Dance artist Laksha Dantran and theater artist Richard Costes are among the artists who will receive $25,000 unrestricted grants.

Another ten artists, who were selected by the 2018 3Arts awardees, will receive $2,000 “Make a Wave” grant.

The 20 extraordinary Chicago artists in the performing, teaching, and visual arts will be honored at a function at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago Nov. 4.

The non-profit which awards Chicago artists of color, artists with disabilities, and women in the arts with unrestricted grants, has, since its founding in 2007, distributed more than $3.4 million in total funding to more than 900 artists.

Dantran, a transgender artist trained in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Konnakol, is the principal artist and teacher at Mandala South Asian Performing Arts. According to Mandala Arts, she is a trans woman who has “paved the way for LGBTQ artists in the classical Indian dance and music world with thought-provoking projects and artistic resilience.”

Dantran, who has toured throughout India, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the U.S., is the recipient of the 2018-2019 Spark Microgrant.

According to Chicago Arts Coalition, Dantran’s “hurdles have shaped her.”

“In her journey, she is fascinated by blending all aspects of life into her visual art presentation, and breaking the boundaries of existing conversation in order to create an inclusive atmosphere among people of color, race, and gender,” it said.

Costes, a deaf actor, has been working consistently throughout Chicago, New York, and Ohio as an actor, director, and designer since his graduation from Kent State University’s Theatre Studies program.

He is the 2017 recipient of 3Arts’ “Make a Wave” grant. Costes was seen in “Vanya” (or “That’s Life!”) at Rasaka Theatre Company as Astrov and in a workshopped production of “Battleaxe Betty” at American Theatre Company.  Other notable acting credits include “Wastwater” at Steep Theatre Company, “The Green Bird,” “The Glass Menagerie,” “Eight Reindeer Monologues,” “The Tempest,” all at the Cuckoo’s Theatre Project. He has also performed in productions of “Amadeus” “Romeo and Juliet,” “God of Hell” and” Our Lady of 121st Street.”

Costes also serves as the executive director of Chicago D(ART) – the city’s only deaf run storefront theatre.

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