Miami-Based Artists and Organizations Receive Funding

The philanthropic John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which invests locally as well as nationally and is headquartered in Miami, ended 2020 with a bang by releasing a string of funding announcements. 

The largest was $2.2 million in total awards to support nine Miami arts and culture organizations in their quest to increase diversity and make advances in digital innovation. Among them are $250,000 for the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, $150,000 for the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami and $150,000 for the Miami Dade College Foundation to support further digital transformation of Miami Book Fair, which went all virtual this year due to the pandemic. Third Horizon was awarded a whopping $750,000 to grow its acclaimed film festival and arts collective for developing Caribbean and Caribbean American filmmakers in the U.S. 

Smaller but no less meaningful are awards through the Knight New Work art initiative, which has returned to promote innovation in the world of the performing arts after creativity and shared artistic experiences were stunted by the coronavirus. The program, which launched in 2018, announced the first-round winners of this year’s two-part open call. The organization will once again fund the projects of Miami-based artists with a total $500,000 investment. Eighteen artists out of 193 applicants have each received an initial $10,000 grant; just five artists were selected in the initiative’s first year.

All applicants submitted a proposal highlighting an artistic project to be completed, and details for public viewing that fit social distancing guidelines. Submissions fell into the artistic disciplines of music, theater or dance. A national panel of art professionals will select a subset of round one winners who will advance to round two for additional funding.

“It’s been a really difficult year in the arts. [Artists] are not waiting for this time to pass in order to be creative or produce artistic work,” said Priya Sircar, Knight Foundation director of arts. “It was thrilling to see that the applicant pool reflected the diversity in Miami.”

Some impressive artists in the round one pool are Carlos Fabián Medina, Melissa Cobblah Gutierrez, Octavia Yearwood and Najja Moon.

As a young theater director, Medina’s passion is collecting stories to transform into visual experiences. His “Little Spaces” project will accumulate testimonies from people living in Miami’s new normal to produce eight site-specific theatrical performances that encourage unity. Medina was inspired to create the work while walking down Biscayne Boulevard and being hit with a feeling of nostalgia, as it reminded him of his hometown in Venezuela.

“Theater serves as a mirror to see our reflections. I want to create something useful that connects people and is reflective of the city, which is diverse and multicultural,” he said.

“Little Spaces” will bring theater to communities where it is scarce. Areas like Hialeah, North Miami, Little Haiti and enclaves along Biscayne Boulevard will see performances in languages spoken by residents. Medina will bring on fresh Miami talent to collaborate on each show and make use of public outdoor spaces to recreate moments and emotions experienced during the pandemic.

Cobblah Gutierrez was also compelled to create based on events that occurred during the pandemic. “CuBlack: Invisibilized No Further!” is a dance film and performance exploring how Blackness is deplored in the Cuban community. The young choreographer, who has co-founded various dance organizations, was moved by the killing of George Floyd and recent cases of prejudice against Black people to start conversations about Blackness in her community.

“Miami being diverse can often downplay the oppression of people of color,” she said. “Some things may be shoved under the table when people think racism and prejudice don’t live here because our environment is different. This work can open spaces for people to talk through their experiences and deconstruct microaggressions and Eurocentric standards of beauty.”

Cobblah Gutierrez hopes to capitalize on the healing qualities of dance to create space for collective thinking. “CuBlack: Invisibilized No Further!” will primarily be Afro-fusion to foster acceptance of those in the African Diaspora and consist of two other dancers alongside its creator. The project will stream on YouTube and be followed by an interactive Zoom session for community engagement.

Yearwood’s proposed project is entitled “Life’s Interludes.” She often uses storytelling in her work to promote strength and liberation in minority communities. “Life’s Interludes” is no different, since it is intended to be a mixtape of music and poetry combined with visual components that convey the experiences of queer artists. The project will incorporate full music videos and skits to relay stories and experiences. Collaborations with pop, R&B, house and ballroom music artists will symbolize how the LGBTQ community varies in expression.

“We’ve been in communication and leaning in on creating together, and we have so much to say but [were] hindered by financials,” explained Yearwood. “I would really 

like to elevate our voices. Black trans lives have always been at risk and even more so during the pandemic.”

The Knight funding presents the opportunity to purchase equipment and invite queer producers and artists to collaborate during the next two months. The project will be accessible through music streaming apps such as Spotify and YouTube once completed.

Multidisciplinary artist and former athlete Najja Moon is another winner whose work will greatly benefit from the funding. Her artistic endeavors stem from her belief of art as utilitarian. “The Huddle is a Prayer Circle” is an interactive performance that integrates sound, scripture and movement to create an abstracted manifestation of her history. As the title implies, the project combines key communities from her upbringing – basketball and church – by meditating on the spirit of community that exists within their walls.

“Art is also about problem-solving, research and design. What it looks like should not be as important as what it feels like. I’m excited to make something that feels good,” said Moon, the daughter of a minister and a musician.

Her proposed project aims to capture the essence of how a huddle is a place of refuge and preparation. Its hand-holding, chanting and cheers are performed with faith and rhythm. It will draw on the similarities of two seemingly different worlds and create a space for familiarity and belonging.

Using the grant, Moon can gather musicians to discuss the lines in her drawings to be transposed into sound, creating an archive of experimental gospel music published as an open-source hymnal. The project will be presented outdoors at a location resembling a Southern Baptist revival tent merged with a basketball court.

All funding recipients will attend a series of workshops sometime in March 2021 to discuss their projects’ progress and vie for a chance to advance to round two for additional funding.

“There’s something to be said about organizations who step up to do something to support the community of artists and step back to allow them to do what they do,” said Yearwood.

And while recipients of this year’s Knight New Work program expressed gratitude to foundations like Knight that consistently prioritize artists, the organization in turn expressed its admiration for the impact of the artists’ work.

“We knew it was important to pay artists to be artists … [we’ll] continue to support the work they do to keep us connected,” said Sircar.

Separately, Knight also recently announced its 2020 Knight Arts Champions. The program allows chosen cultural community leaders to designate an arts organization or artist as the recipient of a $10,000 grant. Longtime Miami theater critic Christine Dolen was selected as a champion and has directed her award to the South Florida Theatre League Relief Fund. Additional donations may be made at southfloridatheatre.org. Other champions and their designated award recipients include Oolite Arts president and CEO Dennis Scholl, who selected Pérez Art Museum Miami, and MOCA executive director Chana Budgazad Sheldon, who selected the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator.

Knight New Work, running every two years, is scheduled to take place again in 2022. Sircar also suggests that local artists participate in the Knight Arts Challenge, launching next year. Visit knightfoundation.org for details.