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 send special thanks to our 2022 Make a Wave Partner, the Siragusa Family Foundation, and to the Reva and David Logan Foundation, who provided general operating support for this program. The 2022 Make a Wave grants to artists were $2,000 each.

2022 Make a Wave Partner:

None

2022

  • black Woman smiles at the camera and is wearing blue turban

    Zahra Glenda Baker

     Vocalist, Storyteller, & Multidisciplinary Teaching Artist Make a Wave Artist

    Zahra Glenda Baker has worked as a teaching artist in the performing arts for more than 30 years. She began her teaching career as an early childhood music instructor in the Wiggleworms program at the Old Town School of Folk …

  • black and white image of woman with short gray hair smiling at camera and holding her head with both hands

    Maggie Brown

     Vocal Entertainer & Teaching Artist Make a Wave Artist

    Maggie Brown is an accomplished singer, songwriter, stage director, producer, and educator. She is said to be “one of the most fiercely committed artists in Chicago” (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune). Maggie embodies a powerful and passionate performance style, whether …

  • Woman with brown hair and white sunglasses looks at the camera pensively

    Stephanie Garland aka Stef Skills

     Street Art Muralist & Educator Make a Wave Artist

    Stef Skills is an artist, educator, and activist with a passion for public art. In her nearly 30-year career, she has established herself as a prominent female voice and leader in the local and international graffiti arts community. Stef’s public …

  • young woman with curly hair and brown skin stands in front of a colorful tapestry

    Leah Ra'chel Gipson

     Interdisciplinary Artist & Scholar Make a Wave Artist

    Leah Ra’chel Gipson is a multidisciplinary artist born in Florida and based in Chicago. Her work facilitates hyperlocal community projects that draw on Black culture and imagine critical “call and response” environments. Her work explores issues of race and gender …

  • black man with short black hair and brown eyes, wearing black durag leans on their hand and looks at the camera directly

    Terry Guest

     Playwright, Actor, & Director Make a Wave Artist

    Terry Guest is a playwright, actor, director, and teaching artist. Plays include: The Magnolia Ballet (2022 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere; About Face Theater, 2022), A Ghost in Satin (Williamstown Theater Festival), At the Wake of a Dead …

  • black man with short locs leans on the neck of their cello and looks down to the right

    Malik Johnson aka 99TheProducer

     Cellist, Composer, & Producer Make a Wave Artist

    Malik Johnson aka 99TheProducer is a classically-trained cellist, composer, and music producer based in Chicago. Malik has worked with the Matt Jones Orchestra, which has opened doors for him to appear on National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk series in 2017, …

  • latin(e/x) person with short brown hair, black shirt, and beard looks at the camera with gentle smile

    Ivan Lozano

     Visual artist, Podcaster, & Independent Publisher Make a Wave Artist

    Ivan Lozano (b. Guadalajara, Mexico) is a visual artist, podcaster, and independent publisher. Their art work focuses on the liminal space created when immaterial digital images (mostly found online and mostly related to their identity as a queer Mexican immigrant) …

  • asian person with dark brown hair and brown eyes with camera leaning on her chin smiles largely at the camera

    Elisabete YJ Seonwoo aka Kerberus

     XR, New Media, Dancer, Community Builder, & Educator Make a Wave Artist

    Elisabete Yoon Ju Seonwoo, aka Kerberus (they/she), received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her focus on exploring the artistic language of liberation in art and technology and mixed new media dance performances connect to …

  • Black locks flow onto the face of black person looking into the camera

    Andrea Yarbrough

     Maker, Curator, & Educator Make a Wave Artist

    Andrea Yarbrough is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, and educator based on the South Side of Chicago, nurturing sites of care through a blend of civic engagement and art praxis. Her praxis is embodied through the collaborative placekeeping initiative called “ …

  • Asian man with short black hair and dark brown eyes looks straight on at the camera with gentle smile

    Wai Yim

     Actor, Director, Choreographer, & Playwright Make a Wave Artist

    Originally from Hong Kong, Wai Yim is an actor, director, choreographer, and playwright. He is the Managing Director of Token Theatre in Chicago. As a trilingual artist who speaks Cantonese, English, and Mandarin, Wai has been active in the Chicago …

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