Locust Projects, Miami’s longest running incubator of new art and ideas, announces the recipients of the 2024 WaveMaker Grants made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation’s Regional Regranting Program. Eleven Miami-based artists will each receive up to $6,000 in three categories: New Work / Projects, Long-Haul Projects, and Research & Development + Implementation.
The 2024 WaveMakers are: New Work / Projects: Iman Clark, Amy Gelb, Jillian Mayer, and Nadia Wolff; Long-Haul Projects: Dejha Carrington, Yanira Collado, Margo Hannah, Suanay Hernandez, and Lee Pivnik; Research & Development + Implementation: Akia Dorsainvil and Christina Pettersson.
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 announcement of Cycle 11 marks $630,000 in WaveMaker incubator grants awarded to 127 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, and Third Horizon Film Festival, 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 propel next steps in 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 visual arts-based projects that add value to our community.”
The 2024 WaveMaker selection panel included: Katerina Llanes, creative producer /curator who organized the recent #MakingMiami projects; Karen McKinnon, former WaveMaker grantee (2023); Selene Preciado, Curator and Director of Programs, LACE, Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in L.A.; and Njeri Rutherford, Program Manager, CultureSource, Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in Detroit.
The eleven grant recipients were selected from 97 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.