Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Awards

Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Awards is sponsored by Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA). BRIO awards provide support to individual Bronx artists who create works in the literary, media, visual, and performing arts. Awards are based solely on artistic excellence.

Winners complete a one-time public service activity known as Artists for Community Enrichment (ACE).

Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) | Bronx Council On The Arts Longwood @ Governors Island Artist Sustainability Workshop Series Convenings and Partnerships Bronx Cultural Visions Fund Community Engagement Grants (CEGs) Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) Grants > Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) Grant Amount: up to $5,000 Supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Greater New York Arts Development Fund For over 36 years, BCA’s BRIO Award has recognized artists from a wide range of creative disciplines who demonstrate proficiency, knowledge, and intense practice in their chosen artform.

Each year, BRIO provides direct support to individual Bronx artists who create works in the literary, media, visual, and performing arts with awards of $5,000. Artists who have received a BRIO award represent the vast diversity of Bronx residents, inclusive of all ethnicities, ages, and genders.

Awardees complete a one-time public service activity known as Artists for Community Enrichment (ACE), an essential component required of all BRIO recipients to be completed within a year of receiving the award. ACE provides artists with additional visibility and demonstrates to the Bronx community the wealth of artistic talent available in our borough. Applications are now closed.

View 2026 Guidelines below (Los instructivos también están disponibles en español.) There are no upcoming events at this time 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 Adina Farinango is a Kichwa-Otavalo artist who uses art as an act of resistance, healing, and self-expression. Her art practice serves as a means to navigate and… more Literary Arts: Screenwriting Alba E.

Garcia Rivas is an international award-winning Boricua filmmaker. Garcia Rivas brings a new, uplifting narrative by creating worlds inspired by her ancestors’… more Alejandro Bonilla Jr is Black and Afro- Latino artist from The Bronx, New York. Raised by two hard working parents it would be his father who was a painter… more Ana Espinal was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

She currently lives and works in the Bronx, NY. Through self-portrait photography, she reflects… more Arisael Rivera is a bilingual actor based in the Bronx, New York. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Bronx.

Arisael gained his love for theater at the young age… more Performing Arts: Vocal Music Known as Audry Funk, Audry Bustos is a singer, songwriter, MC, and activist born in Puebla, Mexico. Residing in the Bronx, New York, she has an international presence… more Bonafide Rojas is a poet & musician.

The author of five collections of poetry: Excelsior, Notes On The Return To The Island, Renovatio, When The City Sleeps & Pelo… more Brittany Miller (born 1990), lives and works in New York City.

She attended Pratt Munson (2010), received a BFA/MS from Pratt Institute (2013), and an MA from Columbia… more Visual Arts: Installation Art Chat Travieso is an artist, designer, and co-founder of the multidisciplinary collaborative duo Yeju & Chat, with Yeju Choi.

His practice encompasses community-centered… more Media Arts: Experimental Film/Video Chris Gude (New York, 1985) has made three films, all of them blending documentary and fiction with extensive fieldwork. ‘Mambo Cool’ (2013) was embedded in the… more Ellen Kombiyil (she/her) is a visual artist, poet, and educator from the Bronx.

She is currently at work on a project of “erasing war” and creating original… more Emily Henretta received an MFA in printmaking in 2011 from Columbia University School of the Arts, receiving fellowships and awards for my studies from Emily Fisher… more Performing Arts: Music Composition Percussionist Gabriel Globus-Hoenich seamlessly blends jazz, classical, and world music influences in his career as a performer, composer, and educator.

… more Literary Arts: Screenwriting Ian Keldoulis is an Australian writer who prefers shade to sunshine, so he moved to New York City in the 1980s, the past 25 years he’s lived in The Bronx. In his… more Literary Arts: Screenwriting Josafat Concepción (any pronouns) is a Canarian filmmaker and theatermaker based in the Bronx, known for their queer/punk approach to film and performance.

… more Visual Arts: Mixed Media (3D) Juan Butten is a Dominican-born multidisciplinary artist and writer based in New York, celebrated for his thought-provoking works that merge environmental themes with… more Performing Arts: Choreography Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small, raised in the South Bronx, began his dance journey with American and International social dance Ballroom styles under Pierre Dulaine… more Performing Arts: Vocal Music Born and raised in the Bronx, NY - Kemba is a product of the once burning borough.

