ANNOUNCING THE 2025 IDEA FUND GRANTEES
THE IDEA FUND AWARDS $60,000 to 12 GREATER HOUSTON AREA
ARTISTS & COLLECTIVES
The Idea Fund, a re-granting program administered by DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses, and funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, is thrilled to announce the selection of 12 projects by Houston-based artists to receive grants of $5,000 each for The Idea Fund’s 2025 Round 18 grant cycle.
The Idea Fund Round 18 grant recipients are as follows: Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Chap Edmonson and Mark Francis, Dr. Lindsay Gary, LaKeisha Rochelle Randle, Lualo Studio (Rea Sampilo, Trisha Morales, Christian Toledo, and Jenah Maravilla,) Cat Martinez and Blya Krouba, IPOCA Collective (Intersex People of Color Artist Collective), Stacey Allen/Nia’s Daughter Movement Collective, Open MFA (Sol Diaz-Peña, Ryan Hollaway, Hillaree Hamblin, Lorena Mitchell, Cynthia Jamileth Giron, Andrea Garcia, and Amanda Powers), Taller Latino, Rising Tide Project, Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin.
Grantees will present their project proposals to the public at the 2025 Idea Fund Award Presentation on February 11, 2025, 7:00 PM, at Eldorado Ballroom, 2310 Elgin St, Houston, TX 77004.
Round 18 was juried by Kalaija Mallery, Executive and Artistic Director, The Luminary, Saint Louis, MO, Danny Orendorff, Senior Director of Programs, The Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX, and Monica Villarreal The Idea Fund Round 10 & 17 Grantee, artist, and co-founder of Xochipilli Collective.
“Serving on this year’s Idea Fund jury was a truly enriching experience—I gained valuable insight into Houston’s arts scene and was inspired by the many heartfelt and compelling community-driven projects. It was an honor to support artists who are making such meaningful impacts in their communities, and I look forward to seeing these projects take shape from afar. “ – Kalaija Mallery
“The selection process for this year’s Idea Fund grants was highly competitive because there are so many excellent and exciting artists working in or around Houston, many of whom are engaging with issues of place, ancestry, and identity through experimental, collaborative, and deeply local formats. ” – Danny Orendorff
“I’m incredibly grateful to the Idea Fund for not only recognizing me as a past awardee, but also giving me the opportunity to serve as a grant reviewer this year. It’s been such a fulfilling experience to support and uplift my community of artists in this way. Being invited to the table means I get to advocate for artists whose voices might sometimes be overlooked, and that is something I hold close to my heart. I was thrilled to see familiar faces among the applicants of artists that I truly admire. I’m so inspired by this year’s group of awardees. Their creativity and vision are truly a breath of fresh air! Congratulations to all of them! I can’t wait to see the amazing work that will be created with this funding.” – Monica Villarreal
THE IDEA FUND 2025 ROUND 18 GRANTEES AND PROJECTS:
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton – The Call Me Mother Film Suite
Mouton will create and develop the short film series, The Call Me Mother Film Suite, which seeks to highlight the Black maternal health crisis. The project will combine documentary-style film, digital storytelling, and spoken word poetry to advocate and educate audiences on the experiences of Black womxn who are navigating or approaching motherhood.
Edmonson and Francis – MEDITATE MEDITATE MEDITATE
MEDITATE MEDITATE MEDITATE is a multi-sensory exhibition inviting the Houston public to participate in a conversation that often goes unheard—a dialogue around the diverse forms of subconscious meditation within the Black community, whether through running, reading the Bible, being near water, or simply resting. With support from The Idea Fund grant, artists Chap Edmonson and Mark Francis will create a series of new works for the exhibition developed through collaborations with the community.
Dr. Lindsay Gary – Our Elders Are Our Libraries
Our Elders Are Our Libraries is an oral history and publication project based on the African proverb, “Every time an elder dies, a library is burnt,” by Dr. Lindsay Gary. With support from The Idea Fund, Gary will conduct oral history interviews with local African American elders who’ve greatly contributed to the fabric of Black Houston. The research will culminate in a book publication, a documentary short film, and a public presentation that will demonstrate the essential role elders play in our communities. By documenting and sharing their knowledge and wisdom, the project will help close the growing intergenerational knowledge gap that exists in the Black community due to the impact of colonialism.
