Mass Cultural Council is honored to announce the 2020 Artist Fellowship awards in Choreography, Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, and Painting. The awards include 18 fellowships of $15,000, and 16 finalist awards of $1,500. See a list of this year’s fellows and finalists, to date.
The awards are anonymously judged, based solely on the artistic quality and creative ability of the work submitted. We received a total of 1,222 applications from artists throughout Massachusetts, including 60 in Choreography, 603 in Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, and 559 in Painting.
This is the second series of Artist Fellowships awards to be given by Mass Cultural Council in 2020. In January 2020, Mass Cultural Council announced awards in Drawing & Printmaking, Poetry, and Traditional Arts.
The Artist Fellowships are part of Mass Cultural Council’s sustained effort to support individual artists with grants and services. We recently distributed 273 grants as part of the COVID-19 Relief Fund for Individuals and 30 grants from the GKV Foundation Fund for Berkshire County Theater Professionals.
We invite a wide-ranging group of panelists and readers to conduct the anonymous review. The Choreography panelists were Vanessa Anspaugh, Randal Fippinger, Kristin Gregory, and Martha Potyrala. Ana Masacote served as a first-round reader.
The Fiction/Creative Nonfiction panelists were Mary-Kim Arnold, Mary O’Donoghue, Salvatore Scibona, and Shubha Sunder. Cherline Bazile, Robert Croll, Jennifer Alise Drew, Jane Dykema, Stephanie G’Schwind, Janalyn Guo, Dianca London Potts, Jill Maio, Sean P. McCarthy, Speer Morgan, GennaRose Nethercott, Lynne Nugent, Anie Onaiza, Daniela Petrova, Peng Shepherd, Ashley Strosnider, Shilpi Suneja, Brian Trapp, and Laura Willwerth served as first-round readers.
The Painting panelists were Erin Becker, Nathan Prebonick, and YoAhn Han.
Find a full list of this year’s Artist Fellowships awardees.
Images: Daniela Rivera (Painting Fellow ’20, ’12), installation view of WHERE THE SKY TOUCHES THE EARTH (DONDE EL CIELO TOCA LA TIERRA) (2019), oil on canvas, 12x30x30 ft; Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser (Choreography Fellows ’20); David Brewster (Painting Fellow ’20), AMERICAN SORROW: CHASING TRUMPS TORNADO (2017), oil on mi-teintes, 47x64x2 in; Lynda Schlosberg (Painting Fellow ’20), TUNING IN (2019), acrylic on panel, 40x30x2 in.
Richard Limber says
WILL THE MCC WAKE UP?
(from tepid conservatism)
not in its choice of jurors and $ allocation in the painting realm in 2020
tone deaf, and mired in forgettable formalism..
richardlimber.com
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Colette Bresilla says
We’ll see about that! It’s unbelievable. I stopped submitting just because of the jurors’ choice. I am a black female visual artist and I am fed up.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
ArtSake says
We appreciate your comment and are sorry that the application process was discouraging for you. We aim to have a wide range of perspectives on our anonymously-judged panels, but we always appreciate new ideas. So if you have recommendations for prospective panelists, please let us know. We sincerely hope you will apply again to the Artist Fellowships in the future.
Carl Bowlby says
Well, diversity works both ways, I am unfortunately a middle-aged, white male who has been snubbed four years running! I can’t understand why, because my “crap” is just as good as the “crap” that’s been chosen. Go figure. But I have a website, too! My art adorns facemasks made in Canada and I’d love for the “disappointed” to check ‘em out. They’re only 25 bucks Canadian and I think they look pretty neat!
http://www.art-a-porter.com/carl.bowlby
Thanks!
Carl Bowlby says
Website update: http://www.legaleriste.com/carl.bowlby
There are many new designs, including men’s boxer briefs and a sort of “Nehru” jacket and long-sleeved shirts. Check ‘em out. Made in Canada, vegan and water-based inks. Thanks!
Colette says
I just turned 54 this month and still paying my last student loan from over 26 years ago. I do understand your situation but …..
Carl Bowlby says
Not sure who your comment is directed at, but I can certainly sympathize with having outrageous student loan debts. I’ve been railing on about the need for a 2nd stimulus so at least we artists can scrape by. I can’t even comment on the arbitrariness of the MCC’s judging process. Far too subjective in my opinion.