GOOD DEEDS Meet The 2026 Palladium's Creative Fellowships Recipients
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On April 2nd, The Palladium at St. Petersburg College announced the 2026 recipients of its Creative Fellowship program. This year’s cohort of Fellows – spanning diverse genres including jazz, world music, dance, opera, and multidisciplinary arts – will receive financial and institutional support to develop new creative projects and advance their professional practice within the Tampa Bay region.
“Over the past five years, the Creative Fellowship program has become one of the Palladium’s proudest commitments,” said Paul Wilborn, Executive Director. “By investing directly in local artists, we’re not only supporting individual projects, we’re also strengthening the cultural fabric of Tampa Bay. Even as we prepare for a transformative renovation of Hough Hall later this year, our commitment to these artists remains unwavering.”
A Look Back: Five Years of Creative Fellowships
Since launching in 2021, the Palladium Creative Fellowship program has awarded more than $110,000 in unrestricted funding to over 40 local artists and ensembles. In just five years, the program has become a defining expression of the Palladium’s long-term commitment to cultivating homegrown artistic excellence and elevating the region’s creative voices. In previous years, Fellowship projects have culminated in public performances and premieres at the Palladium, including original works by past Fellows such as Jason Hackenwerth, BEACON, projectALCHEMY, Simon Lasky, Daniela Soledade, Hot Tonic, and Maiya Stevenson/Afro Opera. From new jazz compositions and chamber collaborations to contemporary dance premieres and cross-genre explorations, these performances have highlighted the depth and diversity of artistic talent thriving in Tampa Bay.
Meet the 2026 Palladium Creative Fellows
The selected Fellows for 2026 represent a wide range of disciplines and artistic visions:
- Madison Bender - A dancer, choreographer, teacher, and performer, Madison trained at The Joffrey Ballet School and earned her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School. Since relocating to St. Petersburg, she has performed with BEACON Dance and The Florida Orchestra and premiered a trio work at The Dalí Museum as a 2025 Momentum Artist.
- Julie Black – A Tampa Bay-based singer-songwriter, Julie’s soulful sound echoes the intensity of early blues and jazz traditions. She performs original jazz, blues, and roots music.
- Hex Appeal – Founded at Ladies Rock Camp, Hex Appeal is a multi-generational, all-female band known for swampy, haunting melodies. Members continue to mentor girls and gender-expansive youth through Girls Rock and Ladies Rock programs, building confidence through original songwriting and performance.
- Markus Gottschlich – Austrian-American pianist and composer Markus Gottschlich is a Steinway Artist whose music fuses jazz, classical, and world influences into a distinctive voice. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA) and was a 2025 Creative Pinellas Artist Grant recipient.
- Zeta the Babe (Zhareyahnna Hollingsworth) – A singer, saxophonist, and storyteller, Zeta blends soulful vocals, live-looped saxophone, and spoken word to create immersive experiences rooted in vulnerability, mindfulness, and creative discipline.
- Christine Honein and Ghadeer Abaido - Lebanese-American soprano Christine Honein has performed across the United States and the Levant, recently appearing with St. Pete Opera and The Rossini Club. Palestinian-Jordanian pianist Ghadeer Abaido has collaborated with chamber ensembles and orchestras across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
- Allison Nash – A jazz vocalist known for her powerful and versatile voice, Allison is an active collaborator within Tampa Bay’s jazz community and is currently working on her debut album.
- ARConnection - A jazz ensemble co-founded by composer and drummer Dave Rudolph and 2024 Creative Fellow pianist/composer Pablo Arencibia, ARConnection creates original works reflecting community, culture, and place. Their current project, Bay Rhythms: A Jazz Portrait of Tampa Bay, explores the spirit and resilience of the region.
- Lauren Slone – An internationally recognized choreographer, dancer, and arts leader, Lauren is co-founder of BEACON Dance and is committed to expanding opportunities for professional dancers and multidisciplinary artists in the local community.
- Adam Turkel – A professional musician, artist, and educator based in St. Petersburg, Turkel combines original artwork, live music, and cultural storytelling to bridge the visual and musical worlds that shaped pop art and rock in the 1960s and 1970s.
Palladium Creative Fellowships provide financial support of up to $2,500 in unrestricted funds to local performing artists developing new work. Fellows gain access to institutional resources including marketing support, technical consultation, administrative guidance, rehearsal space, and networking opportunities with past and present Fellows and community arts leaders. Due to the planned renovation of Hough Hall beginning in summer 2026, this year’s Fellowship awards focus exclusively on project and professional development. While public performances will resume in future seasons, the Palladium remains committed to ensuring artists have the time, resources, and support necessary to grow their work during this transformative period. As the Palladium prepares its next chapter, the Creative Fellowship program remains a cornerstone of its mission — to strengthen, inspire, and elevate the artists who shape Tampa Bay’s cultural identity. Palladium Creative Fellowships are made possible in part by generous support from the Gobioff Foundation, the Hough Family Foundation, the Margaret Ewell Dickins Family Foundation, Smith & Associates, Jenny Carey and Jamie Shepherd, and the City of St. Petersburg. These contributions over time have helped shape and sustain this vital program, ensuring that artists in the Tampa Bay region have the resources they need to create and share their work.
Learn more information about Palladium Creative Fellowships.
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