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.