Make a Wave

Make a Wave is an artist-to-artist grant program that erases the traditional gatekeeper by inviting each of the previous year’s 3Arts Awards recipients to select another artist to receive a surprise award from 3Arts—in effect sending a wave through Chicago’s brilliant cultural core.

We extend special thanks to our 2024 Make a Wave Partner, the Siragusa Family Foundation. The 2024 Make a Wave Awards to artists were $2,000 each.

2024 Make a Wave Partner:

None

2024

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    Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom

     Playwright, Author, Illustrator, and Teaching Artist Make a Wave Awardee

    Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom (she/her) is an award-winning playwright, author, illustrator, and teaching artist who authored Fairy Tales for Sun-Kissed Women. As a world builder, Mallory’s passion for diverse representation, mindfulness, and mysticism resonates across the vast universe she weaves …

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    Ari Brown

     Sincere Creative Make a Wave Awardee

    Ari Brown (he/him), A Chicago native, is an internationally renowned saxophonist, flutist, and pianist, as well as a prolific arranger, composer, and teacher. He began his professional career in the 1960s, performing soul, rock, blues, jazz, and R&B throughout …

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    Ash Busse

     Teaching Artist Make a Wave Awardee

    Ash Busse (she/her) is a Chicago-based cultural worker and art educator whose journey from aspiring artist to influential mentor has come full circle. Starting as a high school student, Ash took advantage of public programming through the After School Matters …

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    Mike D. Chicago

     Dancer, Choreographer, ChicagoFootworker, Teaching Artist, and M.C. Make a Wave Awardee

    Mike D. Chicago (he/him), raised on the South Side, is a man of many gifts and has been blessed to apply them all through his work. From singing, dancing, rapping, instructing, mentoring, producing, and choreographing Mike creates for impact. …

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    TehRay PHENOM Hale

     Celebrated Hip-Hop Artist and Mentor Make a Wave Awardee

    TehRay PHENOM Hale (he/him) is a celebrated Hip-Hop mentor and artist. He creates safe spaces for young artists to develop into impactful peacekeepers and living testimonies of success. His programs leave his mentees walking away with community and political awareness, …

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    Shalaka Kulkarni

     Multidisciplinary Dancer and Choreographer Make a Wave Awardee

    Shalaka Kulkarni (she/her) is an interdisciplinary dance artist who bridges the ancient and contemporary. Her work revolves around the ideas of female identity, questioning societal norms, celebrating gender fluidity, and empowering marginal voices. Kulkarni began training in the Bharatnatyam and …

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    Eugene A. MALTEZ

     Sculptor and Painter Make a Wave Awardee

    Eugene A. MALTEZ (he/they) is a Nicaraguan American artist who lives and works in Chicago. His work embodies a neo-minimalist aesthetic, embracing flaws in the making process through a pragmatic and straightforward approach to art. His work often reflects on …

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    Allen Moore

     Experimental Turn-tabilist, Painter, Mixed Media, Educator, and Illustrator Make a Wave Awardee

    Allen Moore (he/him) is a Black interdisciplinary visual artist, experimental turntablist, sound artist, educator, and youth mentor born and raised in the historic village of Robbins, IL. Allen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Chicago State University, a Master of …

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    Allison Carol Schmocker

     Visual and Multidisciplinary Artist Make a Wave Awardee

    Allison Carol Schmocker (she/her) is a Chicago-based artist and writer who utilizes acrylic, papier-mâché́, and digital platforms in her work. As a self- described creator, she focuses on creating conversations with art, bringing to the forefront an open dialogue about …

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    Tish

     Champs, Dancer, Choreographer, Mentor and Teacher Make a Wave Awardee

    Tish (she/her) is a vibrant young teacher of dance on the South Side of Chicago who was once frustrated with the decline of community centers in urban areas. In 2001, she decided to create a solution called The Empiire Dance …

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