Kresge Foundation Announces $8.8 Million Commitment To Detroit Arts Community

The Kresge Foundation, long known for its national support of the arts, announced Kresge Arts in Detroit during an October 21, 2008 press conference and reception held at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Kresge Arts in Detroit is an $8.8 million commitment to Detroit’s Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties and is designed to develop and financially support individual artists, arts and cultural organizations and arts-infrastructure groups in the metropolitan area. Eighteen Kresge Artist Fellowships of $25,000 each and one Kresge Eminent Artist award of $50,000 will be awarded each year. Arts and cultural organizations are receiving operating support.

Kresge Artist Fellowships – seek to advance the art forms and professional careers of individuals from the visual, performing and literary arts as well as elevate the profile of the artistic community and encourage creative expression in the region. Each year, Kresge will provide funding for 18 fellowships of $25,000 each awarded to artists living and working metropolitan Detroit, along with professional development opportunities.

Kresge Eminent Artist Award – recognizes an exceptional artist for his/her professional achievements and longstanding contributions to the metropolitan Detroit cultural community. The yearly award includes a $50,000 prize.

Kresge Arts Support – Kresge Arts Support provides unrestricted operating support to small, mid-size and large organizations in the performing, visual and literary arts, and to institutions engaged in arts service, education and broadcasting in order to help strengthen their long-term sustainability. Kresge Arts Support is in its second year of a three-year commitment.

Overall, Kresge Arts in Detroit is designed to:

– Increase opportunities for cultural and artistic participation and expression for all people
in the metropolitan area
– Contribute to the quality of life for the region and its communities
– Engage and support regional artists
– Build on and strengthen our current arts and cultural assets and infrastructure

The College of Creative Studies (CCS), one of the nation’s leading art and design educational institutions, is administering the Kresge Artist Fellowships and the Kresge Eminent Artist Award. ArtServe Michigan, an organization dedicated to promoting and cultivating Michigan’s arts and cultural sector, will offer professional development services to the artist fellows.

Kresge Arts in Detroit is one facet of the foundation’s Detroit Program, a comprehensive, five-part community-development effort to strengthen the long-term economic, social and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding area by strengthening Detroit’s neighborhoods and downtown, promoting arts and culture, advancing regional economic development, and enhancing the natural environment. “We believe the health and vitality of the area’s artists and arts and cultural organizations play a critical role in the strength of our economy,” says Rip Rapson, president of The Kresge Foundation. He says the $8.8 million investment in Kresge Arts in Detroit extends to 2010 and does not preclude any additional investments in the Detroit arts community.

Artists and arts and cultural organizations in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties are the beneficiaries Kresge Arts in Detroit. “Artists and the arts and cultural organizations that showcase them open our eyes to new and different ways of viewing ourselves and our world,” adds Rapson. “Through their creative acts, artists stoke creative thinking in all of us – thinking that leads to innovation and invention.”

Fellows will be selected by an independent panel of renowned local and national artists and arts professionals. The College for Creative Studies will also host information sessions for those artists interested in applying for a fellowship. Applications will be available online; for further information, or to apply, visit www.kresgeartsindetroit.org

Call for Applications: Fellowships in the Visual Arts November 1, 2008
Fellowships in the Performing and Literary Arts November 1, 2009

Deadline for Applications: Fellowships in the Visual Arts February 27, 2009
Fellowships in the Performing and Literary Arts February 26, 2010

Announcements: 2009 Fellows in the Visual Arts June 2009
2010 Fellows in the Performing and Literary Arts June 2010

Information Sessions: Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 7 p.m.

The Kresge Eminent Artist Award in the Visual Arts is awarded in even years (i.e. 2008, 2010, etc.); The Kresge Eminent Artist Award in the Performing/Literary Arts is awarded in odd years (i.e. 2009, 2011, etc.). The 2008 Kresge Eminent Artist Award in the Visual Arts will be announced December 8, 2008.

“At CCS we recognize that the key to revitalization of this region is through the engagement of the creative community – that’s why initiatives like Kresge Arts in Detroit are so important and why we are so thrilled to be a part of it,” said Richard L. Rogers, president, College for Creative Studies. “This initiative will recognize and support the artists who are committed to creating innovative work that impacts the entire community.”

The Kresge Foundation:

The Kresge Foundation is a $3.5 billion private, national foundation, based in Troy, Michigan, that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services and community development. For further information, visit www.kresge.org.

College for Creative Studies:

Located in midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center, the College for Creative Studies is a world leader in art and design education and prepares students to enter the new, global economy where creativity shapes better communities and societies. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls over 1,300 students pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Advertising Design, Art Education, Crafts, Entertainment Arts, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design and Transportation Design. Beginning in fall 2009, the College will award the Master of Fine Arts Degree in Design and in Transportation Design. The College also offers non-credit courses in the visual arts through its Continuing Education programs and opportunities for youth through its Community Arts Partnerships programs. For more information, visit www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu.

ArtServe Michigan:

Established in 1997 through a merger of four statewide organizations – Arts Foundation of Michigan, Business Volunteers for the Arts, Concerned Citizens for the Arts in Michigan, and the Michigan Alliance for Arts Education – ArtServe Michigan is a statewide arts and cultural advocacy organization whose mission is to cultivate the creative potential of Michigan’s arts and cultural sector to enhance the health and well-being of Michigan, its people and communities. In 2006 ArtServe Michigan merged with the Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies that focused on the need to create a single statewide organization with the credibility, capacity, creativity and clout to effectively support, strengthen and build awareness of arts, culture and creativity in Michigan. Their work includes advocacy, capacity-building and strategic communications which are accomplished through partnerships with constituents, stakeholders and the broader community. For further information, go to www.artservemighigan.org.