IACA Announces 2020 Artist Fellowship Award Recipients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2020
ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL AGENCY ANNOUNCES 2020 ARTIST FELLOWSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS
Chicago, IL - The Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) is honored to announce the 2020 Artist Fellowship Award (AFA) recipients. The IACA AFAs are $15,000 awards to Illinois artists in recognition of their outstanding work and commitment within the arts. This year 19 Illinois artists will receive Fellowships totaling $255,000. Finalist Awards of $1,500 were also awarded to 19 Illinois artists for a total of $27,000. The Finalist Award category recognizes and encourages additional applicants who demonstrate considerable talent.
The Artist Fellowship Program offered funding in 6 artistic disciplines. This year's Fellowship and Finalist Award recipients were selected from 356 Illinois based creative artists working in the disciplines of Ethnic and Folk Arts, Crafts, Interdisciplinary/Computer-Based Arts, and Visual Arts which includes Visual-Based Arts (Installation, Mixed Media, Painting, Graphic & Drawing), Photography, and Sculpture.
The Council is proud to be able to award Illinois artists with the unrestricted awards that will support their creative endeavors and artistic growth. The mission of the Illinois Arts Council Agency is “To build a strong, creative, and connected Illinois through the arts.” The Agency recognizes that Illinois’ artists are an essential component of the social fabric of the state and its arts community especially during these challenging times. The Artist Fellowship Awardees and Finalist range in age from their 30s through their 70s, hail from 11 different communities across the state including urban, suburban, and rural communities. They represent communities from as far north as Chicago, as far southwest as Murphysboro, as far southeast as Charleston and as well as the heart of Illinois, Bloomington/Normal.
Following are the Fiscal Year 2020 Artist Fellowship and Finalist Award recipients listed by discipline.
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ETHNIC AND FOLK ARTS |
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Juan Dies |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Tatsuyuki Aoki |
Oak Park |
$15,000 |
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Vanitha Veeravalli |
Naperville |
$ 1,500 |
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Pranita Nayar |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Shoba Natarajan |
Naperville |
$ 1,500 |
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CRAFTS |
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Janis Mars Wunderlich |
Monmouth |
$15,000 |
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Melissa Leandro |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Pattie Chalmers |
Carbondale |
$ 1,500 |
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Sharon Bladholm |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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INTERDISCIPLINARY/COMPUTER-BASED ARTS |
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Steven Ciampaglia & Kerry Richardson |
Oak Park |
$15,000 |
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Lional Freeman |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Jay Alan Yim & Marlena Novak |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Kristin Carlson |
Bloomington |
$ 1,500 |
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VISUAL-BASED ARTS (INSTALLATION, MIXED MEDIA, PAINTING, DRAWING, & Graphic) |
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Amanda Williams |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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William J. O’Brien |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Assaf Evron |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Conrad Bakker |
Urbana |
$15,000 |
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Allison Lacher & Jeff Robinson |
Springfield |
$15,000 |
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Claire Ashley |
Oak Park |
$ 1,500 |
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Aram Han Sifuentes |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Huong Ngo |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Marc Fischer |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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VISUAL-BASED ARTS (PHOTOGRAPHY) |
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Noritaka Minami |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Alice Hargrave |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Jason Reblando |
Normal |
$15,000 |
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Gonzalo Reyes |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Laura Letinsky |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Patty Carroll |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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VISUAL-BASED ARTS (SCULPTURE) |
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Chris Bradley |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Heather Mekkelson |
Chicago |
$15,000 |
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Matthew Boonstra |
Charleston |
$15,000 |
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Stephen Reber |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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John Medwedeff |
Murphysboro |
$ 1,500 |
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Wen Liu |
Chicago |
$ 1,500 |
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Rodrigo Lara Zendejas |
Chicago |
$ 1.500 |
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The following jurors reviewed this year’s applications in the disciplines of:
CRAFTS: Dave Blevins, Versailles, KY; Mollie Flanagan, Falls, RI; Cynthia Myron, Henrico, VA; Lilli Tichinin, Santa Fe, NM
ETHNIC AND FOLK ARTS: Susan Eleuterio, Highland, IN; John Fenn, Washington DC; Veronica O'Hern, Des Moines, IA
INTERDISCIPLINARY/COMPUTER-BASED ARTS ARTIST: Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, Brooklyn, NY; Karin Hodgin Jones, Champaign, IL; Sarah Lewison, Carbondale, IL; Judd Morrissey, Chicago, IL
VISUAL-BASED ARTS (PHOTOGRAPHY): Paul D'Amato, Chicago, IL; Rachel Fein-Smolinski, Champaign, IL; Beate Geissler, Chicago, IL; Simone Levine, Chicago, IL
VISUAL-BASED ARTS (SCULPTURE): Juan Angel Chavez, Chicago, IL; Danielle Bursk, Trenton, NJ; Linda Norbut Suits, Springfield, IL
VISUAL-BASED ARTS (INSTALLATION, MIXED MEDIA, PAINTING, GRAPHIC & DRAWING): Erin Buczynski, Mapleton, IL; Betsy Dollar, Springfield, IL; Karsten Lund, Chicago, IL; Daniel Schulman, Chicago, IL
ARTIST FELLOWSHIP AWARDS
The intent of the Artist Fellowship Program is to enrich and strengthen the state of Illinois by supporting accomplished Illinois artists who are the foundation of Illinois' creative environment. The Artist Fellowship Program recognizes exceptional artists who have created a substantial body of work throughout their career by providing awards to support continued artistic growth. The awards are non-matching Fellowships in unrestricted fixed amounts of $15,000.
To learn more about the Artist Fellowship Awards visit: http://www.arts.illinois.gov/AFA-Program
ABOUT THE ILLINOIS ARTS COUNCIL AGENCY
The Illinois Arts Council Agency was created as a state agency by the Illinois General Assembly in 1965 through legislation sponsored by Senators Paul Simon, Thomas McGloon, and Alan Dixon. The agency is governed by up to twenty-one private citizens chosen for their demonstrated commitment to the arts and appointed by the Governor. Council members serve in a voluntary, non-paid capacity and are charged with developing the state’s public arts policy, fostering quality culturally diverse programs, and approving grants expenditures. A small professional staff with in-depth knowledge of the arts develops and administers the agency’s programs, provides technical assistance, and ensures the responsible and impactful distribution of all funds. Resources to support the Illinois Arts Council Agency are provided by the Governor and General Assembly of Illinois and the National Endowment for the Arts.
To learn more about the Illinois Arts Council Agency visit: http://www.arts.illinois.gov/
CONTACT: Encarnacion Teruel, Deputy Director - Artist Fellowship Awards, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Encarnacion.teruel@illinois.gov, 312-814-4991.
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