Individual Artist Grant Applications Closed August 21, 2024 at 11:59 PM
The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, is launching an Individual Artist Grant Program. In its tenth year, this program offers grants of up to $5,000 to support artist-led projects that enrich the St. Petersburg community by promoting artistic excellence and expanding access to diverse and innovative arts experiences. The grants aim to enhance public engagement with individual artists, support their professional development, and help them advance in their careers.
This opportunity is intended to provide financial assistance to artists who live or work in the City of St. Petersburg for specific projects. The program is designed to support public engagement of individual artists’ work/projects in genres such as Visual/Craft Arts, Dance, Music, Theater, Literature, and more.
2024 Individual Artist Grant Recipients
Gabriela Jaxon – Multidisciplinary Artist, Muralist, Paint
Gabriela Jaxon is a Peruvian-born, multidisciplinary artist and first-generation college graduate dedicated to using art as a catalyst for social change and community empowerment. With a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Communications, focused on Art Therapy, from Florida Southern College, she blends academic knowledge with artistic talent to create transformative public art.
Over the past eight years, Gabriela has specialized in large-scale murals and public art installations that uplift communities. Her work, known for its vibrant colors and ethereal compositions, transforms public spaces into sanctuaries of joy and unity. As a DACA recipient, Gabriela’s resilience journey informs her art, allowing her to connect with diverse audiences, particularly youth and marginalized groups.
Brief description of their project or artistic focus: “Hoops for Hope” is a community-driven art project that will transform a City of St. Petersburg Parks & Rec basketball court into a vibrant mural. This project blends the dynamic energy of sports with the creative power of art, creating a space that inspires, uplifts and unites the community. The mural will be executed in a paint-by-number style, allowing participants of all skill levels to contribute meaningfully. The end product will be a beautifully designed court that serves as both a functional sports facility and a lasting symbol of unity and community pride.
Jason Hackenwerth – Multidisciplinary Artist, Paint, Sculpture
Jason Hackenwerth is a multidisciplinary artist working in the fields of painting, sculpture, and installation. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the National Museums in Scotland. Jason received his MFA in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2010 and a Bachelor of Fine Art in printmaking from Webster University in 1997. Press includes The New York Times, Art In America, Surface Magazine, American Craft, Design Journal, Sculpture Magazine, Metal Magazine, Art Desk, Creative Review UK, and Creative Review. Jason is a 2011 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Inc. grant recipient and a 2018 and 2022 recipient of the Creative Pinellas Professional Artist Grant.
He currently lives and works in St Petersburg, FL.
Brief description of their project or artistic focus: My artistic intent is to use the power of storytelling through live performance, music, and sculpture to engage and connect with audiences deeply and with great intensity. The project I propose will combine the worlds of opera, choreography, and visual art in a new and cross-disciplinary way. I will create several fantastic wearable sculptures made with latex balloons in vivid colors and elaborate designs. These exotic forms will be worn by some of the most talented dancers and performers in our region, who will contribute to the movement of the works.
Jeremy Douglass – Pianist, Music Composer, Director and Sound Design
Jeremy Douglass is a pianist, the resident composer/sound designer/music director for Jobsite Theater, and the leader of the acclaimed ensemble, The Florida Björkestra. His recent past sees him as music director for Jobsite Theater’s productions of The Rocky Horror Show, Shockheaded Peter, Hedwig and The Angry Inch, and Alice.
He has composed original scores for dozens of productions, including Hamlet (Jobsite Theater), Dracula (Jobsite Theater), Silent Sky (American Stage), The Crucible (ThinkTank/Tampa Rep), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jobsite Theater). As the founder of the Florida Bjorkestra, he has brought to the stage the music of pop pioneers like Bjork, Kate Bush, and David Bowie (and also a musical from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) with his 30-piece (and growing) ensemble of instrumentalists and vocalists.
Brief description of their project or artistic focus: The Bjorkestra decided to take a theatrical turn, and I created a chamber pop orchestral arrangement of “Once More With Feeling,” the musical episode of the very popular 90s TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Dubbed “Buffyfest” and held at the Palladium, the show sold out in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The Bjorkestra was prepared to perform in April 2020; however, the show was canceled due to the pandemic. The time now feels right to resurrect this trendy musical experience, and the next Buffyfest is scheduled for April 5, 2025. The end product will be a high-quality professional production at the Palladium, featuring local musicians and vocalists performing the music from this wildly popular, iconic television show.
