We're in our Hope era 💛 + REBIRTH is up + $20K residency + MORE good stuff inside!
Two exhibitions are up in the world, there's a $20,000 residency with YOUR name written all over it, and we have a working session Tuesday (6/9) that I genuinely need you at. I'm choosing to interpret
Two exhibitions are up in the world, there's a $20,000 residency with YOUR name written all over it, and we have a working session Tuesday (6/9) that I genuinely need you at. I'm choosing to interpret this level of activity as a sign we're thriving. Okay. Into it!
(Psssst...Want the Linkage Public Newsletter Too? Just shoot Frannie an email) frannie@linkagecommunity.org
URGENT: Curation Meeting — Hope Transforms Possibilities | Tuesday, June 9th — 9–10am This is a working session to shape the curatorial framework for our next exhibition — grounded in hope as an active force, while also holding the real weight hope can carry for communities asked to hope again and again. We'll explore the "Hope Gap," develop selection criteria, and start setting the direction together. Not a visual artist? Still come. Multiple perspectives are what make this work. Want your work considered? Nominations must be in BEFORE the meeting. Nominate your work We're exhibiting digitized reproductions, so previously PCAP artwork counts! Browse past PCAP work here Join the Zoom
[Image: Pop-Up Art Stop, 2026]
POP-UP ART STOP | June 27 — 11am–8pm Open Book Theatre: 1621 West Rd, Trenton, MI 48183 This is our LINKAGE TAKEOVER!!! Show up. Come support. Bring your whole crew. It's FREE to attend. The challenge: invite 5 people. The reward: bring 3, and you officially achieve Rockstar Member status. (I don't make the rules. Okay, I made this rule. But I'm excited about it.) Share the RSVP link | Share the flyer
PAUSE & CELEBRATE: TWO brand new exhibits are up!
Our REBIRTH exhibit is hanging in the Lansing Linkage Gallery through September. That's your work. On walls. For months. Located in the high-traffic pedestrian walkway between Albert Avenue and the alley behind the Newman Lofts building (200 Albert Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823) in Downtown East Lansing!
AND — Postmarked From the Inside just opened at the University of Michigan Detroit Center (3663 Woodward Ave #150, Detroit, MI 48201) June 4–August 31. This features greeting cards created by people incarcerated in Michigan prisons — personal stories, resilience, and the human connections kept alive through art and correspondence. The curation team included our very own Martín Vargas (Linkage Community member) and Vitalis Im (Linkage Strategic Advisory Committee member).
Go see it if you can. We are so, SO proud. Learn more at postmarkedfromtheinside.com
[Image: Postmarked From Inside Install, 2026]
OPPORTUNITY: $20,000 Artist Residency — Detroit Justice Center This one is exactly our world. The Detroit Justice Center has just opened applications for their 2026–27 Artist Residency — and the selected artist receives $20,000 and a full year to complete their project with support from DJC. The guiding question: "What does a world without police and incarceration look like?" What would it feel like, sound like, move like? What relationships and communities would transform? They strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and individuals with past involvement in the criminal punishment system or who have loved ones currently or formerly incarcerated. This. Is. For. Us. Apply here
IN-PERSON EVENT: Paths to Practice | Thursday, June 18 — 6–7:30pm Detroit Artists Market: 4719 Woodward Ave, Detroit This free conversation brings together artists and educators across formal training, self-teaching, and community-based learning to talk about what each path actually gives — and what it doesn't. How does access shape development? Can artists build fully outside traditional systems? Do credentials still matter in practice? Honestly? This sounds like a Linkage conversation if I've ever heard one. Free to attend. Donations welcome to support future programming. Register here
[Image: REBIRTH Install, 2026]
OUT IN THE COMMUNITY: Documentary Storytelling & Narrative Change | June 24 — 12–1:30pm MI-CEMI is hosting a virtual convening on documentary filmmaking as a tool for advocacy and narrative change. Filmmakers, storytellers, and advocates will discuss the creative process, ethical considerations, and real impact of using film to shift public narratives and support systems change. If storytelling is part of your practice — or you've ever wondered how film can do justice work — this is worth your time. Sign up to attend
QUICK ADMIN — Two Quick Forms Media Release Form — Before we share anything publicly, we want your clear and enthusiastic consent. If you're comfortable being featured, fill this out — it just helps us honor you and protect how your image is used. Not comfortable? Totally okay, no explanation needed. Just let me know. Fill Out Form Here Volunteer Waiver Form — Helps us track all the hours you're putting into this community in 2026. You can download a signed copy for your own records when you're done. Sign This Form
[Image: Beyond The Walls, 2025]
COLOSSAL PICKS: June Opps for Artists Colossal's monthly roundup dropped, and I went through it so you don't have to. Here are just SOME of the ones listed — free or nearly free to apply, open to Michigan artists, and most have money attached:
Spring $1,800 Innovate Grants — Two $1,800 grants awarded this quarter: one to a visual artist, one to a photographer. Any medium, international, free to apply. Deadline: June 18.
Forecast Public Art — Westonka Library — Two public art commissions with production budgets of $60,000 and $75,000. Open internationally. Deadline: June 14.
Pine Meadow Ranch Residency — 2–4 week residencies open to artists, writers, scientists, and researchers across all disciplines. 2027 theme is "process and material." Deadline: July 6.
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant — Grants up to $50,000 for painters, sculptors, and printmakers. Rolling deadline, international, free to apply. Worth doing.
Chrysalis Award for Emerging Ceramic Artists — $5,000 unrestricted award for an emerging US ceramicist within 5 years of completing training. Deadline: August 23. (Lots of time — put it on your calendar now!)
See the full Colossal list here
COFFEE CHAT — Every Monday, 9am Just a reminder that Coffee Chat is every single Monday at 9am and you are always, always welcome. Come for a few minutes or the whole time. No agenda, just your people. Join the Zoom
LiNK Hub — All Our Zoom Links in One Spot. For members' eyes only. Bookmark this: https://linktr.ee/4linkagemembers
People are showing up for each other in ways that genuinely catch me off guard sometimes — in the BEST of ways. That's the whole thing, honestly. Just all of you, doing this together, week after week. I'm grateful to get to be a small part of it.
See you for coffee tomorrow!