Last year, we announced the launch of our Racial Equity Fund, as a way to give extra power to those uniquely positioned to increase their impact on systemic racism and catalyze real change. As we enter the next phase of our Racial Equity initiative, we are focusing on the power of the arts as an agent for change within our community. Understanding the critical role the arts play in catalyzing change around racial equity, social justice, and cultural identity, we want to amplify the work of Black artists & Black-led organizations within Miami who are using their platform to address issues at this intersection.
Our Strategy
- To identify and amplify the work of under-resourced artists or organizations working in this space. Understanding that black-led organizations historically have a disproportionate level of access to capacity-building, funding, and network- how can we support grassroots organizations working at this juncture?
- Begin to develop a brain bank and framework to address systemic barriers for these organizations & artists.
- Support artists and organizations with increased connectivity through conversations and partnerships.
Meet the Grantees
For this first round of funding, we worked to swiftly identify arts organizations working in this space, selecting five organizations for a $15,000 unrestricted grant to continue to build, grow, and amplify their reach. This grant is made possible with a generous investment to The Racial Equity Fund from Facebook. In addition to the $15,000 in unrestricted funds, each organization will receive a series of Facebook marketing trainings and ads credits, valued at $20,000 for each grantee.
Art Prevails Project
Committed to impacting South Florida by providing engaging and authentic artistic and cultural experiences through performance and education.
Diaspora Vibes Cultural Arts Incubator
Promotes, nurtures, and cultivates the vision and diverse talents of emerging artists from the Caribbean and Latin Diaspora through exhibition programs, artist in residence programs, international cultural exchange and education that celebrate Miami-Dade’s rich cultural and social fabric.
M Ensemble
The longest running African American professional theater company in the State of Florida, their mission is to preserve and promote the African American culture through the performing arts.
MUCE 305
Creates cultural spaces and produces artistic programming that fosters and nurtures creative talent in urban neighborhoods; rich in heritage but lacking in resources. They are a platform that elevates voices of BIPOC artists as well as a bridge for the community to explore, collaborate, and serve through the arts.
Opa Locka CDC
Art and culture are key drivers to transform Opa-locka into a thriving place to live, work, create, and play. The arts have been infused throughout their revitalization efforts, from housing to infrastructure development to education and more. These initiatives are meant to make quality art of all forms easily accessible and ingrained into everyday life in Opa-locka.
Meet the Awardees
Moreover, we wanted to create space to recognize and support individual artists in Miami, who are equally as important in this movement for change. We invited an incredible group of leaders within our community to each identify artists they believed were using their work as a platform for social justice and racial equity. This yielded a list of five stunning artists, who will each receive a prize of $5,000.
Chire Regans aka VantaBlack | Visual Artist | Activist | Nominated by Melissa Hunter, Sugarcane Magazine
Symone Titania Major | Documentary Photographer | Choreographer | Poet | Nominated by Valerie Riles, The Adrienne Arsht Center
Morel Doucet | Multi-Disciplinary Artist | Educator | Nominated by Marshall Davis, Sr., African Heritage Cultural Arts Center
Arsimmer McCoy | Spoken Word Artist | Educator | Writer | Nominated by Nadege Green, The Community Justice Project
Loni Johnson | Visual Artist | Arts Educator | Nominated by Maria Elena Ortiz, Pérez Art Museum Miami
Looking ahead, we are exploring ways to tackle the issues facing many artistic organizations of color, including additional grants for general operating and capacity building and support for cultural incubators who are integral to providing physical and community space for Black and Brown artists to create, rehearse, learn, and engage.
We are continuing to do extensive research to identify the broad range of nonprofits engaged at this intersection and look forward to more conversations in this space. Please reach out to Kunya Rowley to share a group that we should know.