Winter 2023/2024 Cycle

Open Fund Press Release

Visual Arts Project Grant 2024 Awards Distributed

May 31, 2024 Milwaukee, WI

The Open Fund in collaboration with The Poor Farm with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Re-granting Program and The Ruth Foundation for the Arts Wisconsin Artist Grant is pleased to announce fourteen Artist Project grants have been awarded this month. Ten of the projects received $10,000 and four projects $5,000 in this round of funding. We would like to thank all the artists who applied. We received more than double the amount of eligible applications as last year, and recognize there were more exceptional projects than we were able to fund. This is a testament to the abundance of collective-thinking art practitioners in our many diverse communities of visual artists in Milwaukee County. We are also excited to announce that in the fall, with support from our sponsoring foundations, we plan to expand our Artist Project Grant eligibility to state-wide. “We hope that this move will reach artists across Wisconsin who are doing critical work in their communities to support other artists and who are under acknowledged and underfunded” said Open Fund administrator and artist John Riepenhoff, adding “we envision a state of visual artists that are diverse and united in support of their peers.”

"Being based in another Midwest art city, it is encouraging to see what kind of work is being produced in the region. I found the breadth of projects from the Milwaukee art scene to be really impressive—touching on food, identity, environment, mutual aid, and education.” commented juror Candice Davis of Minneapolis. “It’s exciting to see evidence of the many ways a community can engage with each other and with the visual arts. I look forward to seeing how projects from this cycle will grow with additional support."

Collectively, the awarded projects this cycle represent a group of 49 collaborating artists. Support for their projects will reach additional artists through collaborative platforms designed by each artist group. The following projects received the Winter 2023/24 The Open Fund Art Project Grant:

Underscore, run by artists Michael Lagerman and Grace Mitchell, is a project space and screening room whose program supports artists, projects, and collaborations emphasizing an interest in queerness, risk, and experimentation following Milwaukee’s historically DIY approach to the arts. Moody is a bimonthly print publication along with a Year Three Anthology, run by artist Melissa Mursch-Rodriguez, that aims to connect creative peers, amplify diverse voices, and support artists. “OK Sss” Open Kitchen, Self-seasoning symposium is an art collective project exploring convergence around a public, collapsible outdoor structure hosting artists-in-residence, topical lectures/conversations, and art exhibitions across three seasons designed by Rudy Medina, Alyx Christensen, and Alan Medina. DK Nutz Community Art hosts themed open-drawing sessions with a guest artist invited to facilitate each, run by artist Caitlin Rooney. Kitchen Minute creates communal portraits through small gatherings and individual stories using the kitchen as a unifying backdrop resulting in publicly streaming videos and a multi-media cookbook featuring contributor’s profiles, supported by the artist team: Paul Druecke, Ariana Vaeth, Anika Wilson, and Flora Coker. Some Fools: 2024-2025 Grassroots Curatorial Initiative encourages artistic collaboration by hosting exhibitions, artist talks and community meals run by artists Aliya Moore, Carter Voras, Olivia Keidl, and Sam Lopez with the goal of providing resources directly to artists, imagining a world where artwork and artists are equally upheld, loved and treated with care. Yours Truly Midwest Disability Arts Series, led by artists Taylor Bucki, Danielle Burrows, and Molly Hassler, is partnering with other Midwest art studios focusing on supporting artists with disabilities to create a series of exhibitions, artist panels, demos, and workshops in their cooperatively-run ceramics studio/contemporary art space in the Riverwest neighborhood. Other Dust will host collaborative, experimental workshops, many lead by guest artists, combining traditions such as folk magic, herbalism, divination, and animism with undertones of contemporary art perspectives, queer theory and intersectional feminism facilitated by artist Kayle Karbowski. Full Moon Karaoke and Variety Show will host two new guest artist projects and will produce the first editions of Full Moon Books to be released alongside the performances/party/karaoke/exhibition organized by artist Sara Caron. ​​The Alleyway Studio Sessions transforms an urban alleyway into a permanent, dynamic hub for multi-media art, music, exhibitions, poetry, comedy performances, and more; emphasizing innovative artistic engagement in our civic spaces produced by artists Xav Leplae and Ras Ameen. Bridge Work Professional Development Program administered by Plum Blossom Initiative is a professional development program providing opportunities for emerging artists to implement disciplined work habits, present their work, develop audiences, and establish networks of support and mentorship founded by artist Jason S. Yi and curator Leah Kolb. Pool v, 2025 will be a week-long workshop consisting of public beach walks/talks with scientists and artists, a mechanism for opening up dialogues about care, climate, and collaboration hosted by artists Sonja Thomsen and Thom Bridge near Lake Michigan. Milwaukee State of the Arts Magazine is a collaborative art magazine reflecting on the experiences of Milwaukee artists, who will be invited to contribute original material around the theme “State of the Arts in Milwaukee in 2024” published by artists Cris Siqueira, Diana H. Chu, Benjamin Grzenia, and community organizer Shelly McClone-Carriere. Blue Ribbon collaborators Neil Gasparka, Wes Tank, Josh Evert, and Amelinda Burich ask the question “What’s the best art you’ve ever seen?” by documenting interviews with artists they will record an index for future artists to reference. 

The next cycle of The Open Fund will be announced later this year.