Local News

Willie Stewart Wants You To Submit your Best Idea for a Knight Arts Challenge Grant

SOUTH FLORIDA – “I am a winner of a Knight Arts Challenge grant. Accepting the Challenge was a chance for an every day person like me to access funding for an idea I had. The process was easy. I had an idea. I wrote it down. I pushed Send,” said Broward-based drummer, teacher and former percussionist for the reggae band Third World Willie Stewart, one of many artists in South Florida to receive a Knight Arts Challenge grant.

Winning a Knight Arts Challenge grant provided Willie the funds to produce his program, Rhythms of Africa, Music Around the World, a multi-dimensional 7 week workshop and live performance opportunity for teenagers with no previous musical training. Willie created the program to show how African-infused rhythms have influenced lives, linking past and present, while demonstrating how drums have gone beyond the Diaspora.

“Hundreds of classes later, the music these kids have made is just tremendous. Winning a Knight Arts Challenge is a dream come true. For myself, for the kids, for the community,” said Willie.

Over the past 5 years, the Knight Foundation has invested over 20 million dollars in this community-based contest, funding a wide variety projects using arts that bring communities together.

Because of the Knight Arts Challenge, South Florida is now home to: Sight and sound installations on the New World Symphony wall. South Florida Composers Alliance sound installations in public spaces. Dance lessons for special needs students. Sculpture Garden at the Bass Museum. Everglades Artist-in-Residence. Free concerts in our neighborhood parks. Cultural Passport for Miami Dade County Public Schools students. Weird Miami Bus tours. Mentorship for African-American playwrights. Living coral as an art form. And so many more!

Students performing at Willie Stewart’s Rhythm Of Africa concert
Students performing at Willie Stewart’s Rhythm Of Africa concert

“This contest is about innovative ideas, artistic excellence and inspiring our community. The best projects will help weave culture into the everyday fabric of this region. We want to hear from everyone with a great idea,” said Dennis Scholl, VP Arts/ for Knight Foundation, who leads the initiative.

Have an idea? Visit www.KnightArts.org through March 4. The two-question application is designed to be simple to attract applicants who aren’t traditional grant seekers.

Related Articles

Back to top button