Kresge Arts in Detroit and WDET have partnered to present a virtual artist salon series featuring the 2021 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Awardees. This nine part series includes never before seen video presentations by awarded metro Detroit artists and writers followed by a public Q+A and conversation moderated by WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper.

Born and raised in Hamtramck, Ana Gavrilovska writes stories about music and art. After a pit stop living in the suburbs, she returned to Detroit as soon as she could, earning an English degree from Wayne State University. She’s been involved in the music scene as a fan for much longer, but never considered combining her passions—music and words—until she wandered into the field of music journalism as a freelancer for Detroit Metro Times. Since then, Gavrilovska has carved out an idiosyncratic path as an arts and culture writer with print magazine features, artist interviews, liner notes, album reviews, online content, artist bios, and more.

Donnevan Tolbert has been writing plays and short stories since he was a child. While attending Wayne State University, Tolbert submitted his play This Don’t Make You Cool to the 2017 Louise Heck-Rabi Scholarship Playwriting Competition and it won first place. When the play was produced and performed, he knew that writing was a part of his calling. Tolbert writes music, poetry, plays, and short stories—it is his most genuine and fulfilling form of expression. As a young Black man, he feels that much is required of him from birth. Tolbert grew up in a single-parent home and his daily mission is to make a way for his mom to retire early in life.