Feature image: Courtesy of Ruth Arts.
Submitted
Madison, WI – Create Wisconsin is pleased to announce the first cohort of 16 awardees for the Statewide Artist Grant Program. This three-year program, which supports a new cohort of award recipients each year, is made possible by generous support from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts. This year, each recipient will receive an award of $7,500 for individual artistic enrichment or to conduct a community-based project. Create Wisconsin received nearly 400 proposals from throughout the state.
These are the 16 recipients of this year’s grant award, representing a wide variety of genres and locations around the state:
Vee Adams, Milwaukee County
- An exploration of Afro-futurist themes through painting, animation and paper stop-animation studies.
Laura Annis, Sauk County
- To establish themselves and their studio work so that their practice has the longevity needed to financially sustain them.
Leslie Damaso, Iowa County
- The SYNOMONES album where each song will be a rich expression of a personal connection and an effort to heal by reaching out to the world.
Victoria Gokee, Ashland County
- A series of leather-based community workshops, with an emphasis on education to hone these skills in other artisans.
Lucy Grignon (Pitāēpanuhkiw), Shawano County
- Storytelling Community Cookbook & Community Workshops
Kara Hakanson, Bayfield County
- A play that follows 20+ years of their life pursuing a career in acting. All the highs, all the lows, and every twist and turn in between.
Rebecca Kautz, Dane County
- Research on surrealism, illness, and psychology of trauma that will be informed by experiencing artworks by women surrealists.
Beau Lasiewicz, Taylor County
- The freedom to advance in my personal technique by purchasing different lumber species, materials and upgrading tools.
Jason Love, Racine County
- The production of three short documentary films highlighting local creative individuals in Wisconsin, with a focus on artists, makers, and cultural leaders who contribute to the vitality of their communities.
Neo Medina, Outagamie County
- Paint the City is a two-week, youth-centered community mural initiative in Appleton, Wisconsin that advances youth empowerment, placemaking, and community engagement through large-scale public art.
John Romero Nance Jr., Milwaukee County
- A Fruit to a Seed is a multimedia documentary project documenting Black Milwaukee through its historic buildings and the elders who remember them.
Nate Sheppard, Oneida County
- A series of fully immersive performing arts experiences that incorporates cinematic film, live music, poetry and storytelling, dynamic lighting, surround sound, and projection mapping.
Eliza Skenadore, Brown County
- The dimensional possibilities of raised beadwork while honoring its structural lineage as a living tradition.
Elizabeth Roskopf, Washington County
- An evening-length performance that foregrounds the choreographic research and personal narratives of the collaborating dance artists and myself that explores this question: “How do we (re)claim space for ourselves between our cultures?”
Lo Villareal-Black, Rock County
- To continue the work of highlighting a community that is underrepresented in the arts through BBIPOC productions.
Cassandra Xiong, Marathon County
- Three different workshops in the series “If You Can Imagine It, It’s Possible.
“Congratulations to the awardees, and thanks to all who submitted proposals. The depth and breadth of artistry displayed confirms what we have always known – Wisconsin is a state filled with great creativity and imagination, ” says Anne Katz, Director of Create Wisconsin. “We are thrilled to make this opportunity available to Wisconsin creatives with Ruth Arts’ generous support. We can’t wait to see the projects and the work that comes about through these awards.”
Create Wisconsin, the state’s community cultural development organization, works to grow and sustain a vibrant, inclusive creative sector in Wisconsin, where creative people, cultural organizations, and creative industries are integral to the state’s economic, civic, and social vitality. Create Wisconsin celebrates the Ruth Foundation for the Arts’ artist-driven approach and transformational support. This program represents an investment in the development of creative individuals, strengthening Wisconsin’s creative infrastructure, and enriching the state’s overall quality of life.
Awardees will finish their projects by January 31, 2027.
A special thank you to our jurors, five accomplished creative leaders from Wisconsin:
- Stephon “Kiba” Freeman, Stevens Point; artist and entrepreneur
- Sam Luna, Phelps; artist, musician, and entrepreneur
- Joseph Miller, Hurley; Community Development Educator, UW-Extension Iron County and former Director, Hurley Public Library
- Jolynne Roorda, Madison; Placemaking Planner, City of Middleton and former Co-Director, Arts + Literature Laboratory
- Jay Salinas, Reedsburg; Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Partnerships, Wormfarm Institute