Elevating Diverse Voices – A Curated Residency
The intent of this program is to be dynamic in nature with a change of focus every two to three years. We are currently in the process of researching and building relationships to redefine the focus of the program for the next three years. There will be no active selection of artists for 2026 through this curated program. Artists that were nominated in 2023 and 2024 will attend residencies in 2026.
The Elevating Diverse Voices – Curated Residency (EDV) program is a continuation of our mission to bring artists from diverse backgrounds to Good Hart, to nurture artists, and to build relationships. We provide a space and time for artists to create and share their work with the community, which builds awareness and understanding.
The artist selected for the EDV program will be provided with the use of the residency space and studio for a flexible residency stay length of 10 – 21 days. Full room and board is provided. A welcome meal is provided and the residency is stocked with basic foods that the resident can use to prepare meals. A local volunteer will provide an additional home cooked meal during the resident’s stay. A standard $500 stipend will be paid to the artists at the end of a successful residency stay. An additional stipend of up to $1500.00 can be requested for access needs. The selected resident will participate in a mutually agreed upon art event in collaboration with one of our community partners. The resident will also participate in one Open Studio Saturday during their stay.
Again in 2026, the EDV program will focus on artists from the disability community. Our intent is to raise awareness of disability culture in our community, and to provide residency opportunities for disabled artists. As always community engagement is an important part of this residency program and we will seek meaningful ways for artists with disabilities to connect with the community.
Please note that we acknowledge both identity first and person first framing of disability identity. When we use the phrase “disabled artists,” we intend to align with the Social Model of Disability understanding that people are disabled by environmental and societal barriers.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially impacts one or more major life activities. This can include but is not limited to apparent, non-apparent, emotional, cognitive, and learning disabilities. We recognize that the access needs of every disabled person will vary and therefore, we will work with disabled creatives to understand their individual access needs. We strive to be open and transparent regarding the accessibility of the facility and the local area and have created an Accessibility Plan.
Elevating Diverse Voices Program History
The EDV program is curated, which means that potential artists for that program will be nominated by the curator, and a finalist will be chosen by a panel. The curator and panelists involved with the selection process are all part of the community we are focusing on. This program is not part of our open call and there is no application process for this program. All applicants, including disabled artists, are welcome to apply to our next open call.
The first three years we contracted with Juana Williams to curate this program. Juana specializes in elevating diverse voices in art, and she was a Good Hart Artist Residency board member. Juana is a Detroit-based curator and cultural worker with over a decade of experience in nonprofit art spaces. She currently serves as the Artistic Director and Chief Curator for DETROIT SALON. Previously, she was Associate Curator of African American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Through her curation we had the pleasure of hosting artists Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas-O’neal in 2021, Rashaun Rucker in 2022, and Tylonn Sawyer in June 2023.
For 2023-2025 we contracted with artist Matt Bodett to curate the EDV program. Matt is an artist and educator, and the founder and director of the Center for Mad Culture, in Chicago, Illinois. He has been a 3Arts and Bodies of Work Fellow, a resident at MacDowell, an incubator artist at High Concept Laboratories, and has received numerous grants and awards. He currently teaches at Loyola University Chicago, serves on the advisory board for the Institute for Therapy Through the Arts, and is on the Artist’s Council for 3Arts Chicago. Matt currently serves on our board of directors. Through his curation we had the pleasure of hosting artists Genevieve Ramos in June 2024 and Brianna Beck in June 2025.
2026 Selected Artist – Charile Reynolds
Charlie will be the artist-in-residence from June 3 – 24, 2026.
You can learn more about Charlies’s work on their profile page: Charlie Reynolds
2026 Selected Artist – Janhavi Khemka
Janhavi will be the artist-in-residence from May1-21, 2026.
You can learn more about Janhavi’s work on her profile page: Janhavi Khemka
2025 Selected Artist – Brianna Beck
The artist selected for the 2025 Elevating Diverse Voices Residency was Bri Beck. Bri was the artist-in-residence from June 7 – 22, 2025.
You can learn more about Bri’s work on her profile page: Brianna Beck
2024 Selected Artist – Genevieve Ramos
The artist selected for the 2024 Elevating Diverse Voices Residency was Genevieve Ramos. Genevieve was the artist-in-residence from June 2 – 21, 2024.
You can learn more about Gevevieve’s work at his website: genevieveramos.art
2023 Selected Artist – Tylonn Sawyer
The artist selected for the 2023 Elevating Diverse Voices Residency was Tylonn Sawyer. Tylonn was the artist-in-residence from June 2 – 22, 2023.
You can learn more about Tylonn’s work at his website: tylonn-j-sawyer.com
2022 Selected Artist – Rashaun Rucker
The artist selected for the 2022 Elevating Diverse Voices Residency was Rashaun Rucker. He was the artist-in-residence from August 21 to September 4, 2022.
You can learn more about Rashaun’s work at his website: rashaunrucker.com
2021 Selected Artist – Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas-O’neal
The artist selected for the 2021 Elevating Diverse Voices Residency was Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas-O’neal. She was the artist-in-residence May 21 – June 4, 2021.
You can learn more about Zakkiyyah’s work at her website: zakkiyyahnajeebah.com
