Meet Our 2023 Constellations Participatory Awardees!
It has been our distinct honor to uplift the indelible and ingenious work of our Constellations network since our inception. In 2023, we launched our first participatory awards to resource Artist Disruptors, and traditional and tradition-based Culture Bearers in support of their creative work at the intersection of art, culture, and social justice. Thirty individuals were chosen by a panel of their peers and celebrated through four awards categories including; Artist Disruptor, Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission, Language, and Cultural Practice and Knowledge.
The awardees have been integral to the growth of our initiative and knowledgeable mentors, teaching us about reclaiming our power through social justice movements, community collaboration, liberation strategizing, and traditional practice. Each group of awardees was chosen based on their contributions to movements for cultural, land, and body sovereignty and their deeply rooted values and commitment to cultural preservation and kinship.
Artist Disruptor:
Provided direct cash support to advance an ongoing social impact project of a BIPOC Artist Disruptor or Culture Bearer in their community. Awardees:
saylem celeste
Cultural Knowledge and Practice:
Provided direct cash support to traditional and tradition-based Culture Bearers for travel, knowledge exchange, or other “Blue Sky” opportunities including sabbatical, retirement planning, loan repayment, oral history, memoir writing, etc. Awardees:
Kenneth “Thae A• Gho Weñs” Cook
Kerri Ann Borja
Schoua Na Yang
Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission:
Supported Culture Bearers in their efforts around intergenerational learning and continuity of their cultural practices. Awardees:
Anthony Newkirk
Kamuela Meheula
Keya Kessler
Red Rojas
Language
Recognized the importance of language as a carrier of culture and pillar of vibrant communities. Awardees:
Annauk Denise Olin
Dusty L. Nelson
Hāwane Rios
Kainani Kahaunaele
Kupihea Ahukini Romero
Makalani Adisa Akinshiju
Nā’ilima Gaison
As we welcome these visionaries and leaders into our Constellations network, we invite you to continue following their work through the resources linked below. We also encourage you to follow all the awardees and subscribe to our Constellations newsletter to stay informed on the incredible ongoing projects within our network.
RESOURCES:
Two of our awardees have recently published books on the incredible work that they do. We urge you not only to support and share, but purchase a copy from the links below if you are able:
- Marcy Angeles (Artist Disruptor Awardee), The Queers Of The Underground, is about queer/trans erasure from rave culture from the Indigenous Trans perspective.
- Dr. Melissa Rosario (Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission Awardee), Beyond Disaster: Building Collective Futures in Puerto Rico, critiques the framework of debt and crisis by examining the psychological, emotional, and spiritual effects of colonialism.
To learn more about Constellations Culture Change Fund & Initiative, visit constellationsfund.org, and follow The Center for Cultural Power on Instagram and X/Twitter.
