Congratulations to the five Oregon artists who have been honored by the Joan Mitchell Foundation with artist grants: Addoley Dzegede, Lisa Jarrett, Elizabeth Malaska, Wendy Red Star, and Blair Saxon Hill.
The Artist Centered Program demonstrates the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s commitment to understanding the needs of visual artists throughout their lives, through awarding individual artist grants, administering aid programs, and funding arts organizations.
Since 1994, artists have been selected through an intensive nomination and review process for the Foundation’s Painters & Sculptors Grant Program. Nominators are asked to recommend candidates who they feel deserve more recognition and would benefit from the financial support. The Foundation currently awards twenty-five grants in the amount of $25,000 each, based on the quality of the applicants’ work. Recognizing the needs of emerging artists graduating from MFA programs across the country, the MFA Grant was later established with the first round of artists funded in 1997. MFA Grant recipients were also included in annual group exhibitions at the CUE Art Foundation with an accompanying catalogue. This program was suspended in 2012, as the Foundation seeks to engage an even broader, more heterogeneous group of artists, beyond the system of higher education. The Emerging Artist Grant Program is a new initiative designed to assist emerging visual artists across the United States. This pilot program awards a diverse group of ten artists with an unrestricted grant of $12,000 per artist in addition to professional support throughout the year.
Other Oregon artists who have received grants and residency awards from the Foundation include Ralph Pugay, Ryan Pierce and Samantha Wall.