10 Detroit arts groups get $23M in grants to boost digital presence
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced this week a sweeping round of grants totaling $23 million, all devoted toward the digital future of the arts in Detroit.
The investment includes multiyear grants to 10 Detroit arts organizations as well as three fellowship, commissioning and technical capacity-building programs.
This is Knight’s fourth such investment since 2005, bringing the foundation’s overall commitment to Detroit’s arts sector to $50.75 million.
With an eye toward the arts being key to Detroit’s future, Knight is making a five-year investment to 10 grantees whose work represents a broad spectrum within the arts. Each awardee has a history of tapping into technology to increase its audience reach and overall accessibility to art.
“Art institutions have a unique role in telling our stories, reflecting our cultures and helping us understand the world around us,” said Victoria J. Rogers, vice president of arts at Knight Foundation. “In Detroit, the effective application of technology, among both long-standing and emerging artists and art organizations, will be particularly salient. We are proud that our new initiative is supporting organizations and artists who are ensuring Detroit remains a vibrant and creative center of informed and engaged communities.”
The grantees are:
Arab American National Museum: $1 million
BULK Space: $750,000
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History: $3 million
CultureSource: $1 million
Detroit Symphony Orchestra: $2 million
Detroit Opera: $2 million
Michigan Central: $2 million
Midtown Detroit Inc.: $2 million
Motown Museum: $4.5 million
Sphinx Organization: $1.25 million
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Several of the awarded organizations will use the funds to launch new efforts rooted in technology. BULK Space will create the BULK Media Lab, a mobile media laboratory with portable tools and resources available to artists, in Detroit’s North End. CultureSource’s R&D lab will provide cross-disciplinary arts leaders in Detroit with training and technical resources. Michigan Central — a 30-acre innovation district located in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood that will feature world-class art — is developing an art and technology program.
Midtown Detroit Inc. will expand public access to free and secure Wi-Fi at its cultural center and will design and pilot a new outdoor performance space on the Detroit Institute of Arts campus. The Motown Museum will create a “digital jukebox,” making key archival content and physical materials available online and on-site. Sphinx Organization will foster increased participation of performing artists of color in classical music.
The Arab American National Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Opera will use the funds for strategic planning, digital content creation, marketing and investment in tech-related personnel, expanding their current digital presences.
Additionally, $3.5 million will go to fellowship, commissioning and capacity-building programs that will support individual artists and arts organizations utilizing technology to transform their work. These programs will launch in 2023 and 2024.
"What a fantastic testament to the glorious creative arts community and workforce here in Detroit," said Rochelle Riley, Director of Arts and Culture for the City of Detroit. "The Knight Foundation's substantial investment in Detroit excellence is to be lauded and, hopefully, imitated by every entity that knows that the arts are what makes cities special."
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 10 Detroit arts groups get $23M in grants to boost digital presence
