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:
2024
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Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom
Playwright, Author, Illustrator, and Teaching Artist Make a Wave AwardeeMallory 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 AwardeeAri 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 AwardeeAsh 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 AwardeeMike 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 AwardeeTehRay 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 AwardeeShalaka 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 Bharatnatyam in India. …
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Eugene A. MALTEZ
Sculptor and Painter Make a Wave AwardeeEugene 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 AwardeeAllen 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 AwardeeAllison 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 AwardeeTish (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 …