaker selection panel included: Terence Price, Miami-based artist and 2022 WaveMaker grantee for Finding Sue; Adeze Wilford, Curator at MOCA North Miami; Amelia Broussard, Director of Artist Initiatives and Exhibitions at Antenna Gallery, Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in New Orleans; and Kalaija Mallery, Executive and Artistic Director at The Luminary, Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in St Louis.

The thirteen grant recipients were selected from a record 129 applicants with the criteria that none of the New Work, Long Haul or R+D applicants had received a Wavemaker grant in the past five years. Projects were selected for conceptual rigor and relevance to the local cultural, geographic, and socio-economic context, impact on the local community, and the accessibility of the resulting project to the public.

MEET THE 2023 WAVEMAKER GRANTEES HERE

Announcing the 2022 WaveMaker Grantees

Locust Projects, Miami’s longest running alternative art space, announces the 2022 recipients of WaveMaker Grants made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation’s Regional Regranting Program, a network of 32 regranting partners across the country. Twelve Miami-based artists and collectives will each receive up to $6,000 in three categories: New Work / Projects, Long-Haul Projects, and Research & Development + Implementation. In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-centric mission, WaveMakers take risks to experiment beyond traditional models for presenting art, creating innovative work that is accessible to the public via process, presentation, production, or publication.

The 2022 WaveMakers are: New Work / Projects: Trae DeLellis & Juan Barquin, Pamela Largaespada, Phil Lique, Julian Montalvo & Fredo Rivera, Terence Price II, and Roscoè B. Thické III; Long-Haul Projects: Loni Johnson and Monica Uszerowicz; Research & Development + Implementation: Liz Ferrer & Bow Ty, A.G., Monica Sorelle, and Ema Ri.

The announcement of Cycle 9 marks $510,000 in WaveMaker incubator grants awarded to 102 of Miami’s most visionary artists, curators, and collectives since WaveMaker launched in Miami in 2015. Administered by Locust Projects. WaveMaker grants provide vital funds at critical moments in the development and implementation of publicly accessible, innovative projects across Miami-Dade County, including supporting the launch and long term sustainability of artist-run initiatives such as: BLCK family, Commissioner, Dimensions Variable, EXILE Books, Fresh Art International, Fringe Projects, Miami Women’s Artist Archive, Page Slayers, Public Hives, and Third Horizon, among others.

Focused to support projects intended for non-institutional/non-traditional spaces accessible to the public, WaveMaker introduces audiences to innovative artistic practices, responds to issues and ideas relevant to our community, and serves as a catalyst for dialogue and exchange. Visit wavemakergrants.org to view all current and past WaveMaker grantees.

“As part of Locust Projects mission to ADVOCATE FOR ARTISTS, we support artists with opportunities and resources to advance their creative careers. Among those resources is WaveMaker grants, a vital incubator grant providing Miami-based artists with funds to support their vision–from idea and implementation to sustaining their work over the long-haul,” says Lorie Mertes, Executive Director at Locust Projects. “WaveMaker grants are unique in that they encourage anyone with a compelling idea to experiment and take risks in developing and realizing innovative projects that add value to our community.”

The 2022 WaveMaker selection panel included: Chire Regans (VantaBlack), Miami-based artist and community activist and recipient of the Oolite Arts’ Ellies Social Justice Award in 2021; Summer Jade Leavitt, director of The Queer Theory Library,  Curatorial and Cultural Programs Associate at Deering Estate and 2021 WaveMaker awardee for The Queer Theory Library; and Michael Linares Vazquez, Puerto Rico-based artist and Co-director of Beta Local, a San Juan nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting aesthetic thought and practice through programs and projects.

The twelve grant recipients were selected from more than 100+ applicants. Projects were selected for conceptual rigor and relevance to the local cultural, geographic, and socio-economic context, impact on the local community, and the accessibility of the resulting project to the public.

MEET THE 2022 WAVEMAKERS GRANTEES HERE 

MAKING WAVES! LOCUST PROJECTS AWARDS $60,000 IN WAVEMAKER GRANTS TO MIAMI ARTISTS & COLLECTIVES

Locust Projects announces the latest round of recipients of WaveMaker Grants, an Andy Warhol Foundation funded regional re-granting program. Since 2015, WaveMaker at Locust Projects has awarded over $450,000 in incubator grants to 90 of Miami's visionary artists; this year, twelve Miami-based artists, curators and collectives will receive up to $6,000 each in three categories: New Work / Projects, Long-Haul Projects, and Research & Development + Implementation. In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-centric mission, WaveMakers take risks outside of art institutions and markets, creating innovative work that is accessible to the public via process, presentation, production, or publication.

The 2021 WaveMakers are: New Work / Projects: Michelle Lisa Polissaint, Sage Gee, Dan Mathis, Amanda Keeley; Long-Haul Projects: Arsimmer McCoy, Carolina Cueva, Nick Gilmore, Chire Regans; Research & Development + Implementation: Summer Jade Leavitt, Violenta Flores / Juan Carlos Zaldivar, Ema Ri, Liz Ferrer & Bow Ty.

