Jgo

2023 Early-Career Research + Development Grantee | $2,500

Speaking Truth to Ourselves

This project is centered on empowering voices that are traditionally marginalized within creative spaces. BIPOC youth are often pushed to engage in creative outlets with a focus on financial goals, if they are encouraged at all. By planning community events including open mics, workshops, and community dinners, this project will seek to empower BIPOC youth (25 and younger) to share experiences through written/verbal storytelling without barriers of professional/academic legitimacy. Within this grant period, logistic/budget research, marketing planning, community and organization outreach, and event planning including workshop/activity development will be completed.

Jgo is a Latino writer, poet, and community organizer based in the Twin Cities. They focus on studying and portraying the criminalization and societal institutionalization of marginalized peoples, specifically impoverished and BIPOC communities, with the goal of emphasizing unity in positivity to empower these communities through art.

Forecast has been offering early-career artist grants supported by Jerome Foundation since 1989. In addition to funding, Forecast is dedicated to providing professional development and learning opportunities designed to assist emerging artists as they experiment/ hone their practices, and cultivate careers in the field. Forecast mid- and early-career grants are designed to support independent projects, leadership development, professional development, risk-taking, multidisciplinary approaches, and collaborative problem-solving in the field of public art.