LaKeisha Rochelle Randle – The I AM__: The Pride of Sunnyside Young Artist Collective
The I AM__: The Pride of Sunnyside YAC is an arts-focused initiative aimed at engaging youth with older generations in the Sunnyside community. Randle will host workshops at her family-owned restaurant, The Shack Houston, which will create opportunities for students to research and partner with elders in the community to realize a series of artistic creations including an oral history preservation project, mural installations, multidisciplinary performances to be shared with and uplift the community. The I AM__: The Pride of Sunnyside YAC celebrates Sunnyside’s history, fosters unity, and offers an artistic space for expression, pride, and healing. This project aims to remind each community member and the city of Houston of the PRIDE that still resides in SUNNYSIDE.
Lualo Studio – Finding Seedkin
Finding Seedkin is a project by Lualo Studio (co-founded by Rea Sampilo, Trisha Morales, Christian Toledo, & Jenah Maravilla). who will host a beginner-friendly art-making workshop series inviting local artists, farmers, and community members to reflect on their relationships to the land and share knowledge and foodways in order to deepen connections across ethnic and cultural lines.
Blya Krouba and Cat Martinez – Roots in Frame
Roots in Frame is an immersive exhibition conceived by Blya Krouba and Cat Martinez that explores the West African origins of shotgun houses and their evolution in the American South. Krouba and Martinez will collaborate on a new life-sized sculpture that will examine narratives of voluntary and forced migration to showcase how these histories shape community and identity through architecture.
IPOCA Collective (Intersex People of Color Artists Collective) – Rusty X
IPOCA will develop Rusty X, a 10-minute multimedia stage play telling the true life story of intersex activist and local Houston musician and poet Mo Cortez. Told through a series of 4 vignettes using performance, live music, video, and sound effects, the play centers on important and pivotal life moments with different family members dealing with themes of mental health, incarceration, Child Protective Services, non-consensual genital surgeries on intersex children, and family secrets.
Stacey Allen/Nia’s Daughter Movement Collective – D is for Dance
D is for Dance is an interactive one-woman show based on the children’s book D is for Dance: Dancing through the Diaspora written by Stacey Allen and illustrated by Brynne Henry. Through dance, storytelling, and visual art, this performance will bring the vibrant world of dance and culture to schools and community spaces while promoting culturally relevant curriculum, literacy, and advocacy.
Open MFA (Sol Diaz-Peña, Ryan Hollaway, Hillaree Hamblin, Lorena Mitchell, Cynthia Jamileth Giron, Andrea Garcia, and Amanda Powers) – Absurd Classroom Symposium
Open MFA will host the Absurd Classroom Symposium, a multi-day, cross-institutional educational event that offers participants the chance to earn an Alternative Certificate in Studio Art through a hands-on, communal learning experience.
Taller Latino
Located in Houston’s historic Second Ward, Taller Latino is an art experimentation space for Latinx artists seeking to refine or consolidate an aspect of their practice alongside peers in a workshop context. A cohort of artists will engage in a series of critiques, skill-sharing workshops, and peer-to-peer learning that promotes artistic professionalization for Latinx creatives at this crucial juncture for their access to the art world at large.
Rising Tide Project
Rising Tide Project is seeking to rebuild and develop the Atelier and Gift Shop, a community-centric hybrid print shop and studio/art space with a retail element. Grant funding will help complete their build-out, purchase needed equipment, and fund workshops and a series of projects and exhibitions scheduled for 2025.
Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin – Game Plan: Town Meeting 1978-2028
Game Plan: Town Meeting 1978-2028 will be a self-published artist/poet document of a two-day symposium scheduled at Art League Houston in June that explores the legacy of Town Meeting 1, a seminal 1978 convening of 4,000 queer Houstonians at the Astro Arena which birthed myriad pivotal queer organizations. Vaughan and Margolin seek to develop a self-published chatbook composed of work from commissioned poets/reporters, queer Houston artists, archival documents, and output from symposium participants. The Game Plan will serve as a handbook, road map, and manifesto for Houston’s queer artist/activist community for the next three years of organizing and imagination culminating in the Town Meeting’s 2028 50th anniversary.
