Knight Foundation Announces Grant Recipients for 2024 Knight New Work in Detroit, Miami, and Akron

Today’s artists are navigating a landscape where digital technology blends the physical and virtual worlds, offering new ways to create, communicate, and collaborate. While technology can sometimes seem daunting, designed by a few for the many, artists now have unprecedented access and agency to harness these tools. By skillfully integrating digital technologies, creators can deepen experiences, reach new audiences, and design a collective future that reflects and connects communities in profound ways.

Related Articles

How Artists Are Shaping Tech Today for a Better Tomorrow

Artists and AI: Shaping a Collaborative Future

Knight New Work celebrates this intersection of artistic creation and technological innovation, encouraging new modes of production, expression, and communication. Since 2020, the program has fostered projects that leverage digital tools to expand artistic possibilities, engage broader audiences, and strengthen community bonds. Through Knight New Work, individual artists, collectives, and arts organizations are invited to explore how technology can enhance their practice and impact, with the only requirement being that proposed works premiere in, and/or the artist is based in, the resident’s community.

Proposals are reviewed by a national panel of artists, practitioners, and Knight Foundation staff, ensuring that the selected projects reflect a diverse range of voices, styles, and visions. This year’s recipients—from Miami, Akron, and Detroit—exemplify the creativity and innovation at the heart of the program. Each winner has been recognized for pushing the boundaries of artistic practice, using technology in unique and meaningful ways, and making a significant impact within their local communities.

“Knight New Work embodies our belief in the power of the arts to connect people and strengthen communities,” said Jennifer Farah, Knight’s director of arts. “By supporting artists who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with digital technology, we’re helping to shape the future of art and culture in Miami, Akron, and Detroit. We’re excited to see how these projects will inspire and engage residents.”

Knight Foundation is dedicated to supporting artistic innovation and enhancing cultural vibrancy in its communities. Through initiatives like Knight New Work, the foundation aims to foster innovation, encourage community cohesion, and contribute to a vibrant and healthy democracy.

In Detroit, grant recipients blend technology and tradition, bringing fresh perspectives to the city’s rich history:

Media City Film Festival: A new multi-screen astral-focused artwork by Kevin Jerome Everson using precision celestial technologies at local observatories and planetariums.

rootoftwo: A digitally augmented tabletop cooperative game where players navigate the complexities of digital information in a world where privacy is a commodity.

Shara Nova and Matthew Ritchie: An atmospheric durational installation with a choir, soloists, and projected AI-generated imagery called “Half Winged”— a musical interpretation of the encyclopedic text of “Paradise Lost.”

Summer Krinsky: A composition for a new electro-acoustic concerto that blends the distinctive sounds of Detroit with the capabilities of AI.

Demario Dotson: An immersive multimedia installation experience through 3D animation and original music about Black and queer southern heroes.

In Miami, grant recipients reflect the city’s changing climate and celebrate the city’s vibrant cultural landscape.

O, Miami: An interactive installation that uses augmented reality to explore the history of Miami’s neighborhoods, encouraging residents to engage with their local heritage.

South Florida Center for Percussive Arts: A multimedia performance piece incorporating digital projections and live music, creating a dynamic blend of physical and virtual storytelling.

FilmGate Miami: A collaborative project between visual artists and coders, using machine learning to generate digital art inspired by South Florida’s diverse ecosystems.

Cornelius Tulloch: A series of public architectural installations in collaboration with youth digital fabrication workshops, reimagining Miami’s vernacular architecture through contemporary technology.

Jayme Kaye Gershen: An immersive multi-channel exhibition, guided by mangos, where participants engage with community and climate through a sensorial experience.

Leo Castañeda: A Miami based artist, is planning a mythological reinterpretation of Akron’s history, deep-past, present and future as a series of community workshops and interactive-3d-animations on view to the public through storefronts in Akron.

In Akron, grant recipients’ inventive use of technology reimagines public spaces and creates connections between artists and community.

Akron Soul Train: An immersive audio/visual experience with new technology to spatially distribute sight and sound and transport the viewer beyond the boundaries of the container.

The Movement Project: TMP will develop low-cost, tech-based tools to lower barriers for dance artists, showcased through workshops and premiere performances in Akron and Detroit.

Saelyx Finna: A short film and a series of experiential public events in Akron on the rise of dream neurotech—technology that directly interacts with the dreaming mind.

Knight Foundation’s 2023 Grant Recipients Showcase Their Award-Winning Work

Knight Foundation is pleased to announce that the 2023 KNW Detroit grant recipients will be exhibiting their works this spring. Presented at events throughout the city, audiences will explore these innovative projects and hear directly from the artists. Each event is not just a celebration of creativity but also an opportunity for the community to come together and engage with the cutting-edge ways in which art and technology can intersect.

“We are thrilled to see how Knight New Works will inspire, provoke, and bring people together throughout the city in unexpected ways,” said Farah. “Each installation will be a testament to the vibrant creativity that makes Detroit’s arts community so unique.” The 2023 KNW winners are as follows: