Introducing Our 2021 Creative Future of Texas Fund Recipients
Today, we are proud to introduce you to this season’s Creative Future of Texas Fund micro-grant recipients.
Based in different cities around Texas, each recipient has received a $1000 micro-grant and a year of educational support from FFTX, so they can continue to nurture creativity and community-building in their own work as women and LGBTQ+ founders.
Get to know all seven recipients below:
1. TORCH LITERARY ARTS BY AMANDA JOHNSTON, POET AND WRITER
About Torch Literary Arts:
Torch Literary Arts is a nonprofit organization established to support and promote creative writing by Black women. They publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. TORCH has featured work by Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series that features Black women authors and allies, workshops, and retreats. Learn more online at www.TorchLiteraryArts.org.
About Amanda Johnston:
Amanda Johnston (she/her) was born in Illinois, grew up in Austin, but found her passion for poetry in Kentucky. With a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine, Amanda has authored two chapbooks (GUAP and Lock & Key) and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter.
Named one of Blavity’s "13 Black Poets You Should Know," Amanda’s work has been featured on Bill Moyers, the Poetry Society of America’s series In Their Own Words, and the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series. She was commissioned to curate a collection of poems for the Poetry Coalition on the theme Where My Dreaming and My Loving Live: Poetry & the Body.
Amanda also has facilitated creative writing workshops at numerous universities and literary venues across the country. Furthermore, she holds honors like the Christina Sergeyevna Award from the Austin International Poetry Festival; a joint finalist for the Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism from Split This Rock; and multiple Artist Enrichment grants from Kentucky Foundation for Women.
Outside of writing, Amanda is a member of the Affrilachian Poets and has received fellowships from Cave Canem Foundation and the Austin Project at the University of Texas. She’s a Stonecoast MFA faculty member, a co-founder of Black Poets Speak Out, and founder/executive director of Torch Literary Arts. Her writing and announcements can be found online at AmandaJohnston.com.
2. VERY GOOD DANCE THEATRE BY COLBY CALHOUN, CHOREOGRAPHER AND PERFORMANCE ARTIST
About Very Good Dance Theater:
Very Good Dance Theater is a queer-led, BIPOC-centered, collective of professional performance artists. They work collaboratively to create work somewhere between the scope of dance and theatre. They seek to explore, experiment with, and expand what performance art can be and do while questioning what gives it value and why. Their work seeks to reflect the gray areas and/or the intersectionality of the human experience, and they magnify this by working in and out of multiple disciplines of performance.
Additionally, VGDT sees art as a catalyst for change, and works at the intersection of art and activism. Their work features artists from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, artists of varying races, artists of varying sexual orientations, and artists of varying genders to highlight injustice and inequity in a way that is honest and genuine. They make work that shows the world as it is, as uncomfortable as that may be, while imagining the world as it could be in the hopes that these dreams one day become our realities.
About Colby Calhoun:
Colby Calhoun (they/them) is a performance artist, choreographer, and teaching artist based in Dallas, TX. They hold a BA in Dance Studies with related studies in Theatre Production from Texas Woman’s University, where they focused on performance and choreography and, upon graduating, received the Darell Cleaveland Excellence in Choreography Award. Colby has been grateful to perform across the disciplines of music, theatre, and dance professionally all across the state of Texas.
Colby creates work with collaborative artist collective: Very Good Dance Theatre. VGDT was formed by Calhoun in the summer of 2018 in a desire to work collaboratively with creators that were often sidelined in theatre, dance, media in general, and society at large. Very Good Dance Theatre had its mainstage debut at the Festival of Independent Theatres in Dallas, TX with “The 1st Annual Gay Show" (F.A.G.S.). This show was a hit success at the Festival of Independent Theatres being awarded Best Physical Theatre of 2019 by TheaterJones. VGDT continues to make work as an independent theatre group through festivals, residencies, and other opportunities like this.
As a nonbinary biracial beauty, Colby’s work experiments with understanding the complicated intersections of identity and playing with, and exploring, the social “norms” that impose Oppression instead of Expression. Colby continues to collaborate with often marginalized artists to give a platform to important stories and perspectives, and to continue to build relationships across diverse communities.
