United States Artists Gives $2.5 Million Directly to Artists

A groundbreaking assemblage artist from Los Angeles, a photographer of rural Appalachia, and a documentary filmmaker from Chicago are among the 52 outstanding artists to receive 50 USA Fellowships from United States Artists (USA), the national grant-making and advocacy organization, which today awarded them unrestricTed Grants of $50,000 each. Since 2006, the USA Fellows program has named a total of 317 Fellows from 42 states, providing a total of $15 million directly into the hands of America's finest artists. Hailing from 19 states and Puerto Rico, the 2011 USA Fellows range from 31 to 78 years of age and represent the most innovative and influential artists in their fields. They include pioneering thinkers, traditional practitioners, and avant-garde creators from the fields of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, media, music, theater arts, and visual arts. The complete list of winners is provided below. United States Artists invests in America's finest artists through the USA Fellows program and USA Projects, a web-based microphilanthropy initiative that launched in 2010 and has enabled artists to raise over $1.3 million to support their creative projects.

The 2011 USA Fellows reflect the diversity and complexity of artistic practice in America, from craft artists who use traditional techniques to create contemporary works, to pioneers of sustainable design, influential commentators on African-American culture, and modern dance innovators. The honorees include experimental architectural designer Jenny Sabin (Philadelphia, PA); contemporary blacksmith Tom Joyce (Santa Fe, NM); assemblage artist John Outterbridge (Los Angeles, CA); filmmaker Kelly Reichardt (New York, NY), director of Meek's Cutoff; feminist performance artist Carolee Schneemann (New Paltz, NY); photographer of rural Appalachia Mike Smith (Johnson City, TN); modern dance practitioner Donald Byrd (Seattle, WA), choreographer of The Color Purple on Broadway; pioneering conceptual artist Allen Ruppersberg (Santa Monica, CA); glass artist Beth Lipman (Sheboygan Falls, WI); playwright Annie Baker (Brooklyn, NY); guitarist Manuel Barrueco (Lutherville, MD); Campbell McGrath (Miami Beach, FL), a writer known for his documentary poems; painter and theater artist Roger Shimomura (Lawrence, KS), who confronts Asian-American stereotypes in his work; documentary filmmaker Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams (Oak Park, IL); experimental composer and performer Sxip Shirey (New York, NY); and choreographer Lar Lubovitch (New York, NY).

United States Artists will officially announce this year's USA Fellows at a celebration tonight hosted by Tim Robbins, Academy Award-winning actor and artistic director of L.A.-based theater company The Actors' Gang. The event will feature performances by USA Fellows, including songwriter Terry Allen, percussionist Cyro Baptista, singer and performance artist Holcombe Waller, and choreographer Lar Lubovitch. The evening will honor the California Community Foundation (CCF) in recognition of their ongoing support of United States Artists. With a mission to strengthen the Los Angeles community, CCF has demonstrated a commitment to supporting local artists by awarding grants totaling $1.8 million. CCF also created one of the first matching funds on USA Projects to benefit Los Angeles-based artists.

Through a rigorous evaluation process, panels of experts in each artistic discipline selected the 52 winning artists (including two collaboratives) from among 311 nominated applicants living in 45 states. USA Fellowships are awarded to artists at all career stages who demonstrate artistic excellence, unique artistic vision, and significant contributions to their fields.

To post a comment, you must register and login.