Miami Art Week Kicks Off With Knight Foundation’s 2021 Arts Challenge Winners

Knight is announcing the selection of 24 South Florida artists and arts organizations, who will share $2M for works that showcase diversity, creativity and new forms of expression.

MIAMI (Nov. 29, 2021) –  The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is kicking off Miami Art Week by announcing the 2021  Knight Arts Challenge winners. Twenty-four artists and organizations will share the $2 million Challenge award, which will help bring their creative and innovative ideas to life.

Today’s announcement is part of Knight’s first year-long campaign, themed “365 in the 305,” to connect people and places across the city with activations by the foundation’s organization’s vast network of arts grantees and partners.

Since 2008, the Knight Arts Challenge has funded thousands of ideas from artists and arts organizations that have transformed South Florida’s cultural scene, with winners who reflect the area’s rich diversity.

“The Knight Arts Challenge celebrates artists, organizations and the technology that is changing the way people access and experience art,” said Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation president. “We’re committed to making art general in Miami because art and culture are fundamental building blocks of a community. That requires talent, quality and access — qualities that define the Knight Arts Challenge.” 

Entrants in the 2021 Challenge from across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties answered a single question: “What is your best idea for the arts?”    Participants responded with a 150-word description of their ideas.  Knight’s art staff and a panel of local residents   selected finalists to submit full proposals, and then chose the winners.  

This year, Knight is highlighting artists and art organizations using innovative ways to attract audiences, enhance in-person experiences and document creation, and/or amplify access to the arts. Across artistic genres from exhibitions to performance, the winners use technology – audio, video, websites, mobile apps, digital data, augmented and virtual reality, and NFTs – to create hybrid on-site and virtual experiences.

The 24 winners are eligible to receive additional funding to implement digital strategies,  and access to experts to advise them on ways  to use  the funds. Winners can also tap into training resources and materials related to business sustainability, budgeting, revenue generation, marketing and outreach.

“Our Knight Arts Challenge winners exemplify the evolving nature of South Florida’s artistic voice, and reflect the immense talent in our cultural sector,” said Victoria Rogers, Knight’s vice president for the Arts. “Across various disciplines and mediums, the ideas of each artist and art organization will reach new and existing audiences in innovative ways.  We’re excited to see how their unique visions evolve.”

To date, the Knight Arts Challenge has invested about $34 million on more than 400 projects ranging from  large-scale public art to new theatrical performances. The annual Challenge significantly contributes to the advancement of  South Florida’s arts and culture scene.

The full list of Knight Arts Challenge winners is below:

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About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation 

We are social investors who support democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once had newspapers. Learn more at kf.org and follow @knightfdn on social media.