The Indigo Arts Alliance Announces the 2026-2027 David C. Driskell Fellowship Cohort
Maine-Based Artists Michael Kebede, Mia Muntu,
and Sascha Rose To Receive Studio Space and Support
Images left to right: Michael Kebede, Mia Muntu, and Sascha Rose.
Portland, ME — May 20, 2026 — Indigo Arts Alliance is pleased to announce the 2026-2027 cohort for the David C. Driskell Fellowship, Maine-based artists Michael Kebede, Mia Muntu, and Sascha Rose. The Fellowship addresses the historical lack of access for Maine-based artists of color by providing them with foundational career support in honor of Indigo Arts Alliance’s Elder Advisor, the artist and historian David C. Driskell.
Executive Director, Jordia Benjamin said, “This fellowship continues to build upon the legacy that honors our Elder Advisor and dear friend, David C. Driskell. This fellowship provides a sustainable pathway of supporting the professional practices of Black and Brown artists that call Maine their home.”
Founded in 2021, the Fellowship provides artists with crucial support and studio space to nurture their creative processes. Each member of the cohort is given the opportunity to work rent-free for six months in a 500-square-foot space at IAA’s Black Seed Studio in Portland’s West End neighborhood. Fellows also receive a $700 stipend to support their work, as well as one-on-one feedback from the Indigo Arts Alliance staff, and studio visits with a selection of artists, curators, cultural workers, scholars, and community organizers. Kebede, Muntu, and Rose will join a growing network of more than 80 artists who have participated in IAA’s residency programs, including the Mentorship and C. Daniel Dawson Curatorial & Research Fellowship.
From Indigo Arts Alliance’s founding in 2018 to 2020, David C. Driskell served as Elder Advisor, providing guidance that helped shape the organization’s mentorship-based residency model and long-term development. Through his scholarship, curatorial work, and advocacy, Driskell played a significant role in advancing the recognition of African American art and artists within the broader history of American art.
For more information, please visit indigoartsalliance.me.
About the Artists
Michael Kebede was born in Ethiopia and is based in Maine. He began playing the banjo in 2020 after the Black Lives Matter uprisings, inspired by the instrument’s ties to transatlantic pathways. He specialises in the clawhammer tradition, a 19th-century style characterized by a rhythmic, down-picking motion where the strings are struck with the back of the fingernail and the thumb catches the drone string.
Mia Muntu is a dance artist and choreographer based in Portland, Maine. Originally from Northern Virginia, she trained at local dance studios and earned a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She received additional training at various institutions including the Martha Graham School in New York and the Henny Juriëns Studio in Amsterdam. In 2023, she joined little house dance company under the direction of Heather Stewart. During her time in Portland, Muntu has shared work and performed at venues in Portland including SPACE Gallery, Mechanic’s Hall, the Portland Museum of Art, and the State Theater. She was awarded a grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts for a new solo creation set to debut in early 2026. In addition to her career as a performer and dance maker, she also has her own teaching practice and is committed to inspiring future generations of dancers.
Sasha Rose is a first-generation Haitian-American musician and filmmaker from Maine. Her Haitian roots have long inspired her work, which is centered around themes of colonial resistance, liberation, and connection to the divine through music and film. Her music practice explores the intersections of electronic production and Black Folk music traditions. She is currently developing ‘Sugar in the River’, a science fiction screenplay about two contemporary sisters who must fight in the Haitian Revolution to return to their own timeline.
About Indigo Arts Alliance
Addressing the underrepresentation of Black and Brown artists–Maine-based and world-wide–IAA is an arts incubator in Portland, Maine that provides space for dialogue and exchange between artists of African descent and other communities of color through a multidisciplinary artist-in-residency program that embodies a Black-led approach to creativity, community-building, and mentoring. Artists come from a wealth of cultural heritages and multiple countries: African American/US, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Trinidad.
The organization is rooted in two principles: that art is a key resource for healthy human communities that should be cultivated and celebrated, and that artists play a unique role in strengthening our multiracial democracy. Actively contributing to the Global Black Arts Movement, Indigo Arts Alliance brings its principles to life through collaborations with national and international galleries, museums, and other venues, featuring exhibitions and performances by its AIRs, while also curating symposia and other community engagement activities.
For images, further background, or interviews, please contact:
Katrina Stewart
Account Manager, Visual Arts
Blue Medium
T: +1-212-675-1800
katrina@bluemedium.co