Grantees All Genres

Lest We Forget What Sustains Us: A Musical Natural History of Planet Earth

Shames, Germaine

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

A song cycle chronicling the natural history of our planet—past, present and future—from the Big Bang to the Age of Exploration, from industrialization to global warming, from planetary exodus to eco-enlightenment.

Mosaic: An Immersive Artist’s Book of Immigrant Stories

Bayar, Tulu

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

"Mosaic" grew from healing, community workshops where immigrants shared stories, memories, and photos. I transformed these into a hand-bound artist’s book—an intimate, tactile archive celebrating resilience, belonging, and the layered experiences that shape American life.

Good Fire, Bad Burn

Hager, Grace

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

Made in response to the recent wildfires across the Northern Hemisphere, this on-going project, titled Good Fire, Bad Burn, is a series of ceramic sculptures that speak to the powerful natural force of fire: harmful and helpful, and deeply connected to our warming planet.

Portrait of a Woman

Cox, Rachel

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

My photographic project examines the personal and cultural stigmas associated with female infertility while also raising awareness for the millions of people who seek to build their families though assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Infinitesimal

Infinitesimal

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

Based on groundbreaking research about near-death experiences, Infinitesimal blurs the boundaries between science, memoir, theater, and music, transmuting chamber opera into an expansive sonic landscape. Infinitesimal was composed and performed by pianist Nicole Brancato and baritone Jeremy Weiss.

Rescuing the Chinampería

Sorrentino, Joseph

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

My project documented efforts of farmers and nonprofits to save the chinampería, an ancient agricultural area in southern Mexico City, specifically in San Gregorio Atlapulco.

In the Stillness of the Night

Kelin, II, Daniel A.

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

In Hawai'i's shrinking rainforests, a lone 'ōpe'ape'a (hoary bat) fights for its life. This multimedia fable plunges you into the unseen battle of the islands' only endemic land mammal. Its struggle against extinction symbolizes the wider threats to indigeneity—environmental, cultural, and human.

Beauty for Ashes

Swinton, JaJa

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

Beauty for Ashes is a collection of drawings and paintings that refutes the slanderous narrative that "Black men are Absentee Fathers." This project confronts the diabolical ways Family Law marginalizes Black men, and underscores the resilience of Black Fathers.

Enchanted Pond

Folta, Liliana

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

This project focuses on pond ecosystems, which are home to unique wildlife by providing safe havens and host a variety of plants that only survive in wetlands. It raises awareness about the threat to ponds from pollution, such as chemicals, sewage, and fertilizers.

American Masculinity

Denil, Markus

Year Grant Awarded: 2024

AMERICAN MASCULINITY is a collaborative project by Markus Denil and Marval Rex focused on expanding out collective memory of what it means to be trans/masculine today.