The 126 Project
Cohort Detroit’s Artist Fellowship
Who We Are
Faith. Art. Imagination. Community.
The 126 Project is a ten-month learning community for Detroit artists who long to grow both spiritually and creatively.
We believe art is more than self-expression—it is a way of participating in God's work of restoration.
Inspired by Psalm 126, we gather artists who desire to deepen their relationship with God, cultivate authentic community, and create work that speaks hope, justice, beauty, and truth into the world.
Whether you've spent years integrating faith and art or are just beginning to ask those questions, the 126 Project offers a space to explore what it means to walk with God as an artist.
What You'll Experience
Over ten months, participants gather bi-weekly to learn, create, and grow together.
Together we explore questions like:
What does it mean to follow Jesus as an artist?
How does creativity become an act of worship?
What can Scripture teach us about imagination, justice, beauty, and lament?
How do we sustain a creative life while caring for our spiritual and emotional well-being?
Participants receive:
Bi-weekly gatherings with fellow Detroit artists
Spiritual formation rooted in Scripture
Conversations on faith, justice, and creativity
Professional counseling and therapy support
Mentorship from artists and community leaders
$500 Material stipends for creative work
A supportive creative community
A public exhibition showcasing new work created during the fellowship
Who is this for?
The 126 Project is for visual artists who are:
Curious about the relationship between faith and creativity
Hungry for authentic community
Interested in growing spiritually while developing their artistic practice
Willing to create work throughout the fellowship
Excited to learn alongside other Detroit creatives
You don't have to have everything figured out.
Come ready to ask questions, create honestly, and grow.
The Details
Dates: The program runs from September through June with a final exhibition in the Spring.
Stipend: Receive $500 material stipend to support your commitment to creating faith-inspired art.
Time Commitment: Bi-Weekly sessions focused on spiritual practices, prophetic imagination, and developing your voice as an artist and activist. Participants are also expected to dedicate time outside of sessions to produce three or more pieces of art.
Apply if you are
A visual artist seeking to integrate faith and art
Committed to creating three or more pieces reflecting your faith walk
Passionate about using art to inspire change and build community
Available to attend bi-weekly gatherings on Wednesday nights and fully engage in program activities
Do you dream of creating art that tells powerful stories rooted in faith?
Launching in March 2025, the 126 Project offers a transformative 10-month journey designed for Christian visual artists who desire to explore the intersection of faith and creativity.
Scripture is full of bold and creative artists, often called prophets: they were raw, provocative, and always finding hope while challenging the status quo. Psalm 126 reminds us that the final act of liberation is imagination: the freedom to dream. We aim to create an open-hearted space for artists to dream as they join an encouraging community and create works that reflect the liberation of the scriptural prophets: to seek justice, to live hope, and to uplift our community.
We’ve set the table for you to grow as an artist, deepen in faith, and find your fellow creatives.
By joining this program, you will:
Engage in thoughtful conversation and practice grounded in the liberational arc of scripture.
Develop prophetic imagination to inspire your creative work and impact communities.
Participate in deep reflection and creative practice sessions.
Build supportive relationships with fellow artists navigating faith and creativity.
Present your work in a fall exhibition that celebrates your artistic journey and spiritual growth.
Our Story
The seeds for our art and faith initiative were planted during our 2023 Cohort Detroit travel intensive to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, when our Cohort walked through their special exhibit on Afro-Futurism. Later that night, we reflected on Psalm 126 and remembered that the final reality of restoration for the captives of Israel was not simply returned land and restored belongings, but a renewed spiritual imagination: the capacity to dream! Out of this dreaming, Ileana lead our first ever ‘Art Night’ where our participants could reflect on their faith through their art.
An invitation to dream has always been present in Detroit, especially among Detroit’s young adult artists. And yet, the space for dreaming is so often stifled by legacies of injustice, day-to-day pressures of mounting bills, and sometimes even the legalism of faith communities.
Responding to this need, we are creating a community that melds faith formation, justice, imagination, and art, serving together with Detroit artists. Detroiters have identified this need for spaces that explore scriptural justice, theology, and spiritual formation through the lens of art, play, imagination, and creativity.