Sara Salem – Muralist, Painter
Sara Salem is a multi-talented mural artist based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a co-founder of Phi Phi Artland and Milky Way Retreats. With a rich art teacher, yoga instructor, and mural painter background, Sara enjoys sharing her passions through wellness retreats, art classes, and workshops. Her expertise spans designing and implementing mural projects, instructing yoga, and fostering creativity in diverse settings.
Sara's artistic journey began in Egypt, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts with a major in painting from Alexandria University. Over the past decade, she has taught art to adults and K-12 students across Africa, Asia, and the USA. Her diverse experience has equipped her with a dynamic and inclusive teaching style that resonates with students of all ages and backgrounds. A firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of art, Sara approaches her work from a holistic perspective. She is convinced that art can be a powerful tool for achieving higher levels of well-being, self-awareness, and wholeness. Her teaching and artistic practices reflect this philosophy, where she creates stimulating and inclusive learning environments that encourage self-expression and critical thinking.
Brief description of their project or artistic focus: Mural Magic is an ambitious project to create a large, vibrant mural on a storefront in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The mural will serve as a colorful and inspiring focal point in the community, celebrating the diverse cultures and stories that make up our city. Designed as a "paint by numbers" mural, it will allow community members of all ages and artistic abilities to contribute, fostering a sense of ownership and pride in the final artwork.
2023 Individual Artist Grant Recipients
Tricia Lynn Bush - Multimedia Arts
Tricia created works of art featuring endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species and their habitats in several representational larger-scale paintings. Using technology, viewers were immersed in a narrative about the painting experience, and a video journal was captured and looped at the exhibitions to highlight the process of artistic development for this body of work.
Secondary works were created by others through community engagement, specifically youth, elderly, and/or veterans who traditionally had limited exposure to the arts. The goal was to help humans connect with conservation and learn about Florida’s endangered or threatened wildlife.
Tricia is a Florida resident and practiced as a Registered Nurse in healthcare administration and adult education while pursuing and advancing her skills and competence in painting.
Sheila Cowley - Literary & Performing Arts
Professional visual and performing artists from Sheila Cowley’s Sparks Collaborative Ensemble created collaborative, multi-arts performances for children based on her plays and produced long-lasting online stories, including five videos in Spanish and new stories illustrated by young artists.
Sheila Cowley is a playwright and audio producer based in St. Petersburg, Florida. She collaborates with actors, dancers, scientists, musicians and visual artists on performance works aimed at inspiring audiences to look up and look sideways, to reach out and embrace this complicated world. She leads the Sparks Collaborative Ensemble, a working group diverse in age, gender identity, ethnicity, ability and art forms that create joyous performances both for and with kids, elders, neuro-diverse artists, creative adventurers, and you.
Tiffany Elliot - Visual Arts
Tiffany produced a collaborative gallery show through the Justice Studio art program presented by NOMADstudio, using jewelry as a medium to create personal adornments with students inside Pinellas Juvenile Detention Center (JDC). This project provided detained youth with meaningful opportunities for creative freedom, expression, learning, and growth. Throughout December, Tiffany displayed the polymer and metal jewelry pieces inside Justice Studio, where students resonated with the work they helped create. The display showed how their creations, along with those of their peers, could transform into sellable items.
Tiffany Elliott, GIA Diamonds Graduate and jeweler, is best known for incorporating baroque minimalism into her collections inspired by history, culture, and places across the globe. Her recent work of custom grillz showcased her commitment to push the boundaries and refine her skills, by creating intricate designs that cover the smalls of the teeth.
Polita Glynn - Multimedia Arts
Polita created “Underground History,” a documentary film project designed to explore connections between St. Petersburg’s diverse cultural history and emerging community efforts to acknowledge that past in charting the future. The project considered the links between the history and remaining archaeological sites of the region’s Indigenous ancestors, the displaced contemporary African American communities, and erased black cemeteries and historic waterways that once created connectivity for these places and people.
There were two film screenings and community discussions that presented a work-in-progress documentary and gathered feedback from the audience about the film.
Polita Cohen Glynn is a filmmaker and director of Merfolk Media Alliance. As a writer/producer, she creates films and stories which explore ideas about social justice and equity with a focus on history, cultural diversity and nature. She has received art awards from the State of Florida, Sundance Institute, St. Pete Arts Alliance, Creative Pinellas and Florida Humanities.
