St. Petersburg Arts Alliance Celebrates 2025 Artist Grant Recipients

Every city has its heartbeat, and in St. Petersburg, that pulse often comes through the arts. This year, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance turned up the volume once again with the announcement of the 2025 Individual Artist Grant Program recipients — a dozen creators whose projects promise to ripple far beyond the studio walls.

Now in its eleventh year, the grants have become more than just funding opportunities. They’re a public nod to the idea that art, when nurtured locally, can reshape a city’s cultural landscape. With support from the Mayor’s Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, the Alliance awarded funds to both emerging artists in St. Pete and seasoned voices who’ve been shaping the scene for years.

And it wasn’t an easy call. Out of 42 applications, just twelve were chosen — each one a project designed not only to showcase artistic excellence but also to invite the public into the process. Think of it as St. Petersburg investing directly into its cultural future.

Meet the Artists: Emerging and Established

On the emerging side, four bold talents will each receive $2,500: Jenifer Madson, Willa Tinsley, Luke Vest, and Troy Reamsnyder. Their projects, still in development, are poised to add new colors to the city’s already vivid creative palette.

Meanwhile, eight established artists were awarded $5,000 each, underscoring the city’s commitment to supporting long-standing artistic voices. Among them: Ashley Rivers, whose project The Nature of Fire promises to ignite conversation; OnlyoneTwo, a duo presenting Two; and Delisa Drake, better known as DarLuz The DJ. They’re joined by Michele Renee Stone, Jema Woody, Markus Gottschlich, Nancy Sears, and Alexander Jones, all of whom will channel their craft into community art projects in St. Petersburg, Florida that invite connection as much as admiration.

Grants like these do more than fund paint and instruments. They tell artists: your work matters, your voice matters, and your city wants to hear it. For residents, the payoff is enormous — free performances in parks, interactive installations, music that spills into public squares, stories that might never have been told without this kind of backing.

So if you’ve ever wondered how St. Petersburg supports local artists, this is it — not just with applause, but with the resources to make visions real.

For a closer look at the 2025 St. Petersburg artist grant recipients, and to keep tabs on when and where their projects will come to life, visit stpeteartsalliance.org

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