For Yvette Rock, Seed and Bloom: Detroit means support for Live Coal, which transforms lives and neighborhoods through art, community development and education while working out of a renovated duplex in Detroit’s Piety Hill neighborhood that houses its children’s art museum and a green space and arts hub in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood.

For Amelia “Fiera” Duran, Seed and Bloom: Detroit brings support to Garage Cultural, based in a converted warehouse in Southwest Detroit. She sees Garage Cultural as “a liberated and autonomous space for youth artists in my community to explore how arts and culture can not only be an outlet for creative self-expression, but also of collective resistance and self-sustainability in a multifaceted and holistic way.”

For Ryan Myers-Johnson, Seed and Bloom promises growth personally and for Sidewalk Detroit, founded in 2013 to advance equity through art, culture and experience design leading to more just and beautiful public spaces.

Support from The Kresge Foundation and the Gilbert Family Foundation has brought the national organization United States Artists to Detroit for a three-year initiative to catalyze a more diverse and racially equitable cultural landscape. Rock, Duran and Myers-Johnson are among 10 Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) artist-leaders of organizations in city neighborhoods in the first Seed and Bloom: Detroit cohort, which was announced earlier this year.

Each organization will receive $180,000 over three years to further opportunities to connect with one another, engage with potential contributors and further advance their organizational goals. The program also provides artist-leaders with technical assistance from Artspace and Strategic Planning Partners, along with United States Artists, to develop individual paths for organizational sustainability and success.

“These are all neighborhood-based institutions with substantial track records, but they are still under-resourced. The combination of unrestricted dollars and a range of support – from business matters to professional development – is intended to move them to long-term viability, ” Kresge Detroit Program Managing Director Wendy Lewis Jackson said. “Larger institutions in our city have clear avenues of support. There is a resource gap to be filled when it comes to BIPOC artists and their organizations in the neighborhoods.”

“We are thrilled to have The Kresge Foundation support the deep-rooted artistic talent across Detroit’s neighborhoods as a new partner with Seed and Bloom: Detroit,” said Gilbert Family Foundation Executive Director Laura Grannemann. “This initiative is a testament to our commitment to nurture the creative talent and entrepreneurial spirit of BIPOC artists, who are the heart and soul of our city’s cultural landscape. Because of Kresge’s investment, we can amplify funding and mentorship for artists whose work will have a lasting impact on our communities and contribute to a more equitable and vibrant Detroit for all.”

Rock emphasized the importance of the technical support aspect of Seed and Bloom: Detroit. Fleshing out that what it means for Live Coal and herself, she explained: “As the only employee in our organization, I am often overwhelmed by all the administrative tasks I have to perform to make sure we are able to function and deliver our services to our community. … This grant is enabling me to lean on others and their expertise to build a stronger foundation and establish some best practices for our nonprofit. The margin that this grant is giving me will allow me to devote a bit more time towards the heart of our mission and being a practicing artist.”

“It is a great honor for United States Artists to be a partner in the Seed and Bloom: Detroit program. We began working in partnership with the Gilbert Family Foundation to help realize their vision of supporting neighborhood-based BIPOC artists and are thrilled that The Kresge Foundation now joins in our shared goal,” said Judilee Reed, the organization’s president and CEO.

In addition to Rock, Duran and Myers-Johnson, the 2024 Seed and Bloom: Detroit cohort is comprised of:

• jes allie, BULK Space
• Juanita Anderson, Indija Productions
• Halima Afi Cassells, The Free Market of Detroit
• Asia Hamilton, Norwest Gallery of Art / Norwest Community Collaborative
• Danielle Eliska Lyle, Neighborhood Bodega
• Michael Manson, House of Jit
• Tiff Massey, Tiff Massey Studios

(Manson’s House of Jit was recently profiled in Hour Magazine, and Massey has been the subject of numerous media pieces, including this one at Detroit Metro Times, in conjunction with her solo exhibition, 7 Mile + Livernois, at the Detroit Institute of Arts.)

The cohort was selected by a panel of arts and culture leaders, comprised of Shannon Maldonado, founder of Yowie; Shani Peters, co-director/managing director at The Black School; Omari Rush, executive director at CultureSource; and Nathaniel Wallace, head of civic partnerships at Michigan Central.

“Think about how the sounds of Detroit circle the globe: from blues to jazz to rock, Motown, techno beyond,” Jackson noted. “We want to make sure that all the arts are just as firmly rooted in the neighborhoods of our city to make sure they thrive here for generations to come so we can continue to share our richness with the world.”