For these reasons, we strive to extend our resources to people from communities that have been marginalized or are underrepresented in the arts. The Elevating Diverse Voices – Curated Residency (EDV) program is a continuation of our efforts to bring a diversity of artists 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.

New for 2024, the EDV program will focus on artists from the disability community. Ableism (discrimination against people with disabilities) both informs and reinforces other structures of oppression such as racism in that it values one type of body over another.  We believe that disabled creatives hold a unique perspective of the world and it is critical that we celebrate and amplify art made by disabled people.  We have asked ourselves how we can be an ally for accessibility and inclusion, and how we can raise the awareness of disability culture in our community. As always community engagement is an important part of this residency program and we will seek new partnerships and meaningful ways for artists with disabilities to connect with the community. 

According to the Amercians 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. 

We continue to work to educate ourselves and build relationships in preparation for this new focus of the EDV program. Over the past two years, we have invited three artists, involved in disability art/activism, for short residency stays. We have sought their input on how to make the residency more accessible and welcoming. We have incorporated many of their recommendations, and continue to do the work. Being a newer facility, the residency was built with accessibility in mind; complete with a ramp, concrete flooring, and a wheelchair accessible bathroom as well as other features. We wrote and obtained a grant for consulting on disability issues and we have had disability activists provide training for our staff and board.

The Elevating Diverse Voices residency will include the following:

This is the only residency time slot offered by our organization that is curated. All of our other residency time slots are filled by selected artists, writers, and composers that apply to the program through our open call. For more information please see our residency overview page.

• A 10 – 21 day residency stay in Good Hart to be scheduled during June 2024
• Use of the 1,150 sq ft residence and a 24×14 detached studio space
• A fully stocked and well-equipped kitchen for the resident to prepare meals.  We provide homemade baked goods and jams,  locally sourced ingredients, and seasonal vegetables from the host’s garden when available.
• $500.00 stipend upon successful completion of a residency stay
• An additional stipend of up to $1500.00 can be requested for access needs.
• 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.

History of the Elevating Diverse Voices Program

The intent of this program is to be dynamic in nature with a change of focus every two to three years. The first three years we contracted with Juana Williams to curate this program. Juana is the Associate Curator of African-American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She specializes in elevating diverse voices in art, and she is a Good Hart Artist Residency board member. Juana nominated Black Artists to a committee that then selected a final candidate to participate in a residency in Good Hart. We have had the pleasure of hosting artists Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas-O’neal in 2021, Rashaun Rucker in 2022, and will soon host Tylonn Sawyer in June 2023.