Announcing the 2019 CUE Grant Recipients

In 2018, CUE received 90 art project proposals representing $77,345 in requests. We are pleased to announce that CUE was able to provide $26,620 in funding to support 37 of those artists. 

We would like to thank ArtReach and the Toronto Arts Council for their strategic partnership, as well as the Ontario Trillium Foundation for making these grants possible.

Ashm was supported to produce Soon Forward, an EP centered on a coming of age story about moving forward physically and mentally.

Ekow Stone was supported to create A Constellation in Communion, a book composed of passages from discussions and interviews with Black people of varying identities about their relationship with Indigeneity. It includes illustrations by Ekow that were inspired by the themes covered throughout the book. @ekowstone

Eyeda Sophia was supported to produce The Red Project, an EP that revolves around the forbidden emotions we are conditioned to suppress in order to remain digestible; desire, love, passion, aggression and fear. @eyedasophia

Ezequiel Issac Morales was supported to create a series of paintings exploring the taboo of mental health within minority communities, where often people who suffer from mental health problems don't feel able to discuss them openly. @catplaystheflute

Emperor Bohe was supported to produce Looking Glass, an EP exploring how individuals project and represent themselves on social media.

Hansol Nam was supported to create a series of gouache paintings that explore the psychological and physical relationships between a person or people with environments in Toronto.

Idil Djafer was supported to produce Welcome Mats, a series of mats intended to be displayed at entrances of true inclusive spaces in order to promote inclusivity of all different identities. For this work, Djafer focuses on her three identities. @yung.iddy

Jades Swadron was supported to produce Improvised Earth, a series of wheel-thrown ceramic pieces exploring ideas of nature, spirituality, identity and the commonality about how ideas are expressed, specifically in music and improvisation. @jswadron

Jen Laiting was supported to create a series of illustrations using gouache and watercolour inspired by the artist's experience living in Japan. @jenlaiting

Jenny Chen was supported to create a series of printmaking pieces to be installed in nature. The finished project will result in a body of photographs of the installation interacting with the natural landscape. @jennychen.me

Jenny Lee was supported to create a series of illustrations detailing the narrative of a young Korean woman exploring her natural desires to break free from cultural expectations.

Kevin Kim was supported to produce Scribbles, a video dance series showcasing Toronto street dancers working in the styles of hustle, waacking, litefeet, and locking, amongst other styles. Scribbles was shot in multiple neighbourhoods across Toronto.

Kourtney Jackson was supported to produce Wash Day, an expressionistic, experimental short documentary that engages three young Black women in conversations about their hair as a segue to their personal journeys in body positivity and self-love. @kjjjax

Mike Regis was supported to produce My 18th Birthday, a short film set in Toronto. During a hot summer’s night, an 18-year-old teenager named Kevin decides to hang out with his questionable friends, despite being told otherwise by his overprotective sister. He soon realizes that he should have listened as that one decision results in one of the most devastating nights of his life. @mikeregis

Maisha Marshall-Ende was supported to create Night Night Du-Rag - a collection of du-rags created from fabric commonly used to cover mattresses in Ethiopia culminating in a photo series and an installation piece. The project was produced in collaboration with Nika Thompson. @uncle_giuseppe

Nigel Martin was supported to embark on an international postal mail-based project entitled Sending You Flowers While You Can Still Smell Them. The project sees original drawings, sketches, and poems being activated through the process of sending. @nomvdslvnd

Maxhole was supported to create content for his forthcoming EP love titan and to continue advancing his musical practice. @maxholio

Ondi Oduor was supported to create Have you tried turning it off and on again, a zine about toxic environments within societal, familial and business structures, and how they impact visibly and invisibly marginalized people.

Rosie Monday was supported to produce a 3-song hip-hop EP about the day to day work she puts in to live her truth, and explores themes of confidence, joy, fear, and purpose. @rosiemonday

Renee The Voice was supported to produce Pain and Patience, a 3-song EP that unpacks painful experiences in the artist's past, where they came from, who and what they desired to be.

Rinchen Dolma was supported to produce Her Story, a series of portraits illustrating Tibetan women reconnected to their distant relatives incorporating digital projections of family photos.

Sadiah was supported to create Ijbtq+m, a portrait photography series featuring coloured Queer Muslims in Toronto. @sadiahrahman / @sadiah_rahman

Samay Arcentales Cajas was supported to produce Dancing Heart, a short 16mm dance film honouring the passing of Toronto artist and community member Ailyn Malit. The story is of a Mind who meets a Heart that dances eternally. @samay.c

Sangmin Lee was supported to produce Busan Shoreline, an installation recreating the concrete tetrapods that can be found on the shorelines of Busan, Korea. @sangminl

Sapphira was supported to produce an EP featuring elements of spoken word with live instrumentation exploring the concept of being at the crossroads.

Sharine Taylor was supported to produce the fourth issue of Bashy Magazine, a quarterly and digital and print publication made by and for Jamaica diaspora. @shharine

Shelby McLeod was supported to create Femme Vipers, a series of mixed media collages that examines Queer Femme, and disabled identity. @shelby_mcleod

Sophie Lau was supported to create These are the Stones I Wanted to Tell You, a collage series exploring familial relationships, redefining relationships, and processing past experiences. @sophboxx

Sydné Barnes-Wright was supported to create a sculpture installation of reconstructed, athletic foot gear and athletic body suits to illustrate how the fashion industry exploits Black bodies and Black culture for capital gain. ethrlonline.ca

Tameesha Holder and Jody Anderson were supported to produce Gold Lines My Pussy, a zine focused on Black Femme, queer and non-binary folks sexuality, societal standards, stigma, and anti-Blackness surrounding sex and sexual health. @moneymeesh and @meshisland

Tennessee Jones was supported to create Mind Garden, a series of paintings that represent the thoughts, ideas, and struggles from the internal perspective of the artist's mind as if it were a physical place. @orphan.plant

Twoey Gray, Rebecca Sweets, and Rabeea Syed were supported to produce PRUDEmag, a zine for prudes, asexuals, spinsters, and other folks sidelined by the sex positive movement. @prude.mag

Taylor Thoroski was supported to produce a photo series of a gallery performance exploring themes of racism, classism, nepotism, and cultural appropriation within the art community. @taylor_thoroski

Viktoria Csik was supported to produce Unpleasant Conversations, an EP exploring the necessary discomforts of being human, and connecting with others.

Vicki Machin was supported to create dial me dial you, a contemporary dance piece that explores how social and spatial cues impact the way humans interact with their environment.

Vivian Tran was supported to create an installation featuring a collection of archived videos of the artist's family from China and Vietnam.