Amjad Faur: 2017 Artist Trust Fellow
Artist Trust Announces 16 Recipients of its 2017 Fellowship Award Program
May 15, 2017 – Artist Trust is pleased to announce the names of the 16 recipients of the 2017 Fellowship. First presented in 1987, Fellowship provides a total of $107,000 in funding to artists across Washington State and is one of Artist Trust’s flagship award programs.
Fellowships are based on merit and awarded to practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and ability. 14 of the 16 Fellowships are unrestricted awards in the amount of $7,500 each. Two are residencies to the Millay Colony for the Arts in upstate New York, plus a $1,000 stipend.
“It will take several years to finalize a new project and I will be able to turn to these funds at that time with a sense of humility and purpose,” says Olympia-based visual artist Amjad Faur on receiving a 2017 Fellowship. “This is an extraordinary moment for me personally, professionally, and creatively. It will stand as a formative moment as I move forward and I will always do my best to represent your decision with grace and creative fire.”
A total of 280 applications were received and across four disciplines: emerging/cross-disciplinary, performing arts, traditional/folk, and visual art. The breakdown of the awards was based on the percentage of applicants in each discipline.
• Nine of the recipients are visual artists
• Three are performing artists
• Three are emerging/cross-disciplinary artists
• One is a traditional/folk artist
Of our 2017 Fellowship awardees, 11 of 16 are mid-career artists, seven of 16 are from outside of King County, six of 16 are artists of color, and 12 of 16 are women.
“In all honesty I couldn’t have done it without Artist Trust in the first place,” says 2017 Fellowship recipient and 2010 GAP recipient Jenny Hyde. The cross-disciplinary artist from Spokane expressed that with the support she received from the GAP “I was able to produce and complete an ambitious project that otherwise most likely would not have been made. Because of this experience, my practice changed. Since then I have maintained the confidence in producing works of art that are often challenging, overly ambitious, and never ending.”
Fellowship selection panels are discipline-specific and held over four days in the Artist Trust office. Each panel consists of three artists or arts administrators working in the same discipline but usually in different mediums. Half of our panelists were from outside of King County, and 9 of 12 panelists identified as a person of color.
The full list of 2017 Fellowship recipients is below, along with a list of this year’s panelists. The Fellowship award recipient’s biographies and images of their work can be viewed on the Artist Trust website.
2017 Fellowship Recipients
Emerging/Cross-disciplinary Arts
Anne de Marcken*, Thurston County
Natasha Marin, King County
Mary Rothlisberger, Whitman County
Traditional/Folk Arts
Monica Rojas-Stewart, King County
Performing Arts
Esther de Monteflores, Whatcom County
Alice Gosti*, King County
Jody Kuehner, King County
Visual Arts
Julie Alpert, King County
Dawn Cerny, King County
Amjad Faur, Thurston County
Jacob Foran, Snohomish County
Jenny Hyde, Spokane County
Eirik Johnson, King County
Dave Kennedy, King County
Anna Mlasowsky, King County
Yuki Nakamura, Pierce County
*Millay Colony for the Arts Residency
2017 Fellowship Selection Panelists
Emerging/Cross-disciplinary Arts
Alan Chatham, director, Laboratory Spokane
Ryan Feddersen, artist
Brent Watanabe, artist
Traditional/Folk Arts
Miranda Belarde-Lewis, curator
Erin Genia, program coordinator, Longhouse at the Evergreen State College
Jan Hopkins, artist
Performing Arts
ilvs strauss, performance artist
Dani Terrell, choreographer
Bryan Willis, playwright
Visual Arts
Andrew Hoeppner, artist
Ellen Ito, collections management associate, Tacoma Art Museum
Ellen Picken, program manager, Spokane Art
About Artist Trust
Artist Trust has invested over $10 million in Washington State artists since its founding in 1986, through grant programs and direct support. Artist Trust also provides a comprehensive suite of career training and professional development resources to help artists achieve their career goals.
Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Find out more at www.artisttrust.org.
Artist Trust has invested over $10 million in Washington State artists since its founding in 1986, through grant programs and direct support. Artist Trust also provides a comprehensive suite of career training and professional development resources to help artists achieve their career goals.
Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Find out more at www.artisttrust.org.
Major supporters of Artist Trust include many individual donors along with: 4Culture, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Amazon, ArtsFund, ArtsWA, The Boeing Company, The Dale & Leslie Chihuly Foundation, The Klorfine Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Raynier Institute & Foundation, Seattle Art Fair, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Jon & Mary Shirley Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and Vulcan Inc.