2018 Grant Recipients Announced

In 2017, CUE received a record-breaking number of art project proposals (86 proposals representing $73,485 in requested funds). After a very competitive adjudication process, we are pleased to announce 24 grant recipients who will be producing projects in multiple disciplines (representing $16,849 in grants). This grant cycle underscores the urgent need for accessible and equitable arts funding--arts funding that is allocated in ways that more accurately reflect the diversity of our city.  

We thank the Ontario Arts Council for their support in making this year's grants possible.    Normal  0      false  false  false   EN-US  JA  X-NONE                                                                                                                                                                                       /* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0cm;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}

Alesha Aquino is supported to create a mixed media tapestry piece about experiences with heartbreak, love and rebirth, and destruction told through a narrative about a mythological goddess named, Kaluluwa which means “soul” in Tagalog.

Balu is supported to create a 4-track South Asian infused R&B EP using original beatbox compositions as instrumentals.

Cody Escuyos is supported to create Neat Little Boxes, an interactive video installation meant to examine the way trauma is stored in our bodies and minds.

Calvin Leveille and James Graham are supported to produce The House That Dripped Blood--a graphic novel about the relationship between two rural gay Indigenous men revisiting their condemned hometown to hide from the consequences of their misled lives.

Chason Yeboah is supported to create a performance piece that brings attention to the ridiculousness of the “dick pic”. The performance includes a hand made suit that will contain 30+ crocheted penises.

D. Hart is supported to create a 6-song EP entitled All In My Head which will incorporate Motown and Funk with Hip-Hop.

Devon Davey Welter is supported to create a series of abstract paintings and sculptures made from found objects.

Gillian Mapp is supported to create a series of digital colour photographs of Black female bodies, expressing the Black narrative in a way that is intended to challenge the history of the white gaze.

Hannah Schreck is supported to create an installation entitled Sekue ts'en nasja or I am going home, a recreation of a traditional umbilical cord ceremony.

Heyishi Zhang is supported to create The Queer Asian Youth Podcast – a podcast for queer East and Southeast Asian youth. The podcast will take listeners on the artist's journey as they reconnect with history and community.

Jade is supported to create a series of jewellery using hand modelled clay and found objects such as bone, metal, and shells.

Jason Julien is supported to create Anxiety Matrix--an abstract expressionism painting about experiencing anxiety.

James Yeboah is supported to create When Black Boys Smile--a series of paintings exploring the importance of Black male intimacy.

Kimberly Edgar is supported to create Bacchanalia--a short comic book exploring the anger and fantasized vengeful response of four women after being sexually assaulted.

Kuya Spirit is supported to create a series or 4 large-scale paintings based on blurred memories and patterns that constitute the artist's spirit. Each painting will be represented in a series of stickers.

Mascot is supported to create a 4-track Hip-Hop EP with elements of no-wave, punk rock, and horrorcore.

Noor Khan is supported to create East, a short film about how a person's relationship with land, gender and race shapes the relationship that she has with other people.

Oreka James is supported to create series of large-scale paintings exploring their understanding of Blackness, gender, race, accessibility and Queerness.

Pauline Aksay is supported to create a series of vignettes/portraits depicting a father overdosing on prescription pain medication, as told from his son’s point of view.

Pippa Elolia is supported to create Privilege--a sculpture installation that will explore privilege through a series of floating faces.   

Sport Mathews is supported to create a hip-hop EP exploring mental health, relationships, and growing up biracial in a predominantly white society.

Taylor Thoroski is supported to create a series of fashion editorials, that will tell the story of growing up in social housing as a queer, creative Black girl aspiring to achieve success in a wealthy white-dominated industry.

Tumaini Lyaruu is supported to explore a textile-based approach to storytelling, where three artists who live with or have had a sexually transmitted infections, design and crochet palm-sized genitalia with clinical symptoms of STIs.

Yasmine is supported to create a 5 track hip-hop EP entitled When Time Stands Still, which will provide insight on hopeless love, addiction, and mental health.