Supporting collaborative, visual arts projects
In the spirit of embracing contemporary culture at its core and edges, the Flourish Fund supports artist organized projects in Southeast Michigan that are experimental and risk-taking, shared with the public, and embrace contemporary, creative possibilities for the future of arts and culture. Annually, the Flourish Fund offers six grants of $10,000 each to support artists for these innovative, public-facing projects across the seven counties of Southeast Michigan.
A partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Eligibility & Requirements
What type of projects are eligible?
- Collaborative projects led by independent, unincorporated artists at all career stages based in the seven counties of Southeast Michigan (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Monroe, Livingston, and St. Clair.) The lead organizer of the project must reside in one of those counties.
- Projects that are publicly shared through their presentation, production, creation process, or publication, online or in-person.
- Projects that, at their core, are rooted in a visual arts practice. Projects can be interdisciplinary, but must have a strong foundation in the visual arts.
- Proposed projects may include works across mediums and disciplines, from sculpture to projection mapping, printmaking to immersive technology, and beyond.
- A group of artists or collectives may apply. Collaboration is a key component of this funding program, and each application will have one lead applicant, who is leading the collaboration.
What type of projects are ineligible?
- Projects that are not based in one of the seven counties of Southeast Michigan.
- Projects that do not have a public component. Lead applicants must reside and work in one of the counties, and projects must take place and be publicly-shared in one of those counties.
- Projects organized by existing incorporated entities (includes LLC’s; B Corps or any other corporation; 501(c)(3) organizations; 501(c)(4) organizations), universities or schools (private, public, charter), religious institutions, or municipalities.
- Projects led by students currently enrolled in high school, college, and/or university programs.
- Projects seeking support retroactively or seeking reimbursement for a past project.
Need more information? Check out our frequently asked questions document below to get answers.
Process
Learn More About Selection Criteria
Selection Criteria
- Overall artistic vision of proposed project
- Demonstration of affinity for artistic exploration, experimentation, and risk taking
- Accessibility of the project to the public and collaborative nature of the project
- Capacity of the applicant to realize the project on time and within budget
- Relevance to the local community, the arts and culture sector, and/or the artist’s professional growth
Grantee Reporting Requirements
Grantee Responsibilities
- At the beginning of the one-year grant period, Flourish Fund grantees will receive 100% of their grant funds upon return of a signed contract and W-9.
- Share key dates for their project with CultureSource so that we can publish information about your work to our audiences and the Warhol Foundation.
- Maintain contact with CultureSource throughout the grant period to share project updates.
- Grantees are legally responsible for all events, materials, insurance, outcomes, etc. connected with their projects.
- Grantees may be asked to contribute short write-ups, visuals, and any additional materials about their artistic work for Flourish Fund communications and CultureSource archives
Apply
Applications open on Friday, September 13. Deadline to apply is Friday, October 25, 2024.
Artists may apply as individuals, as well as artists groups or collectives. A group of artists should submit only one application, including the names of all involved artists. The lead artist on the application will receive the funds for the proposed project. Application includes basic artist information, project information, work samples, proposed budget, and responses to several short answer questions.
Previous Grantees
2023
Asia Hamilton
Womxnhouse launches its third-year artist residency program, dedicated to empowering women artists. This initiative provides a nurturing environment and vital resources for artists and curators, focusing on cultivating dynamic cultural experiences in Detroit’s Northwest community. By harnessing art’s healing potential, Womxnhouse Residency fosters the creative growth of women, offering dedicated creation space and access to Norwest Gallery of Art’s facilities and network. It also encourages community involvement through a collaborative project, transforming a residential home into an interactive art installation. WOMXNHOUSE Detroit brings art and culture to underserved neighborhoods, championing diversity and community visibility.
Cherry Wood
Our upcoming project is the release of the twelfth issue of Barbed during the Winter/Spring season. This issue, titled “Intentionally Mindful,” focuses on artists of color and those from the LGBTQ+ communities in Metro Detroit. Our theme centers around the importance of being mindful and true to ourselves as artists, without compromising our values or falling for trends.
Clare Gatto
“’Documenting Art for Artists'” is a comprehensive guidebook designed to offer artists a valuable resource for honing their documentation skills. Merging the principles of mentorship with a practical reference, this initiative aims to democratize access to pivotal documentation expertise, transcending traditional educational boundaries to serve independent artists universally.
Ellen Rutt
Queer Ecologies Lab at Studio For Now is a series of workshops and events that bring together artists, community organizers and policymakers who are passionate about the global ecological crisis. Queer Ecologies Lab aims to facilitate cross-disciplinary relationships between artists and climate professionals in service of local and global multispecies flourishing. These events will take place at Studio For Now, a queer-led art studio in Detroit’s North End Neighborhood. Queer Ecologies Lab examines the complex ways that LGBTQ+ and all marginalized identities experiences are intertwined with environmental concerns and how these intersections can inform more meaningful approaches to sustainability.
Laura Gibson
Dope Women in Media: Honoring the Women of Film in Metro Detroit exhibition, taking place at the Ann Arbor Art Center as a part of the Ann Arbor Art Festival will recognize the women from the greater Detroit Area in film, video, photo and new media and their research, contribution and impact to contemporary art and popular culture. During this exhibit, scheduled for March 2024, emerging and seasoned artists and filmmakers will showcase work of audio, video, film and stills and attributing materials.
Wayne Curtis
Creative Cargo is the repurposing of a cargo container—simultaneously both a mechanism and symbol of global capitalism—into a creative community hub. Feedom Freedom, the urban farm I co-founded to nourish my neighborhood and establish relationships of real sustainability, will partner with me and a group of artists/organizers to liberate cultural space. We operate with the understanding that creativity’s essential to imagining life beyond capitalism but, as rents rise and artists struggle to find spaces to create, we need to make an enduring space where culture can be created and shared within the community it was created for.
Read the announcement.
2022
- Ajara Alghali
- Benjamin Gaydos
- Danielle Eliska-Lyle
- Lindsay McCaw
- Nathaniel Mullen
- Eleanor Oakes
Read the announcement.
2021
- bree gant
- Chaz Miller
- Hadassah GreenSky
- jennifer harge
- Karilú Alarcon Forshee
- Taraneh Fazeli
Read the announcement.
2020
Programmatic Focus
The 2020 iteration of the Flourish Fund functioned as an emergency relief program is meant to provide support to visual artists who need funds for basic living expenses (bills) due to the impact of COVID-19.
More Information
Questions? Contact us at [email protected] for more information about the program, application process, and eligibility.
Need help creating a project budget? Download our free template.
Wondering where to start? Review a sample application.
The Flourish Fund is a collaboration between CultureSource and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. It annually awards grants to individual artists in Southeast Michigan. The program began in 2020 as an emergency relief grant program and has since evolved to support public facing, visual arts projects.
In Collaboration With
