2020 San Francisco Artadia Awardees Announced

Artadia has announced the recipients of the thirteenth annual San Francisco Artadia Awards: Marcela Pardo Ariza and Lava Thomas. As the 2020 San Francisco Artadia Awardees, Ariza and Thomas will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funds, as well as access to the ongoing benefits of the Artadia Awards program. Applications were open to any visual artist living within The 2020 San Francisco Artadia Awards application was open to all visual artists living in the five Bay Area counties of a??Alamedaa??, a??Contra Costaa??, a??Marina??,a?? San Franciscoa??, and a??San Mateo for over two years, working in any media, and at any stage of their career.

The decision followed an extensive jury process, culminating in a virtual studio visit between shortlisted finalists, Zeina Barakeh, Sofía Córdova, Marcela Pardo Ariza, Chanell Stone, Lava Thomas and jurors Anthony Huberman, Director & Chief Curator, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts; and Lucy Mensah, Clinical Visiting Assistant Professor, MUSE Program, School of Art & Art History at University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Finalists were selected by jurors Allison Glenn, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, Crystal Bridges; Anthony Huberman, Director & Chief Curator of CCA Wattis Institute; and Xiaoyu Weng, Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Upon receiving the 2020 San Francisco Artadia Award, Marcela states "I was extremely honored to share space as a Finalist with incredible artists I respect and admire. It is so heartwarming to be an Awardee at this moment in time, it's definitely one big highlight in the midst of 2020. I'm stoked to join the intergenerational web of artists and curators around the country that are part of Artadia." Lava notes, "I am absolutely thrilled to be a recipient of the 2020 San Francisco Artadia Award. I was an Artadia Finalist in 2018, so receiving the award this year is especially gratifying; it comes at a critical juncture in my practice. I am so grateful for Artadia's recognition and support and honored to join the stellar roster of Artadia Awardees."

Of the Awardees, Anthony notes "as a Bay Area local, it gives me great pleasure to know that two of our community's most inspiring artistic voices, Marcela Pardo Ariva and Lava Thomas, are receiving not only an important and well-deserved recognition on a national scale, but an award that might help them overcome some of the countless obstacles they are surely facing in this extraordinarily challenging moment."

Additionally, Lucy states, "Lava Thomas' recent body of work, a series of portrait drawings showing subjects wearing face masks, demonstrates the artist's remarkable ability to provoke contemplation and reflection through art. I was similarly impressed by Marcela Pardo Ariza's public art projects that are 45 Main Street Suite 515 Brooklyn NY 11201 info@artadia.org 212 727 2233 artadia.org bringing attention to the history of the LGBTQIA+ community in San Francisco and situate the city's gay bar scene as a critical space for kinship and solidarity."

Awardees were selected from a shortlist of five finalists: Zeina Barakeh, Sofía Córdova, Marcela Pardo Ariza, Chanell Stone, Lava Thomas. The Finalists were selected by jurors Allison Glenn, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, Crystal Bridges; Anthony Huberman, Director & Chief Curator of CCA Wattis Institute; and Xiaoyu Weng, Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. San Francisco Finalists, and ultimately Awardees, were selected solely by the four participating jurors.

The 2020 San Francisco Artadia Awards are generously supported by Facebook Art Department, The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, Artadia's Board of Directors, Artadia San Francisco Council members, and individual donors across the country.

Artadia is a national non-profit organization that awards artists with unrestricted grants followed by a lifetime of program opportunities. This is Artadia's thirteenth Award cycle in San Francisco. Applications were open to any visual artist living within the five Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo for over two years, working in any medium and at any stage of their career. Finalists and Artadia Award recipients are selected through Artadia's rigorous, two-tier jury review process. In the first round of review, jurors evaluated all submissions and collaboratively determined the five Finalists. Artadia is unique in that it allows any artist to apply, engages nationally recognized artists and curators to review work, and culminates in direct grants.. Since 1999, Artadia has awarded over $5 million to 344 artists across Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

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