Artist Innovation Fellowship

The Cultural Council created the Artist Innovation Fellowship for artists across all disciplines in order to honor and support the creative individuals who form the core of Palm Beach County’s cultural sector.

The Artist Innovation Fellowship is unique among professional development opportunities as it focuses on personal creative growth and the belief that an entire community will benefit through investments in creative individuals. The program is designed to address the pursuit of innovation in either existing avenues of creative expression or through the pursuit of new ideas and projects without the constraints of budgets or specific project outcomes.

2024 Artist Innovation Fellows

Funded by the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation

Suzanne Ankrum

Theater Artist
Jupiter

Suzanne is a South Florida theater artist who works as an actor, director, and devised-theater practitioner. She has performed in productions at several South Florida Theatre companies since making the region her home in 2019 – including Palm Beach Dramaworks (A Streetcar Named Desire and several readings), Island City Stage (Rotterdam and the upcoming June 2024 production of Skintight), and the Maltz Jupiter Theatre (Murder on the Orient Express). She is passionate about sharing her love of the craft of acting and physical storytelling – leading courses and workshops at Lynn University, Hartford University, Momentum Stage, SUNY Albany, Housatonic Community College, Middletown Circus, Hartbeat Ensemble and more.

Suzanne plans to use this grant to convene some of these artists to collaborate on an original piece of physical theatre. They will create a performance that weaves visual art, music, spoken word, dance and film into the fabric of the piece. Devised work requires time and space to foster the collaborative process—and the fellowship would afford them both! The ensemble would meet over the course of several workshop sessions and finalize the work with a more extensive artist retreat and performance. This fellowship allows her to hire these talented artists, fund materials needed to create visual/scenic components of the work, and help cover film editing costs.

Molly Aubry

Visual Artist
West Palm Beach

Molly Aubry, born in Denver, Colorado, lives and works in South Florida. She received her BFA from the University of Florida and her MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her work explores entangled perceptual worlds through the matrix of print media. Mining the tension between organic materials and digital processes, the work imagines artifacts from a world in which the natural and artificial are inextricably linked. Selected exhibitions include Molly Aubry: Dark Luminosity at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, Strange Paradise: A Window into Surrealism at the Annmarie Sculpture Gardens and Art Center in Solomons, MD, and Intimacy at Science Gallery of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Molly plans to use this grant to create a fully immersive space that acts as a “period room” from an imagined future that references nature, meditation, and dreaming. Exploring the boundary between art and design, she will create wallpapers, textiles, sculptural lamps, and hand-painted artwork. Viewers will be able to fully enter the space, touch the textiles, and be surrounded by glowing lights that emanate from behind transparent patterns. This “period room” will also serve as a prototype from which she will create a new line of design objects such as geometric lamps, wallpapers, and textiles.

Victoria Cardona

Musician
West Palm Beach

South Florida native Victoria Cardona is a multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and composer that has been performing extensively throughout Florida and internationally through Spain and The Canary Islands for over a decade. Her one-woman-band and live-looping performances are a sonic and visual experience that take the audience on a ride through the mind of a spontaneous improviser. Victoria’s Cuban American roots and passion for multicultural and ethnic world music genres are the inspiration behind her creations.

Victoria plans to use this grant to fund the completion and release of her debut album. Funds will go towards the purchase of more studio time and hiring musicians to play on the unfinished songs. The funds will also greatly assist in the cost of mixing and mastering the final product and the consultation fees of a music marketing manager, helping her to give the album its best chance of getting out into the world and not just sitting unnoticed on streaming platforms.

Eli Cecil

Glass Artist
Boynton Beach

Eli Cecil is a South Florida Glass Artist currently working and residing in Palm Beach County. Much of Cecil’s work orbits the dialogue of a conscious and sustainable future. His sculpture reflects on the balancing act between humanity and nature. Many of the themes are a narrative about growth, causality and the legacy left from one generation to the next. In 2021, Eli created his first public art installation, titled Take Flight, for the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter, Florida. He is currently the Creative Director at the Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts in Lake Worth Beach, Florida as well as an alumnus of Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2023.

Eli will use this grant to fund travels through Europe, specifically to Berlin, Germany to participate in the international Glass Art Society Conference as well as travel to parts of Italy to work and study with the last generation of European Glass Masters before their knowledge is lost to time. The exclusive invitation to study with these masters in Europe is a life-changing opportunity that will echo throughout the rest of his career. Inheriting these glass skills and classic techniques can only be done by visiting these nations and apprenticing with these living masters.

Noah Garbarino

Musician
Delray Beach

Noah Garbarino is a music performance artist and educator mainly focused in Japanese taiko drumming and traditional music. He is a member of the ensemble Fushu Daiko, which performs all across South Florida area and nationally for various cultural festivals and programs. In addition to drumming he is currently studying koto, the thirteen-string Japanese zither, under the traditional Yamada school.