3. EMBRACE AUSTIN BY MAGGIE DI SANZA, ORGANIZER and STUDENT
About Embrace Austin:
Embrace Austin is projects where the queer and trans Austin community gather to celebrate, share knowledge, and encourage folks to take action in supporting queer and trans people of Central Texas. Each month, starting in October, Embrace Austin will partner with another grassroots, community organization specifically geared towards serving historically marginalized queer and trans folks in Austin, in putting together a one to two-hour virtual performance of local activists, artists, writers, poets, and changemakers to share their work, experiences, and calls to action.
About Maggie Di Sanza:
Maggie Di Sanza (she/her) is a femme, queer organizer, and student at the University of Texas at Austin. They're originally from Madison, Wisconsin, where they worked with organizations like Bleed Shamelessly, the Sexual & Reproductive Health Alliance of Dane County, the Rape Crisis Center, and the Youth Climate Action Team. They recently moved to Austin, Texas to pursue a degree in English, Gender & LGBTQ+ Studies, and Human Rights & Social Justice at the University of Texas at Austin. Maggie is thrilled to be working with Embrace Austin as the Development Coordinator. Their role on the Embrace Austin team is to establish budgets for events, manage fundraising efforts, assist in writing grant proposals, research prospective donors, and initiate sponsorships to continue to strive towards Embrace Austin’s mission of fostering connections between LGBTQIA2+ Texans to make an accessible queer community.
4. SAGE STUDIO BY KATIE STAHL & LUCY GROSS, ARTISTS AND ACTIVISTS
About sage studio:
SAGE Studio is a non-profit studio and gallery space in east Austin that provides artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities the materials, space, and support to produce, exhibit, and sell their artwork. SAGE (Supporting Artistic Growth and Entrepreneurship) Studio serves artists with disabilities through two programs: their Studio Program and Exhibition Program.
Through the Studio Program, artists create work in the SAGE studio space at east Austin's Canopy arts community with the guidance of practicing artist facilitators. The goal for participating artists is to explore new mediums, strengthen their artistic voice, and build a cohesive portfolio of work for exhibition. Through their Exhibition Program, SAGE puts on bimonthly art exhibitions in their gallery to showcase the work of our studio artists, alongside the work of exhibiting artists who create their work outside our studio. Though they started as a space for exclusively Texas-based artists, they now represent gallery artists from across the country. The goal of the Exhibition Program is to provide opportunities for their artists to earn a wage and to seriously pursue a career in the arts, and to carve out a place in the contemporary art conversation and wider artistic marketplace for these talented voices.
It is SAGE Studio's mission to amplify the voices of artists with disabilities, enabling them to become meaningful contributors to the social, economic, and creative life of the community. SAGE Studio has been featured in Austin Monthly and ForbesWomen, recognized by the Austin Chronicle as Austin's "Best Outsider Art Advocate," and facilitated artist collaborations with the Biden presidential campaign, Vans, and Whataburger.
about the founders:
Katie Stahl (she/her) is a practicing artist with over ten years of experience working with adults with disabilities in an art setting. She earned a BA in psychology from Dartmouth College and an MA in art education from The University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her master's thesis on Creativity Explored, one of the oldest progressive art studios in the country. In her own art practice, Katie paints under the name Houndoggle Art.
Lucy Gross (she/her) is a practicing social worker with over eleven years of experience working with adults with disabilities. In addition to her work at SAGE, she currently works at AISD’s Go Project, a transitional program for special education students ages 18–22, and The University of Texas in their inclusion program for adults with disabilities. She earned her undergraduate degree at Emerson College and her master's of social work at Texas State University.
Lucy and Katie met as art instructors at The Arc of the Arts, an art-based day habilitation center for adults with disabilities. Together, they founded SAGE Studio in 2016. They have represented SAGE as speakers at SXSW EDU in 2019 and co-curated exhibitions at the Outsider Art Fair in New York City in 2019 and 2020. They are passionate about integrating artists with disabilities into the contemporary art scene in Austin.
5. CULTURE IN MIND BY SAMANTHA BENN, HEALER
ABOUT CULTURE IN MIND:
Culture in Mind is a psychotherapy practice in Austin, TX providing therapeutic services that draw on culture for self-healing and self-discovery. Culture in Mind honors the intersectionality of each individual's experience and specializes in helping marginalized communities, queer, trans, black, indigenous, and people of color heal from white supremacy and redefine what healing/wellness looks like for them. Culture in Mind provides evidence-based practice, ancestral healing, and holistic mental health treatment that is specific to each individual's needs and experiences. Learn more at cultureinmind.com.
