The Poor Farm and The Open, two artist-run spaces have partnered with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Re-granting Program to jointly form the Open Fund. The Poor Farm in rural Waupaca County and The Open in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood will work together and provide grants and funding opportunities to support artists in Milwaukee County.
Acting quickly to provide much-needed support, the Open Fund's first granting cycle issued COVID-19 economic relief support to artists living in Milwaukee County in 2020. Sixty $1,000 grants had been issued as Open Fund Emergency Grants to artists experiencing financial hardship due to the health and economic issues. Applicants who qualified were selected through a lottery system.
The Open Fund's 2022 granting cycle recipients include:
Moody is a bi-monthly handmade zine publication featuring artist contributions by queer and/or BIPOC creatives: Melissa Mursch-Rodriguez.
_underscore is an artist-run space that emphasizes risk-taking in time-based, installation, performance, and visual art by Queer, BIPOC, and other underrepresented communities: Michael Lagerman and Grace Mitchell.
Microlights Cinema is an artist-run micro-cinema based in Milwaukee that specializes in programming experimental film and video art: Ben Balcom and Jesse McLean.
Yours Truly community art space and gallery: Taylor Bucki, Joe Clark, and Brittany Mahlberg.
In My Chest will host free sewing workshops and binder drives in Milwaukee County for trans masculine people: Molly Hassler.
OK Mmmm! (Open Kitchen, Milwaukee-masa-mole-mill) is an investigation of hyperlocal food possibilities aiming to challenge homogenous food norms and access in a city setting: Rudy Medina, Alyx Christensen, and Alan Medina.
The Grilled Cheese Grant (GCG) is an annual community fundraising event and emerging artist grant that provides financial support for undergraduate seniors at The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) and The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) who are working towards completing their senior exhibition projects in the areas of Fine Arts and/or Design: Alyssa Sue Anderson, Rachel Hausmann Schall, and Joe Acri.
Usable Space is a series of summer exhibits at a repurposed factory garage in Milwaukee’s Harbor District in the form of small group or two person shows, solo exhibitions, film screenings, and a variety of performances such as live music and stand up comedy: Keith Nelson.
Live AV is an invitational project prompting artists to make videos and another set of artists to produce soundtracks, the pairings are then performed live: Kim Miller and Peter Barrickman.
Kitchen Minute invites people to share their kitchen stories via brief videos created in the familiarity in their own kitchens with the artist team’s support: Paul Druecke, Eduardo Zavala, Melisa Limanowski, and Joshua Rutherford.
Full Moon Karaoke is a monthly karaoke night hosted on the night of the full moon every month featuring local karaoke performers and performance art as well as costumes and sets designed by artists: Sara Caron.
Studio Seiche will be a workshop in environment-driven methods of crafting cups and pitchers using local, hand-harvested wild clay and forms shaped by Lake Michigan’s shores culminating in a free exhibition and a zine: Sarah Eli Lu and Nora Leccese.