Womxnhouse Detroit residency mentors artists, curator

A six-month art residency in a gallery owner's childhood house is culminating in an immersive exhibition this fall.

Why it matters: Norwest Gallery of Art's Womxnhouse Detroit program offers stipends, mentorship and a storytelling platform for BIPOC women and nonbinary creators to show off their work.

Driving the news: The exhibition for the six participating artists and one curator starts Sept. 17 at 15354 St. Marys St. on Detroit's west side. Mediums range from photography and film to fiber art and painting, gallery founder and curator Asia Hamilton tells Axios.

• There will be art pieces to walk through, plus events — potentially dance and spoken word — at the home where Hamilton grew up.

Flashback: Womxnhouse kicked off last fall with a debut installation from 14 artists on womanhood in America, WDET reported.

• The residency followed, starting in February.

By the numbers: The program received $150,000 through the Knight Foundation's Challenge grant program to fund the residency.

• Each participant gets $6,000 toward their projects.

What they're saying: "The program is dear to me because when I was coming along as a Black woman artist in 1998, 2000 … I didn't have that mentorship, I didn't really see a lot of people in the industry like me," Hamilton says.

Zoom in: Bre'Ann White, a commercial, editorial and art photographer, says she applied for Womxnhouse after seeking curation mentorship from Hamilton.

Coming up: White is now curating a photography exhibition during her residency called "Pray for Us," opening July 23, 6-9pm at Norwest.

• The idea came from White grieving her mother's death. It "explores prayer as an ancestral technology … bringing peace, comfort and solace to those seeking heavenly guidance," a written description reads.