As a teen, Kemba grew up in the world of organizing and activism as a founding member of… more Linda Cunningham is a New York City based artist who exhibits extensively both in New York and Germany. Her exhibition record includes 50 solo exhibitions/ installations… more Fonseca was born in Colombia and as a young child emigrated, with his parents, to Queens, NY.

He received a BA in Photography from CCNY and an MA in school counseling,… more Lyrical Faith is a Black American Educator, Activist and Spoken Word Poet from The Bronx, NY. She has been featured at venues such as The Apollo Theater as well as… more Media Arts: Experimental Film/Video Maia Wheaton is a multidisciplinary artist hailing from Harlem, NY and currently residing in the Bronx.

Her practice spans multiple forms including poetry, film, experimental… more Literary Arts: Screenwriting Marlyn Matias Feliciano is an award winning Bilingual Actor and Writer from The Bronx. As an actor Marlyn has been in many theater productions throughout… more Visual Arts: Mixed Media (3D) Massiel Mafes is a New York City-based artist from Miami, Florida.

Her work centers on storytelling through painting and textiles, delving into themes of belonging,… more Performing Arts: Choreography Megan Curet is a Bronx-born Afro-Boricua dancer, choreographer, birth-doula, and educator, currently completing a PhD in dance at the University of Plymouth where her… more Michael Rotenberg-Schwartz Michael Rotenberg-Schwartz is an Associate Professor of English at New Jersey City University, where he teaches a variety of courses on British and American… more Performing Arts: Vocal Music Morgan James is a Juilliard trained singer, songwriter, actress and recording artist in the Bronx, NY.

Morgan independently released her studio albums of original… more Performing Arts: Music Composition Nehemiah has been performing, composing and conducting for over 30 years. He connects his deep love of music to the transformative power of building community… more Literary Arts: Illustrated Text For the past eight years I've had the pleasure of writing comic book stories featuring black leads.

My mission is to introduce unique stories that includes cultural… more Nicole America Cruz is a multidisciplinary visual artist from The Bronx, New York. Her work centers on celebrating and empowering both her own identity and… more Media Arts: Documentary Film/Video Oyiza Adaba's work as a journalist and filmmaker has helped to amplify African perspectives.

She founded the media platform Africa-Related in 2008 to develop concepts… more Robert Berardi was born in 1968 and grew up in Mahopac, NY. In 1988, the UArts sophomore ran out into a hurricane and began sketching a new character that would… more Performing Arts: Instrumental Music Sam Newsome is a renowned saxophonist, music professor, and author from the South Bronx.

In 2024, he released his latest solo album, Live at the Catalytic Sound Festival,… more Performing Arts: Vocal Music Solo Jones is not just another artist—he’s a musical phenomenon. Bursting onto the scene with undeniable talent, an electrifying presence, and a sound that pushes… more Stephanie Pacheco is the 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States.

She also served as the 2023 New York City and 2024 Inaugural New York State Youth… more Literary Arts: Nonfiction Sydney Valerio is a creative non-fiction writer, a poet, a performer, and an ultra marathoner. In 2016 she wrote and performed “Matters” at the Nuyorican Poets… more Performing Arts: Spoken Word T. J.

McGowan aka The Everyday Bite is a Bronx based writer, poet, and spoken word artist who has performed all over the tristate area, with written work published… more Theodoor Gabriella Grimes Visual Arts: Illustration Theodoor Gabriella Grimes (They/He) is a Black non-binary digital artist known for his vibrant illustrations that center the queer experience under the… more Tiffany Mellard is a performing artist and dance educator from Bronx, NY.

Her training began at Mind Builders Creative Arts Center, and continued at Harlem School… more Media Arts: Narrative Film/Video Tramaine Renee is filmmaker dedicated to writing and producing films that feature masculine of center, queer women of color as strong female leads. She quickly found… more Born and raised in Italy, ‘Vic’ as he is known around town, is an international artist living and working in New York City.

He moved to the US after graduating… more Well Chandler lives and works in The Bronx.

He received his MFA from Yale University in 2011 where he was awarded the Ralph Mayer Prize for proficiency in materials… more 2700 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461 A pioneering advocate for cultural equity, the Bronx Council on the Arts nurtures the development of a diverse array of artists and arts organizations and builds strong cultural connections in and beyond The Bronx.

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