TROY, Mich. – The Kresge Foundation has launched Kresge Arts in Detroit, a three-part, $8.8 million initiative to promote, develop and financially support individual artists, arts and cultural organizations and arts-infrastructure groups in Detroit’s tri-county (Wayne, Oakland and Macomb) area. A formal public announcement was made Oct. 16 at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Kresge’s decision to commit financial resources to the Detroit arts community is part of a broad vision for regional economic revitalization and improved quality of life. Kresge Arts in Detroit is one facet of the foundation’s Detroit Program, a comprehensive five-part community-development model intended to strengthen the long-term economic, social and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding area.

Kresge Arts in Detroit provides funding and recognition for individuals and organizations through three separate segments: Kresge Artist Fellowships, the Kresge Eminent Artist Award and Kresge Arts Support. The foundation’s $8.8 million investment extends to 2010 and does not preclude any additional investments in the Detroit arts community.

The Kresge Artist Fellowships segment will award 18 fellowships of $25,000 each to artists from the visual, performing and literary arts who live and work in metropolitan Detroit. The fellowships will serve to advance the art forms and professional careers of these talented individuals and to encourage creative expression. The Detroit-based College for Creative Studies will administer the fellowships, and ArtServe Michigan will provide professional development services for the fellows.

Each year, the Kresge Eminent Artist Award will honor one exceptional artist in Metro Detroit for his or her professional achievements, cultural contributions and commitment to the local arts community. The recipient will receive a $50,000 prize to support future artistic pursuits. The College for Creative Studies also will administer this segment.

Finally, Kresge Arts Support provides unrestricted operating support to small, mid-size and large nonprofits in the performing, visual and literary arts, and to arts-service, education and broadcasting organizations. In 2007, the foundation awarded three-year grants to 53 arts organizations. In 2008, a second cohort of organizations will be awarded two-year grants; recipients will be notified by November 1.

Learn more about Kresge Arts in Detroit, specifically the Kresge Artist Fellowships, the Kresge Eminent Artist Award and the Kresge Arts Support.

If you have questions, e-mail the Grants Inquiry Coordinator or call 248-643-9630.