Have you heard it, too? The lightning, the rain, and the wind coming back to the land?
After my last post’s wintery field guide, I’m pivoting to a short and sweet spring treat. I gave my website a refresh to better show you what I do, then combed and foraged for funding opportunities, moments to connect, and articles worth circulating.
An art, tech, and health fellowship open call I lead is now live. One of my current clients, Michigan Central Art, alongside Newlab Detroit just opened applications for the expanded 2026 Creative Residency program, now in its third year. We expanded to include Art + Health (with Henry Ford Health!) alongside our Art + Technology track. Four artists will be selected, each receiving a $30,000 unrestricted award, with applications open through May 10 and a virtual open house on April 30th.
A report I worked on with Female Founders Fund was published. The big picture: female-founded companies accounted for 24.1% of U.S. VC deal count in 2025, while deal value soared to $73.6B (Anthropic and Scale AI, two mixed-gender founding AI teams, counted for 40% of that total alone), with exits also rebounding year over year. Forbes picked up my research for this project here. It’s a useful snapshot of what changed, what concentrated, and what still feels structurally uneven when female founders continue to receive just 2% of total US venture funding.
If you’re in Detroit for Movement, come through. I’m co-hosting my annual Moods bbq May 22nd with a new venue, nonalcoholic drinks, and the new Moods Merch 09 drop: an edition of 45 chore jackets, sized XS–3XL, with sewing by SMPLFD, bleach detail by me, and shipping slated for around May 11.
Check out the refreshed Midwest resource hub: Arts Midwest quietly rebuilt its online resources hub, with improved filters, a new Topics browse system, and a dedicated Research + Data section. They’re also building a grants explorer and funder database next. This feels especially worth bookmarking if you work across the Midwest.
A few recent things I’m reading / passing along:
Arts Midwest’s 2026 funding snapshot is worth your time. The headline is mixed: per-capita state arts funding in the Midwest fell to $1.90 even as some states held steady or increased support. A useful reminder that “flat” funding and healthy funding are not the same thing.
Do you have a bold idea that strengthens civic communities? Apply to the returning Knight Cities Challenge; winners can receive up to $200,000 for their project as a part of a $5 million commitment.
United States Artists just announced the 2026 Knight Arts + Tech Fellows. Five artists received $50,000 unrestricted grants for work spanning performance, immersive installation, code, sound, and new media. Detroit artists Taeyoon Choi (Michigan Central 2025 Cohort Member!) and Wes Taylor (Michigan Central 2024 Art + Tech Fellow!) are in this year’s cohort, which feels especially nice to see.
Villa Albertine announced its 2026 “Arts in the Age of AI” residents. The new program will host four creators a year in the U.S. across 2026 and 2027, pairing artists with tech companies, universities, research centers, and cultural institutions. International cultural organizations are building AI-specific support structures quickly, hint hint…
LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab is open again. Their 2026 call offers grants of up to $50,000 for projects engaging emerging technologies in critical and experimental ways, with the deadline set for April 22.
And for a broader opportunities sweep: Colossal’s April roundup is live with grants, residencies, and open calls for artists and designers. Useful if you want one tab to keep open while plotting your spring.
More soon, as always,
Daniel
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.