WSU faculty, alumni among 2025 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda awardees

Wayne State University's presence is felt among this year's Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients in Visual Arts.

Warriors among the first cohort to receive the $50,000 awards as visual arts fellows are James Pearson Duffy Department of Art, Art History, and Design assistant professor Allana Clarke and alumna Elise Marie Martin '21. Department alumna Amara Murphy '24 earned a Gilda Award in visual art.

Department of Communication and Journalism Insititute of Media Diversity graduate Louis Aguilar was named as a literary arts fellow. In addition, from around the university, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumna Laura Kraftowitz earned a Gilda Award in literary arts, while College of Education alumna Brittany Rogers was named a Kresge literary arts fellow.

The 17th cohort of award recipients consists of five Kresge Artist Fellows in literary arts and 10 Kresge Artist Fellows in visual arts, in addition to three Gilda Awards in literary arts and seven in visual arts. A celebration for the awardees is held in July.

Clarke, an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, sculpture, and photography, has built her practice upon a foundation of uncertainty, curiosity, a will to heal, and an insistence upon freedom.

Fluidly moving through video, performance, photography, and text, Clarke's research-based practice incorporates socio-political and art historical texts, to contend with ideas of Blackness, the binding nature of bodily signification, and of the possibility to create non-totalizing identifying structures.

Martin, who received her MFA in fibers from Wayne State University, is a visual artist and educator with a BFA from the College for Creative Studies. Her work explores empathy, comfort, and care through fiber arts, sculpture, and installation.

She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including residencies such as Atelier Frankfurt and WOMXN HOUSE DETROIT. Martin has taught at Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies, and in local community programs, emphasizing accessible art education and engagement.

With an increase of $10,000 per fellow from previous years, the Kresge Artist Fellowships are now $50,000 no strings attached awards for emerging and established artists at any stage of their careers.

Fellowships recognize creative vision and commitment to excellence within a wide range of artistic disciplines - including artists who have been academically trained, self-taught artists, and artists whose art forms have been passed down through cultural heritage.

In addition to the monetary prize, Kresge Arts in Detroit connects fellows and Gilda Award recipients to legal and accounting support, event and exhibition opportunities, and more. Fellows also are invited to participate in a film series highlighting Detroit artists.

Gilda Awards - named in honor of Gilda Snowden 's legacy as a mentor and champion of emerging artists in Metro Detroit - recognize artists who are early in their artistic career, gaining momentum, and demonstrate exceptional potential through creative risk-taking and pushing the boundaries of their chosen art form.

Born in Wuerzburg, Germany, Murphy received her bachelor of fine arts with a concentration in photography from Wayne State. She specializes in portrait work that centers memory, community, and inspiration from nature, and creates pieces that showcase its transient state.

Her medium consists of digital, analog, and alternative processes. Murphy has shown her work in various exhibitions, including "The Light in Everything" at Oloman Cafe & Gallery.

Produced by Kresge Arts in Detroit, offerings are created and delivered in collaboration with artists and arts and culture organizations representing local and national perspectives.

Aguilar, an award-winning reporter and author, briefly ran Cruzando Fronteras film fest in Washington, D.C., and curated Latino programming at the Smithsonian Institution.

He also is a former staff writer at the Washington Post, Denver Post, Hispanic Link in Washington, Westword (Denver's alternative weekly) and Colorado Springs (Colo.) Gazette.

From 2004 to 2020, he helped chronicle the epic rise/fall/rise of his native Detroit for The Detroit News as a business and investigative reporter.

"We consistently receive feedback from artists about the transformative impact of these awards - they open doors, create connections, afford time for rest, and offer capacity for artistic growth and exploration. Unrestricted grants underscore the core principle that artists deserve to be respected and valued," said Kresge Arts in Detroit Director Katie McGowan. "We look forward to seeing how this increased monetary investment in individual artists strengthens the arts and culture landscape in Detroit and beyond."

Shawn Wright, communications officer, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts.