Radically
Reimaging
ARTS
Funding
Context
MAM uses art to address and confront the disease of state-sanctioned violence and affirm our right to safety, rest and healing as Black people. Steeped in deep pedagogy, collective grief, and the confirmation that we are our ancestors' wildest dreams, we are working to heal from trauma and transform our world. As we support the current uprising, it is paramount that we hold accountable systems of inequality including but not limited to the non-profit industrial complex. So what are we going to do?
Trust Black People.
In order to envision and build a more equitable world grounded in community accountability and love, we must rely on the brilliance and leadership of artists. A healthy society requires the labor of artists in many forms: truth tellers, healers, visionaries, agitators, strategists, and more. Black artists have been and will continue to be the laborers of liberatory praxis. If we are going to get free, our Black artists should rightfully have the resources they need.
Process
We are facilitating a participatory funding process for Black artists that radically shifts the charity model of giving aid/support and centers Black artists in Minnesota. Our process removes hierarchical structures of power and relies on collectivism. It is clear to us that Black artists know best what Black artists need. We are here to support one another, listen actively, make mistakes together, and rehearse for the liberated world we need.
Action
With the guidance of the Black Artist Council, Black artists in Minnesota apply for financial support through this program. We seek to distribute funds annually. For the first round of distributions in 2020, the Black Artist Council dispersed $1,000 to 10 Black artists in Minnesota through an online submission process. In 2021 we used the same process and will give $1,000 to 8 artists. We received 152 applications and recipients will be notified after the selection process.