Cannonball plans to announce the winners of the 2015 WaveMaker Grants at a free, public award celebration on Friday, February 13, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Cannonball in downtown Miami.

For its inaugural year, WaveMaker Grants, a re-granting program launched by Cannonball in fall 2014 after receiving a major grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, will distribute approximately $100,000 in individual grants of up $10,000 each. Grant monies will directly support independent, non-commercial projects by artists, curators, and other cultural producers in Miami-Dade County.

Cannonball’s WaveMaker Grants program was initiated by the Warhol Foundation and is part of the Foundation’s Regional Regranting Program, which aims to support vibrant, under-the-radar artistic activity in communities throughout the United States by partnering with leading cultural organizations. With this new initiative, Cannonball is the first in the southeast to join this growing national network of re-granting organizations, which includes programs in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Portland (OR), and Portland (ME), and later this year New Orleans and Baltimore.

In addition to the Warhol Foundation, Cannonball receives major support for WaveMaker Grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. The award celebration on February 13th is generously sponored by Wells Fargo, and delicious bites and libations will be provided by Mignonette/Blue Collar and The Corner.

“I am absolutely thrilled to celebrate the winners of our inaugural year of this transformative program, says Chris Cook, Cannonball’s Executive Director. We received nearly 100 applications in this first cycle of grants, which doesn’t make the job of our selection panel any easier. On February 13th, we will not only give away money, but through WaveMaker Grants, we will validate the critical, experimental work of artists living and working in Miami.”

Grantees are selected by an independent jury consisting of local and national artists and arts professionals. This year’s selection panel includes Heather Diack, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Miami; Jacek Kolasinski, artist and Associate Professor of Digital Media, Florida International University; New York-based artist Adam Pendleton; and Shannon Stratton, Executive Director, Threewalls, Chicago.