March 31, 2022, 1:19pm
Yesterday, on late poet and memoirist Molly Brodak’s 42nd birthday, a new nonprofit formed in her memory launched. Glass Orchid is an organization committed to supporting independent artists, writers, publishers, and alternative spaces; they provide grant opportunities, financial support and community sustainment to a network of emerging talents from diverse backgrounds.
Announced on their website, Glass Orchid’s first award is the Molly Brodak Award for Bravery in Poetics: a no-strings-attached $10,000 grant awarded to an artist of distinctively independent vision and approach, selected based on body of work and financial need.
“Our primary goal as Glass Orchid is to award funds to inspired individuals working outside traditional support,” Blake Butler, Brodak’s husband, executive director of Glass Orchid, and writer, said in a video statement. “We believe by removing professional boundaries placed on those whose work doesn’t necessarily fit into a shape, we can provide a means to amplify the diverse voices of the lesser-heard and honor those who stand apart.”
You can learn more about Glass Orchid, and watch Butler’s introductory video message, at their website.