Noah plans to use this grant to both continue learning the performance aspect of taiko as well as the traditional methods for drum construction and maintenance. This program would allow him to learn and work under musicians and craftspeople in Japan, who, in a lot of cases, have been dedicating themselves to the study of taiko for seven or more generations. Covering the costs of travel, workshops, and residency programs gives him the invaluable opportunity to be fully immersed in knowledge and skills to further his understanding of the art form.

Tracy Guiteau

Visual Artist
Greenacres

Tracy Guiteau is a celebrated artist whose work transcends boundaries and captivates audiences worldwide. Her distinctive style, characterized by rich colors and emotive storytelling, has garnered attention on the international stage, including exhibitions at prestigious events like Miami Art Basel. What truly sets Tracy apart, however, is the profound influence of her Haitian heritage and independent spirit on her art. Her work is a testament to her ability to blend tradition with innovation, infusing each piece with a timeless perspective and vibrant energy. Through her art, she continues to inspire others to embrace their true selves and find beauty in the world around them.

Tracy plans to use this grant to deepen the narrative impact of her art series focused on hope and mental health awareness. To enhance the viewer’s experience and emphasize diverse artistic expression, she intends to expand the series with 7 paintings, each complemented by a ceramic sculpture and a fashion piece. She aims to create a cohesive and immersive experience, engaging audiences on various sensory levels. Through this multidimensional approach, she aspires not only to convey powerful messages of hope and mental health awareness but also to inspire fellow artists to embrace diverse mediums and deliver meaningful messages to a broader audience.

Jeanne Jaffe

Visual Artist
Boynton Beach

Jeanne Jaffe is a multi-disciplinary artist working in installation, sculpture, drawings, and stop motion animation. Her work is influenced by an interest in language, literature, psychology, and history and explores how we construct identity, our world and our value systems. Jeanne is Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and has been a visiting artist for five years at Xian Academy of Fine Arts in Xian, China.

Jeanne plans to use this grant to fuse three of her lifelong interests and passions—art, cultural explorations, and history—into a creative artistic project. Much of her recent work involves storytelling and the re-examination of folktales and literature through a contemporary lens. This fund would support expanding the content of her work from literary stories to producing a body of work based on historical narratives. It would also enable her to research and create work about the land and history of Florida. She would like to film and incorporate video segments—a new medium for her—of the Florida landscape and the Everglades into her stop-motion animation.

Janis McDavid

Musician
Palm Beach Gardens

Janis McDavid, also known as Ms. Janis or Jahnice, is a multi-talented individual who has made significant strides in both the fields of education and music. As Ms. Janis, she performs as a children’s music entertainer, spreading joy and positivity through her lively performances. As Jahnice, she performs adult contemporary music that is based in soul and reggae vibes, captivating audiences with her powerful vocals and meaningful lyrics.

Janis plans to use this grant to develop new songs for children that focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. Collaboration will be a key component of her plan. She plans to work closely with other musicians to combine their talents and perspectives in creating these songs. Additionally, she intends to enter the recording studio to produce 6 to 8 tracks that can potentially be used in a live theatrical wellness show that will provide an engaging and interactive experience for children and their families.

Jose R. Mendez

Visual Artist
Lake Worth Beach

Jose R. Mendez is a self-taught artist, educator, gallery coordinator, curator, and co-founder of Day of the Dead Lake Worth Beach & Taco Fiesta. Jose works with nonprofits, government agencies, and private organizations to coordinate, collaborate, and promote art, cultural events, and activities. The leading cultural institutions Jose works with are the Norton Museum of Art, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, Children’s Service Council of Palm Beach County, Arts 4 All Florida, Kravis Center, City of Lake Worth Beach and LULA Lake Worth Arts, among others. He works various roles with these organizations, primarily as a facilitator, adviser, and teaching artist to children and adults.

Jose plans to use this grant to continue to research the indigenous arts. He will travel to reservations and indigenous sites to help expand the programs he is involved in. He would also like to create a giant Guatemalan Kite here in Palm Beach County. He plans to expand on his creations with funding—he started focusing on Day of the Dead 8 years ago and it has grown with dedication and money out of his pocket. With funding, this will allow him to dig deeper and expand on larger, more detailed artwork for that program.

Gillian Kennedy Wright

Visual Artist
Lake Park

Multi-disciplinary artist Gillian Kennedy Wright creates fabric collages, raw edge mixed media quilts, and functional art. Influenced by her Jamaican born, Canadian, and American heritage at her Southeast Florida home; her professional graphic design and textile training, melds multi-cultural portraiture, Adinka symbolism, native plants, and environmental themes. Gillian’s socially uplifting creative energy is fueled by Wilma Rudolph’s words to” never underestimate the power of dreams”, and Georgia O’Keeffe’s bold colors and shapes.

Gillian plans to use this grant to fund visits to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC and the Institute of Jamaica in Kingston, Jamaica. While in both locations, she plans to explore and record via sketches and photos of how Adinkra symbols were used in the old days and are being used in modern-day life. She intends to create a series of three-dimensional quilted fiber vessels using abstract images from the environment, portraits, and Adinkra symbols. The theme of these vessels would be Jamaica’s motto “Out of Many, One People”.