ABOUT ROUND 18 JURORS:
Kalaija Mallery is an artist, leader, and the Executive and Artistic Director of The Luminary, a mid-sized non-profit art center in St. Louis, MO. She stewards The Luminary’s artistic programs and projects, including exhibitions, performances, publications, an international residency program, and a regranting initiative for artists. Before her time at The Luminary, Kalaija began her career as a visual artist and independent organizer of DIY artist projects and artist-led gallery spaces. In 2017, she founded Third Room Project in Portland, OR, centered on the idea of creating a third place: a space between work and home where regulars gather, new connections and economies are formed, and the oppressed may plot their liberation. She continues to explore the space “in-between” culture, people, and ideology as a site of potential where we already operate. From an artist-centered approach, Kalaija has devoted her career to supporting artistic vision– spending the last ten years curating, co-producing, writing, documenting, and platforming innovative + experimental art forms from emerging – midcareer artists.
Danny Orendorff, is Senior Director of Programs & Engagement for The Contemporary Austin in Austin, TX, where he oversees the Public Programming, Education, Art School, and Visitor Engagement departments. Formerly, Orendorff was Executive Director of the non-profit, collectively run artist space Vox Populi in Philadelphia, PA, and Curator of Public Programs for The Museum of Arts and Design in New York, NY. Orendorff also previously held positions with Threewalls in Chicago, IL, and The Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, MO, where, amongst other duties, he assisted with the administration of their respective Warhol re-granting initiatives (Propeller Fund and Rocket Grants). As an independent curator and writer, Orendorff’s research and exhibitions have often grappled with the intersecting histories and practices of grassroots social justice activism, queerness, collectivity, and DIY/craft-oriented cultural production. His curatorial projects have been presented by The Free Library (Philadelphia, PA), The Sullivan Galleries at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL), The DePaul Art Museum (Chicago, IL), The Center for Craft (Asheville, NC) and others. His work and projects are documented at: DanDannyDaniel.com.
Monica Villarreal, an interdisciplinary artist and grassroots organizer, delves into themes of ethnic identity, gender roles, migration, land sovereignty, and environmental justice through her art. She’s been honored with grants from BIPOC Arts Network and Fund, Houston Endowment, Houston Arts Alliance, and The Idea Fund. Monica’s work has been exhibited at institutions like DiverseWorks, Project Row Houses, Art League Houston, MATCH, and Santa Fe Arts Institute. She wears various hats, as founder of Creative Women Unite, a local feminist arts collaborative, and leads Danza Azteca Taxcayolot, preserving Mexican indigenous traditions. Monica recently acquired land and co-founded Xochipilli Collective, providing space for Indigenous peoples to engage in arts, sustainability, and cultural exchange towards achieving land sovereignty. She holds an M.A. in Digital Media.
ABOUT THE IDEA FUND:
The Idea Fund is a re-granting program administered by DiverseWorks in partnership with Aurora Picture Show and Project Row Houses and funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Since 2009, The Idea Fund has provided grants for artist-generated or artist-centered projects that exemplify unconventional, interventionist, conceptual, entrepreneurial, participatory, or guerrilla artistic practices.
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program, launched in 2007, aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar and self-organized artistic activity by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities across the country. The program reaches a sizable population of informal, non-incorporated artist collectives, and supports their alternative gathering spaces, publications, websites, events, and other projects. Together, this network of programs has funded more than 800 artist projects.
The Idea Fund is one of thirty-five Warhol re-granting programs across the nation supporting artists whose work falls outside the scope of traditional presenting organizations and/or funding opportunities. Regional Regranting Program can be found in Alabama, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lakota Communities/ Western South Dakota, Los Angeles, Medford, MA, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Mobile, Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, Oklahoma, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix & Tucson, Portland (OR), Portland (ME), Providence, Raleigh & Greensboro, Saint Louis, San Francisco, San Juan, PR, Seattle, and Washington D.C.