The Kresge Foundation in Troy, Michigan, has announced a two-year, $8.8 million initiative designed to promote, develop, and financially support individual artists, arts and cultural organizations, and arts-infrastructure groups in the metro Detroit tri-county region.

A component of the foundation's Detroit Program, a comprehensive community development initiative intended to strengthen the long-term economic, social and cultural fabric of the city, the Kresge Arts in Detroit initiative will provide funding and recognition for individuals and organizations through three separate programs: Kresge Artists Fellowships, the Kresge Eminent Artist Award, and Kresge Arts Support.

The Kresge Artist Fellowships program will award eighteen $25,000 fellowships to artists working in the visual, performing, and literary arts who live and work in the metro Detroit area. Each year, the Kresge Eminent Artist Award will honor one exceptional artist in the metro area for his/her professional achievements, cultural contributions, and commitment to the local arts community. The award includes a $50,000 cash prize to support future the honoree's artistic pursuits. And the Kresge Arts Support segment will provide unrestricted operating funds to small, mid-size, and large nonprofits in the performing, visual, and literary arts as well as to arts-service, education, and broadcasting organizations.