ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES ARTISTS FELLOWSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS

Chicago ---The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is pleased to announce the fiscal year 2004 Artists Fellowship Awards recipients. Non-matching fellowships in fixed amounts of $7,000 are awarded to Illinois artists in recognition of their outstanding work and commitment within the arts. This year, 49 Illinois artists will receive Fellowships totaling $343,000.

Finalist Awards of $700 are also awarded to 27 Illinois artists for a total of $18,900. The Finalist Award category recognizes and encourages additional applicants who demonstrate considerable talent.

The Artists Fellowship Program offers funding for 12 artistic disciplines on a two-year rotating cycle. This year's Fellowship and Finalist Award recipients were selected from 550 creative artists working in seven disciplines: Choreography, Crafts, Ethnic and Folk Arts,

Media Arts, New Performance Forms, Prose and Scriptworks. In fiscal year 2005, awards will be offered in the five other disciplines: Interdisciplinary/Computer Art, Music Composition, Photography, Poetry and Visual Arts.

The following jurors reviewed this year’s applications:

CHOREOGRAPHY: Peggy Choy, Madison, WI; David Marchant, St Louis, MO; Becky Heist, St Paul MN

CRAFTS: Eddie Dominguez, Albiqui, NM; Arturo Sandoval, Lexington, KY; Claire Sanford, Gloucester, MA

ETHNIC AND FOLK ARTS: Deb Bailey, Columbia, MO; Larry Morrisey, Jackson, MS; Kim Nguyen, Highland Park, NJ; Carolyn Johnson, Chicago, IL (in-state juror)

MEDIA ARTS: Tony Cokes, Warwick, RI; Steve Peters, Albuquerque, NM

NEW PERFORMANCE FORMS: Regie Cabico, New York, NY; Leilani Chan, Los Angeles, CA; Marcus Young, St Paul, MN

PROSE: Faith Adiele, Pittsburgh, PA; Susan Taylor Chehak, Los Angeles, CA; Joe Ashby Porter, Durham, NC

SCRIPTWORKS: Anthony Flacco, Toluca Lake, CA; Adrienne Earle Pender, Willow Springs, NC; Mark Clayton Southers, Pittsburgh, PA

Following are the Fiscal Year 2004 Artists Fellowship and Finalist Award recipients listed by discipline.