Michigan Growth Office Awards Four $25,000 Grants to Winners of the Make/Shift Pitch Haus Competition

The Michigan Growth Office, in partnership with Creative Place Consulting and Studio M Detroit, announced the four winners of the Make/Shift Pitch Haus grant competition today. Each recipient will receive a $25,000 grant to host and activate Pitch Haus, a mobile multi-functional art activation built using a shipping container that will act as a blank canvas for recipients to amplify their work in their communities.

The four awardees and locations they will host the Haus are:

• "Return of Idlewild" hosted by CONTAINER in Idlewild, MI
• "Seat at the Table" hosted by Curiouser Clay in partnership with Chelsea Area Friends for Recreation in Chelsea, MI
• "The Reworked Studio" hosted by Second Vibess in Grand Rapids, MI
• "VoxBox" hosted by Traverse City Design Week in Traverse City, MI

The Pitch Haus competition received 118 total applications from creatives across the state. Applications were scored based on their project vision, community engagement and experience making their communities more creative, livable and engaging.

Available to culture makers based in Michigan including artists, businesses or nonprofit organizations, Pitch Haus highlights the importance of talent retention and community growth to Michigan's economic future. It serves as a catalyst for additional impact in support of critical creative industries as well as important population growth efforts statewide.

Descriptions of each project and quotes from organizers are included below.

" Return of Idlewild"

hosted by CONTAINER and The Love Building (Idlewild, MI)
Return of Idlewild is a multi-day cultural retreat designed to revive Idlewild's legacy as a historic center of Black creativity and leisure. The event brings together artists, musicians, chefs, wellness leaders and audiences for an immersive experience that includes curated meals, workshops, vendor showcases, outdoor recreation and a signature nighttime concert. Through a new partnership with CONTAINER-a Detroit-based mobile residency supporting mid-career creatives in food, fashion, art and music-Return of Idlewild expands its cultural footprint by featuring Detroit talent and strengthening the creative bridge between Detroit and Black Eden.

" This award allows us to deepen the creative bridge between Detroit and Idlewild-two historic hubs of Black art, culture and community," said Kwaku Osei-Bonsu, co-founder of CONTAINER. "With support from the Michigan Growth Office, we're able to build economic pathways for artists while restoring one of Michigan's most significant Black spaces. When we invest in creativity, we invest in the communities that will shape Michigan's future."

" A Seat at the Table"

hosted by Curiouser Clay in partnership with Chelsea Area Friends for Recreation (Chelsea, MI)

A Seat at the Table invites everyone in Chelsea and surrounding communities to participate and collaborate in four months of storytelling and art workshops that will create the basis for a series of art and story-focused celebrations at the end of June. Pitch Haus's two-week residency during that time will feature community tea parties, hands-on ceramic experiences and storytelling events, and will culminate in a Raku firing and art auction supporting inclusive, local arts programming.

" What a DREAM for Chelsea to host the Pitch Haus as both catalyst and connector," said Eli Zemper, founder of Curiouser Clay. "Providing support for this and other community projects reinforces the truth that creativity is not just decoration, but infrastructure: a foundation for belonging, vitality and long-term growth."

"The Reworked Studio"

hosted by Second Vibess (Grand Rapids, MI)

This project will transform Pitch Haus into a space focused on sustainable fashion, creativity and community by turning an industrial structure into something open and interactive. It will be a sustainable fashion gallery with daily events that bring people together in a way that feels natural and engaging.

"We care deeply about making sustainability and creativity something people can actually experience, and this opportunity lets us expand that work in a real and intentional way," said Kaitlynn Fitzpatrick and Camille Steverson, co-founders of Second Vibess. "It also creates space for our community to explore new ideas, connect with each other and engage with creativity in a way that feels meaningful and inspiring."

"VoxBox"

hosted by Traverse City Design Week and The Alluvion (Traverse City, MI)

VoxBox reimagines Pitch Haus as a cinematic, walk-in storytelling chamber and voting booth that elevates the voices and visions shaping Northern Michigan's creative future. As part of Traverse City Design Week, VoxBox becomes a place where anyone can step inside, be inspired by local design and cast a vote that helps define what "radical design" means for the region.

"Hosting Pitch Haus allows us to elevate radical, local, interdisciplinary designers--those reimagining sustainability, community and culture through design--and invite the public to engage with their work in an experiential way," said Jessica Kooiman Parker and Dana Lacuesta, co-founders of Traverse City Design Week. "Through this activation, Pitch Haus becomes a bridge between creators, collaborators and the broader community, amplifying not just individual projects, but the collective creative identity of Northern Michigan."

The Haus will travel between the four communities over the course of May through October 2026. Visit the Pitch Haus website to learn more and follow its journey across the state: www.makeshiftmichigan.com

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state's marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan's economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: FacebookInstagramLinkedIn, and Twitter.