This weekend, several of our favorite small Black businesses, artists, organizations and cultural arts programs have reason to celebrate: Instagram has just announced the grant recipients of its 2022 #BlackVisionaries program.
This year’s honorees are a mix of designers, artists, and small business owners who were selected by a committee led by writer, curator and all around art icon Antwaun Sargent. The other grant committee members included Elle Decor Editor in Chief, Asad Syrkett, Metaverse’s Head of Design Ian Spalter, and Academy Award winning costume designer Ruth Carter.
The #BlackVisionaries grant, an initiative aimed at showcasing, uplifting, and investing in Black creative talent, opened up its call for submissions in late June of this year. Applicants had just over one month to submit. The grantees will receive a total of $650,000: five including Black Fashion Fair, Dark Matter University, Pacific, Strada, and The Black School will receive a $100,000 Business Visionary Grant; the other five, which includes Albert Hicks, Anaïs Duplan, Christopher Joshua Benson, Cornelius Tulloch, and Jaline McPherson will receive a $30,000 in an Emerging Visionary Grant.
In addition to their grant winnings, each recipient will receive mentorship from The Brooklyn Museum and Instagram. The two companies work in partnership with Mobile Makers, a nonprofit organization that provides design and skill building workshops to youths in both Chicago and Boston.
“Community builds community, and that’s the intentionality behind what we’re trying to establish here,” Sargent said in a press release. “It is the financial support, mentorship, connections and the emphasis on storytelling that, combined, are meant to provide a framework for the boundless development of these recipients.”