This year’s grant recipients were selected from a competitive pool of applicants through a dynamic review process by Robert Blackson, Co-Director of Curatorial Programs and curator of citywide initiatives at Philadelphia Contemporary, where he administers our Regional Regranting Program partner, The Velocity Fund; Nisa Floyd, arts administrator and educator based in Atlanta and founder of Art Makes, an educational zine and art kit; Reginald O'Neal, artist from Overtown, Miami and 2020 WaveMaker awardee for 18 Years and Counting; and Anita Sharma, Miami-based archivist, collections manager, and 2018 & 2020 WaveMaker awardee for WAAM: Women's Artist Archive Miami.

MEET THE 2021 WAVEMAKER GRANT RECIPIENTS HERE

Click here to view images from our 2021 WaveMaker Splash! Party celebrating this year’s awardees here.

Locust Projects is Making Art Happen with $60,000 in WaveMaker Grants to Miami Artists

Twelve Miami-based artists, curators, and collectives will receive grants up to $6,000 each for projects that are accessible to the public via process, presentation, production, or publication.

Locust Projects announces the latest round of recipients of WaveMaker Grants, an Andy Warhol Foundation funded regional re-granting program. Twelve Miami-based artists, curators and collectives will receive up to $6,000 each in three categories: New Work / Projects, Long-Haul Projects, and Research & Development + Implementation. In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-centric mission, WaveMakers take risks outside of art institutions and markets, creating innovative work that is accessible to the public via process, presentation, production, or publication. This year’s projects represent diverse visions, subjects, and mediums, including a hybrid-disco chapel installation for self-identifying exiles, curated virtual reality experiences for senior living communities, and a participatory digital archive where Miami’s women artists can shape their living legacies. Since 2015, the WaveMaker Grants program has awarded $399,000 in funding to 77 of Miami’s most visionary artists, curators, and collectives providing vital funds at critical moments in the development and implementation of publicly accessible, innovative projects across Miami-Dade County including supporting ongoing artist-run initiatives such as: BLCK family, Commissioner, Dimensions Variable, EXILE Books, Fresh Art International, Fringe Projects, Obsolete Media Miami, Miami Women’s Artist Archive, Page Slayers, Public Hives, Open Source Art, Sunday Painter, and Third Horizon, among others.

“As part of Locust Projects mission to Make Art Happen by supporting artists with opportunities and resources to advance their careers, WaveMaker grants is a unique grants program supporting artistic practice at various stages – from idea inception to implementation—even over the long-haul,” says Lorie Mertes, Executive Director at Locust Projects. “Focused to support projects intended for non-institutional/nontraditional spaces accessible to the public, WaveMaker introduces audiences to innovative artistic practices and serves as a catalyst for dialogue and exchange.”

This year’s grant recipients were selected from a competitive pool of applicants through a dynamic review process by two local and two national arts professionals: Dejha Carrington, former WaveMaker grant recipient and Vice President of External Relations & Communications at National YoungArts Foundation; Stephanie Seidel, assistant curator at Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Khadija Adell, multimedia artist and Program Manager at The Grit Fund in Baltimore, a member of the regional regranting program; and Mary Magsamen, artist at Hillebrand+Magsamen and curator at Aurora Picture Show, which along with Project Row Houses administers the regional regranting program, The Idea Fund. The twelve grant recipients were selected from approximately 100 applicants. The jurors selected the grant recipients based on the projects’ conceptual rigor and relevance to the local cultural, geographic, and socio-economic context, uniquely innovative interactions with and impact on the local community, and the accessibility of the resulting project to the public.

In response to COVID-19, this year’s grantees are able to use up to 50% of their grant funds for emergency relief due to lost income as needed. As this current moment demands creative solutions to change, the Wavemakers may also adapt their project content, scope, form, venue, and/or timeline as necessary.

“Artists are especially good at seeing opportunities where there are challenges and at creatively adapting. Our WaveMakers are already showing their resilience and their commitment to their visions. We are so excited and curious to see how their projects evolve,” said WaveMaker Coordinator Monica Peña.

MEET THE 2020 WAVEMAKER GRANTEES HERE

MAKING WAVES! LOCUST PROJECTS AWARDS $60,000 IN WAVEMAKER GRANTS TO MIAMI ARTISTS & COLLECTIVES

12 artists and collectives receive grants of up to $6,000 each to produce publicly engaged projects across Miami

WaveMaker Grants, an Andy Warhol Foundation funded regional re-granting program administered by Miami-based nonprofit Locust Projects, announces the grantees for 2019. Twelve grant recipients were selected from approximately 100 applicants. WaveMaker grantees are awarded up to $6,000 for a total of $60,000 in three categories:

New Work/Projects: to support the creation and presentation of new work or projects that are artist-driven, artist-centric, and innovative in concept and form.

Long-Haul Projects: in response to Miami’s seemingly insatiable appetite for what is new, fast, and fashionable, this category supports the continuation or completion of existing long-term projects, highlighting the value in time, focus, and determination required to take-on and ultimately finish lengthy artistic pursuits.