ABOUT SAMANTHA BENN:
Samantha Benn is an Indigenous psychotherapist in Austin, Texas that specializes in helping BIPOC individuals heal from trauma and step into their power so that they can grow into their highest selves. She is a Hood Feminist informed by Mikki Kendall's book "Hood Feminism" that spells out how mainstream feminism has left women of color behind by not first ensuring that all women have their basic needs met: safety, access to nutritious foods, quality medical care, education etc. Samantha co-facilitates monthly discussions about health disparities negatively impacting people of color in mental health care and how to create change. She also co-founded Latinx/e Libertad, a free mentorship space for Latinx/e individuals to receive support. Her work was inspired by the challenges of because it's often very challenging to finding a Latinx/e mentor and the few that are around are often overworked.
Samantha graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2014 with her Master's in Social Work and has since provided therapeutic services to the most vulnerable people in Austin--those experiencing homelessness and trimorbid health concerns. She founded her private practice, Culture in Mind, this year with the intention of delivering psychotherapy in a culturally-affirming way that draws on culture for self-healing and self-discovery. Social justice, racial equity, and destigmatization of mental illness are a few of Samantha's priorities in life. Samantha values creating space and deepening connection with others--animals and humans alike.
6. ALL THE SUDDEN BY EMILY E. LEE, ARTIST
ABOUT ALL THE SUDDEN:
All the Sudden is a DIY experimental project space in Austin, Texas, founded at the height of the pandemic. A sculpture studio by day and an exhibition space and venue by night, ATS aims to benefit the art community through a wide array of informal public programming. Opportunities will include a short-term artist residency, an exhibition platform, live music events, a year-long book club, an interdisciplinary critique club, a workshop series, and a garden. Thus far, ATS has hosted four music events and one art event. With support from Future Front, we’ll have the opportunity to organize many more.
ABOUT EMILY E. LEE
Emily E. Lee is an artist and arts organizer based in Austin, Texas. She experiments with the social possibilities of form through a variety of creative iterations including site-specific sculptural installations, outdoor and ephemeral curatorial projects, writings, performances, and community work. Through her work, she wonders what gives form to experience. Lee is currently an artist-in-residence at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park’s Sculpture School in Dallas. She is the co-founder of All the Sudden.
Emily E. Lee studied at the Marchutz School of Fine Arts and received a BA with Honors in Art History, BFA in Studio art, and a BDP Certificate in Museum Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Lee also attended Penland School of Craft and Ox-Bow School of Art.
7. MAMA MANGOS BY TAYLOR HUNTLEY, HERBALIST
ABOUT MAMA MANGOS CARE:
Founded in 2020 by a community herbalist and birthworker, Mama Mangos Care curated herbal goods for the body and soul. Their product experiences assist you with creating rituals surrounding spiritual wellness, self preservation, and ancestral reverence. Mama Mangos Care takes pride in sourcing natural ingredients, participating in minimal waste business practices and contributing a portion of our sales to our Black Herbalist Fund. Their intention is to provide a physical tool to aid in connecting to your highest self. Their product offerings include body care, tinctures, herbal syrups, magical oils and whatever else they are led to conjure up!
ABOUT TAYLOR HUNTLEY:
Taylor Huntley is a multi-hyphenate creative with a passion for community care. Born and raised in Fort Worth, TX, Taylor is a Black millennial mother, spiritualist, creative space facilitator, birthworker, and an herbalist. Her passions include uplifting community wellness, deep conversations about plant medicine and the universe, and strolls through the local crystal shops. Her lifework centers on supporting families of color, holistically and intentionally. In her past life, Taylor spent years as a luxury hospitality professional so customer service and creating experiences has always been a passion.
Taylor is the creative founder of Mama Mangos Care, a line of hand-crafted herbal goods for the body and soul. Their products support the creation of sustainable spiritual self care practices. Their handcrafted goods are affordable, accessible, and rooted in culture. Their products are handmade, crystal infused and spirit led with ingredients that are natural, organic and intentionally sourced. Finally, their values are rooted in authenticity, community and self preservation
Behind The Creative Future of Texas Fund.
Every year, Future Front awards micro-grants to women and LGBTQ+ creatives, small business owners, leaders and entrepreneurs in central Texas. Since 2016, we’ve raised and distributed over $30,000 to celebrate and invest in important work. Our applications will reopen next summer.