Knight Foundation Announces Winners of Arts Challenge and People's Choice

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced last night the winners of their 2015 Knight Arts Challenge, along with the winner of the People's Choice Award. To qualify, the projects must be about art, must take place in or benefit Miami, and the winners must find funds to match the Knight grant within a year. The winners of the challenge will collectively aid our city by: strengthening the indie film scene, fostering the next generation of creatives, exploring climate change through the arts, and highlighting Miami as a crossroads for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

“High-quality artistic experiences not only inspire, they help bind us to each other and to a common experience, which is critical to a region as diverse as ours,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president of Knight Foundation. “Together, these ideas gets us closer to making art general in Miami, to creating a community where art is available to everyone in all of our neighborhoods.” 

According to the organization, the 53 winners — selected from a pool of over 1,000 entries — will share the $2.36 million. Aside from the bragging rights, Miami Girls Rock Camp was awarded an additional $20,000 grant as the People's Choice winner.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

Farmers Markets Host Pop-up Concerts
Recipient: A Greener Miami
Amount: $20,000

Arts Educators Teach Virtually
Recipient: Art and Culture Center of Hollywood
Amount: $40,000

Artist Residency Sets Sail Aboard Boat
Recipient: ArtCenter/South Florida
Amount: $40,000

Children Take “Tales of Miami” to Stage
Recipient: Artefactus Cultural Project
Amount: $15,000

Sidewalk Poems Take Literary Arts to the Streets
Recipient: Agustina Woodgate
Amount: $20,000

Hackathon Fuses Art and Technology
Recipient: Bakehouse Art Complex
Amount: $30,000

Jazz Festival Expands to New Mediums
Recipient: City of Miami Gardens
Amount: $80,000

Contest Helps Develop New Student Playwrights
Recipient: City Theatre
Amount: $20,000

DanceAfrica Comes to Miami
Recipient: Delou Africa
Amount: $15,000

Community Gets Access to Letterpress
Recipient: Extra Virgin Press
Amount: $10,000

New Performance Piece Explores Rising Tide
Recipient: Florida International University
Amount: $30,000

Library Becomes Museum’s Temporary Home
Recipient: Friends of the Bass Museum
Amount: $75,000

Downtown Art Installations Explore Unconventional Spaces
Recipient: Fringe Projects
Amount: $35,000

Hidden Musical Talents Showcased Onstage
Recipient: FUNDarte
Amount: $120,000

Gay Arts Groups Team Up
Recipient: Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida
Amount: $40,000

Havana and Miami Youth Collaborate
Recipient: Greater Miami Youth Symphony
Award: $55,000

Exhibition Series Connects Miami and Caribbean Artists
Recipient: Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance
Award: $40,000

Collaboration Makes Classical Musical More Accessible
Recipient: IlluminArts
Award: $20,000

Indie Film Scene Receives Increased Coverage
Recipient: Independent Ethos
Award: $15,000

Film Series Explores Brain on Music
Recipient: Corpus Callosum
Award: $80,000

Roundtable Strengthens Indie Filmmaking
Recipient: Kenny Riches
Award: $8,000

Art Series Engages Tri-Rail Commuters
Kip Eagen
$5,000

Miami Youth Learn Junkanoo Traditions
Recipient: Leadership Prep Foundation
Amount: $25,000

Sculptures Reflect Fear in Media
Recipient: Locust Projects
Amount: $60,000

Theater Explores Censorship Onstage
Mad Cat Theatre Company
Amount $25,000

Waterfront Residency Comes to Key Biscayne
Recipient: Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center
Amount: $25,000

Ballet Presents Shakespeare Miami-Style
Recipient: Miami City Ballet
Award: $150,000

Latino Artists Engage Little Havana
Recipient: Miami Dade College’s Koubek Center
Amount; $100,000

Dance Performance Highlights Importance of Water
Recipient: Miami Dance Futures
Award: $20,000

Camp Empowers Girls to Perform Music
Recipient: Miami Girls Rock Camp
Amount: $20,000

Miami Makerspace Expands
Recipient: Miami Industrial Arts (MIA)
Amount: $15,000

Light Box Provides Space for Incubating New Performance Works
Recipient: Miami Light Project
Amount; $120,000

School Days Off Turn Into Music Boot Camps
Recipient: Miami Music Project
Award: $105,000

Concerts and Films Coming to Sweetwater
Recipient: NC-office
Award: $30,000

Legacy Media Materials Get New Archive
Recipient: Obsolete Media Miami
Award: $30,000

Academy Preps Teens for Music Careers
Recipient: Overtown Youth Center
Amount: $40,000

Artists of Color Shine at December Art Fair
Recipient: Prizm
Award: $80,000

Residency Program Expands Little Haiti Gallery
Recipient: Rise Up Gallery
Award: $25,000

Movie Lovers Pay Homage to 35 mm Films
Recipient: Secret Celluloid Society
Award: $15,000

Six Composers Celebrate 15 Years of Seraphic Fire
Recipient: Seraphic Fire
Award: $100,000

Illustrations Memorialize Miami Bands
Recipient: Show Drawn; The Upper Hand Art
Award: $8,000

Overtown Festival Expands
Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency
Award; $50,000

Audio Equipment Rentals Come to Sweat Records
Recipient: Sweat Records
Award: $50,000

ASK Hispanic Theater Gets New Focus
Recipient: Teatro Prometeo at Miami Dade College
Award: $35,000

Residency Helps Students Create Songs
Recipient: The alt Default
Award: $9,000

Festival Showcases Ibero-American Literature
Recipient: The Betsy-South Beach
Award: $50,000

High-Profile Concert Showcases Student Performers
Recipient: The Miami Symphony Orchestra
Award: $60,000

TransAtlantic Festival Gets Refresh
Recipient: The Rhythm Foundation
Award: $50,000

Artistic Treasure Hunt Key Reveals West History
Recipient: The Studios of Key West
Award: $50,000

Series Focuses on Power of the Elements
Recipient: Tigertail
Award: $75,000

Zine Centers on Miami Beach’s 100th
Recipient: Tom Austin
Award: $15,000

Environmental Art Works Come to the Gardens
Recipient: Village of Pinecrest/Pinecrest Gardens
Award: $25,000

Jazz Fest Comes to Downtown
Recipient: 88.9 FM WDNA Public Radio
Award: $75,000

The Knight Arts Challenge will open for applications again in early 2016.