R+D/Implementation: to support research and development for ambitious new projects that require a longer period of planning. Upon completion of the R&D phase of this category, grantees will be invited to submit a short-form proposal to receive additional funds to implement their projects. With support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting program, WaveMaker grants have provided four cycles of vital funds supporting Miami-based artists, collectives, curators and more, at critical moments in the development and implementation of publicly accessible, innovative projects across Miami-Dade County.

“As part of Locust Projects mission to support artists with opportunities and resources to advance their careers, WaveMaker grants is an important program that helps support artistic practice at various stages – from idea inception to implementation—even over the long-haul,” says Lorie Mertes, Executive Director at Locust Projects. “Focused to support projects by Miami-based artists in publicly accessible venues, WaveMaker exposes audiences to innovative artistic practices in non-institutional/non-traditional spaces and serves as a catalyst for dialogue and exchange.”

Grantees for the fifth cycle of WaveMaker Grants were selected by an independent juror panel of distinguished arts professionals: Daniel Fuller, Curator at Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, Georgia), Natasha L Logan, Associate Director of Public Projects at Creative Time (New York, New York), Phillip Agnew, 2017 WaveMaker Recipient & Co-Founder of Smoke Signals Studios (Miami, Florida) and Carolina García Jayaram, President of CGJ Consulting (Miami); former President & CEO National YoungArts Foundation, and Co-Founder of Cannonball (formerly LegalArt). The jurors selected the grant recipients based on the projects’ conceptual rigor and relevance to the local cultural, geographic, and socio-economic context, uniquely innovative and visionary impact on the local community, and the accessibility of the resulting project to the public.

SEE THE 2019 WAVEMAKER GRANTEES HERE

Locust Projects expands with Cannonball's WaveMaker and LegalLink programs

Two of Miami’s important artist resource programs will now be housed at Locust Projects, Miami’s longest-running alternative art space

(Miami, FL):  Locust Projects is pleased to announce the expansion of its programming to include Cannonball’s WaveMaker Grant and LegalLink programs. “We’re thrilled to bring these two significant resources under the umbrella of our programmatic offerings at Locust Projects extending our commitment to serving as a resource and community hub for artists living and working in South Florida,” said Lorie Mertes, Executive Director of Locust Projects.  

“Cannonball has found the perfect partner in Locust Projects to sustain our core programs.  Locust Projects will carry the torch of WaveMaker and LegalLink into a new era.  These programs serve a vital need in the South Florida arts community and will complement Locust’s existing programming and services,” said Carolina Garcia Jayaram, Co-Founder of Cannonball, and Brian Heller, Vice-Chairman.

WaveMaker Grants is part of the Andy Warhol Foundation of Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program, and was the first in the southeast. Since 2015, WaveMaker has awarded forty grants through a juried process supporting projects that are non-commercial, non-institutional, stimulate critical thinking and dialogue, and expose audiences to innovative artistic practices typically under-recognized by traditional venues.

LegalLink serves the legal needs of artists and arts organizations in Florida by pairing them with attorneys who volunteer their time on a pro bono basis. They assist with all types of legal issues, including estate planning, family law, immigration, contracts, business law, real estate, taxes, copyright, trademark, and more. For many artists, LegalLink has been a vital resource in their attempts to protect their work and empower their careers.  LegalLink assists over 100 artists and arts organizations annually.

Cannonball was founded in 2003 as LegalArt to support emerging artists by providing free legal services and professional development programs. These initiatives, which were co-presented throughout Miami with partner organizations, were created expressly to professionalize, sustain, and advance artists’ careers.

“Locust Projects is thankful for Cannonball’s contributions to our artistic community and we look forward to honoring their legacy by presenting these impactful programs at Locust.”

ABOUT LOCUST PROJECTS

Founded by three artists in 1998 in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, Locust Projects is a Miami-based not-for-profit exhibition space dedicated to providing contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas without the pressures of gallery sales or limitations of conventional exhibition spaces. Local, national and international artists are encouraged to create site-specific installations as an extension of their representative work. Locust Projects supports the local community through educational initiatives and programming that are free to the public.

Locust Projects’ exhibitions and programming are made possible with support from: The Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Cowles Charitable Trust; The State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; The National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant; Locust Projects Exhibitionist and Significant Others Members.

PRESS INQUIRIES: For additional information, please contact: Lorie Mertes, executive director director@locustprojects.org or 305-576-8570

Cannonball Launches WaveMaker Grants

Cannonball is thrilled to announce WaveMaker Grants, a new granting initiative that is sure to make waves in Miami’s visual arts community. Developed with the support of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, WaveMaker Grants expands the Foundation’s Regional Regranting Program to the Southeast, creating a new funding stream to the growing number of innovative, artist-driven projects in Miami-Dade County. Through this program, Cannonball aims to recognize and validate unconventional, experimental artist-centric activities that tend to skew away from traditional funding sources and resist current demands of the marketplace. 

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