For the last two years, The Instagram @design account and Brooklyn Museum have teamed up on a grant program to uplift, center, and invest in creative Black voices and organizations. While it was formerly called #BlackDesignVisionaries, this year’s iteration of the program has expanded beyond design and into the visual arts more broadly, and has thus rebranded as #BlackVisionaries.
Last year’s #BlackDesignVisionaries grant recipients presented an impressive swath of emerging Black talent, including fashion design house Head of State and type designer Tré Seals. Curator Antwaun Sargent returns once again as the initiative’s Creative Chair in 2022, who will review applications along with a panel of artists and designers such as Christopher John Rogers, Ian Spalter, and Ruth Carter.
#BlackVisionaries will award ten grants totaling $650,000 to emerging Black artists and designers between the ages of 18 and 35, and small organizations no more than ten years old. Five design-focused small businesses will receive $100,000, while five artists or designers who share Black stories in innovative ways will receive $30,000. In addition to this monetary support, grand recipients will also receive at least one year of regular check-ins, guidance, and mentorship from the non-profit Mobile Makers Chicago.
#BlackVisionaries will highlight the importance of local creative communities by awarding at least one of the small organization grants to a Brooklyn-based business. The application window closes this Friday, July 29th, so apply now!