Photographer: Stephen McGee

Administered by the College for Creative Studies, Kresge Arts in Detroit represents one aspect of The Kresge Foundation’s investment in the artistic communities of metropolitan Detroit, providing support to artists living and working in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. The Kresge Foundation’s Detroit Program is a comprehensive community development effort to strengthen the long-term economic, social, and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding region.

Since 2008, Kresge Arts in Detroit has awarded more than $7.4 million through 15 Kresge Eminent Artist Awards ($50,000 each), 258 Kresge Artist Fellowships ($25,000 each), and 42 Gilda Awards ($5,000 each).

Kresge Arts in Detroit believes an equitable and just society ensures individuals of all backgrounds and identities are able to fully thrive. In the visioning, planning, and implementation of the program, we are committed to dismantling the historic and systemic mechanisms of oppression that exist within the arts and culture sector. Utilizing a racial equity lens and anti-oppression approach, we strive to ensure that our work contributes to an environment that, collectively, supports all artists of metro Detroit.

Kresge Arts in Detroit is the 109th organization to be W.A.G.E. certified. W.A.G.E. Certification is a national program that publicly recognizes nonprofit art institutions and organizations demonstrating a history of, and commitment to, voluntarily paying artist fees meeting W.A.G.E. minimum payment standards. It is the first model of its kind—and the first in the U.S.—to establish a sector-wide minimum standard for compensation, as well as a clear set of guidelines and standards for the conditions under which artistic labor is contracted.