The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) is thrilled to announce the nine individual artists and one artist team selected for 2016 Rubys Artist Project Grants in literary arts and visual arts. This grantee cohort represents innovative artistic practices across the fields of poetry, fiction writing, photography, sound, sculpture, painting, and a publishing initiative.
The 2016 Rubys grantees in Literary Arts and Visual Arts are:
Thea Brown, Andria Nacina Cole, Hoesy Corona, Michael Downs, Carla Du Pree, Kimi Hanauer, Andrew Paul Keiper and Kei Ito, Andrew Klein, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and René Treviño.
“Baltimore is home to a remarkably diverse and energetic creative community that has been severely under-resourced for far too long. The Deutsch Foundation is pleased to support the Rubys and delighted with the exceptional projects selected for funding in this round,” says Robert W. Deutsch Foundation president Jane Brown.
“The Rubys reflect the degree to which the creative sector is an engine for the success of the Greater Baltimore region. This round of grantees includes a broad range of exciting artistic projects that thoughtfully explore topics such as identity, history, and social impact,” says Jeannie Howe, executive director of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. “GBCA is grateful to its talented and thoughtful jurors and to the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation for their vision and support of this program.”
The 2016 Rubys jury panels for Literary Arts and Visual Arts were comprised of the following professionals:
Marwa Helal, writer, poet, journalist
Steven Leyva, poet, editor, Little Patuxent Review
Lisa C. Moore, publisher, RedBone Press
Stephen Motika, poet, publisher, Nightboat Books, artistic director, Poets House
Nicole J. Caruth, curator, director of pedagogy and public practice, The Union for Contemporary Art
Phil Davis, director, Brentwood Arts Exchange
Clement Hanami, artist, art director, Japanese American National Museum
Kristine Thompson, artist, assistant professor, Louisiana State University
Carol Zou, artist-in-residence/project manager, Trans.lation: Vikery Meadow
The Rubys Artist Project Grant program was established in 2013 to support the region’s gems – the local creative community of performing, visual, media and literary artists. Created with the vision and initial funding from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, the Rubys provide meaningful project support directly to artists. The Rubys usher in a new era of arts grantmaking in Baltimore by offering citizen-philanthropists, as well as foundations, the opportunity to support individual artists. The Rubys were inspired in part by Ruby Lerner, the visionary founder of Creative Capital in New York City.
