DAWA Studios is a community arts project that seeks to create space for BIPOC podcasters, creatives and grassroots organizations to produce high-quality media content.
One of the greatest barriers to creating content and spreading your message is access to equipment (lighting, cameras, sound, etc). Content creation is so important for establishing online presence, but many talented voices in our community need support to bring their unique visions and stories to the world.
The Studio will serve as an incubator for this talent, generating hours of high-quality content for these creators for no fee. Access to the studio will be entirely subsidized through donors, grants, and revenue generated from the studio (corporate and non-BIPOC clients).
Black Live Music Fund (BLMF)
The Black Live Music Fund intends to create artist education and economic initiatives to help recipients sustain their music careers while fund organizers develop a long-term platform to promote Black music in Austin. A longer-term goal of the Black Live Music Fund is to establish a Black-owned music venue with a revenue structure that directly benefits artists and helps establish an environment for Black artists to flourish in Austin.
DAWA Fund supports individuals and families facing hardship and crisis.
$153,000 of direct financial assistance has been distributed over the last 2 years to BIPOC Community Frontliners, and we are excited to continue our services in Austin, but please be patient as we work to improve our programming and infrastructure over the next few months.
We will be back soon, better than ever!
Supporting Austin Musicians
The Teeta
As front runner of the legendary Austin music collective “Team Next”, The Teeta has burst into his own lane after releasing 80 songs, 4 projects, and several videos. With his daring sense of style and ability to blend lyricism with trap beats, Teeta has undoubtedly become a force, originating his own subgenre deemed “New age pretty boy trap.”
Shiela
Shiela is a Miami-based Latin-Pop-RnB singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas who draws on Mexican and Nicaraguan roots to make people dance. She made waves at her Austin City Limits Music Festival performance in 2021 and is on fire in 2022 as an Austin Music Awards nominee for Best Latin Artist, Official SXSW 2022 performer, Recording Academy Class of '23 Member, and Austin City Limits 2022 performer.
Supporting Austin Creatives
Jacob Guzman
Jacob Guzman was born in 1994 in Austin, TX. He is self-taught in various mediums and uses raw materials to construct his works. Following intuition, he found himself in Los Angeles and eventually landed in Philadelphia. Guzman’s work depicts aspects of daily inner-city struggles, as well as cultural values. Inspired by the sounds of Jazz and Soul music, and their defined style of album art, they’renotably a heavy influence and reflect in his work. He currently lives and works out of Austin, TX.
Joe B
Joe Brundidge is an author, host, and public speaker living in Austin, Texas. He has hosted a number of open mic events for almost 20 years to include Spoken & Heard at Kick Butt Coffee, an event he curates.
Supporting The Healers
Denise Washington
Denise L. Washington is a doula, mother, student midwife and Founder of Delivering Unto You. She is originally from Kansas City, KS and has been in the Austin area for 11 years. Denise began her journey in 2001 as a doula and childbirth educator for a local pregnancy shelter for young women in Kansas City, KS. In 2019 she decided to focus on providing support to families of color on her own terms and founded Delivering Unto You. Her mission is to change the way the black community views and receives maternal care and support.
