December 16, 2009
2010 Midwestern Voices and Visions awards announced
April 16, 2009
Joyce Foundation renews funding through 2011
January 9, 2009
Creative Capital names Visions artists among awardees
December 19, 2008
Midwestern Voices and Visions publication released
January 10, 2007
Midwestern Voices and Visions awards announced
December 16, 2009
Alliance of Artists Communities Names Seven Midwest Artists as Recipients of Prestigious 2010 Midwestern Voices and Visions
The Alliance of Artists Communities is pleased to announce the 2010 Midwestern Voices and Visions awards, presented to seven outstanding Midwestern artists of color. The artists were selected from more than 100 applicants from
The Midwestern Voices and Visions award provides each artist with a one- to three-month residency at one of seven participating Midwestern artist-in-residence programs during 2010 and a $4,000 unrestricted grant. The artists and their work will also be featured in a widely distributed publication which will document their residency experiences at the host programs, and will be invited to participate in a group exhibition in
Midwestern Voices and Visions is funded by The Joyce Foundation and is coordinated by the Alliance of Artists Communities, in collaboration with seven Midwestern artists’ residency programs. ‘To many artists, this award offers for the first time an opportunity to explore what it means to be a full-time artist, along with dedicated time and space to create new work, inspiring surroundings, interaction and collaboration with peers, and the financial support to allow the artists to take full advantage of a residency,” says Caitlin Strokosch, Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities. “This initiative has significantly impacted both the artists who receive the award and the residency programs.”
“Communities like these are an extremely valuable resource for working artists, giving them time, space, and support to pursue their art. Too often in the past artists of color have not known about or been able to take advantage of such opportunities; we’re delighted to help make the connection,” said Michelle T. Boone, Program Officer, The Joyce Foundation.
The 2010 award recipients with their host residency programs are:
- Willy Chyr, an installation artist from Chicago – Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in
- Theaster Gates, a performance and installation artist from Chicago – John Michael Kohler Arts Center in
- Ibrahima Kaba, a spoken word artist and poet from
- May Lee-Yang, a playwright, poet, and performance artist from
- Adolfo Martinez, a painter from
- Linda Rodriguez, a writer from
- Mitchell Squire, an interdisciplinary artist from
The competition was judged by a prestigious panel of arts leaders in the Midwest: Esther Grimm, Executive Director of 3Arts in Chicago; Robert Farid Karimi, Minneapolis-based performance artists, writer, and activist, and previous Midwestern Voices and Visions awardee; and Tom Schorgl, President and CEO of Community Partnership for Arts and Culture in Cleveland.
The seven residency programs were selected for their commitments to supporting today’s artists, their dedication to addressing gaps in that support, and their interest in working collectively on shared goals. The
Says Thu Tran, a previous Midwestern Voices and Visions awardee, “This residency gave me the freedom to explore materials, space, thoughts, and techniques. I found it great in idea development ... a blank piece of paper to start fresh.”
April 16, 2009
Joyce Foundation Renews Funding for 2009-2011 Midwestern Voices and Visions
The Joyce Foundation announced today that it will renew its support of Midwestern Voices and Visions through 2011. The project will again serve seven artists of color from the Midwest to participate in residencies at seven participating sites. In addition, The Joyce Foundation's support will extend to an exhibition/performance featuring the selected artists, to be held in Chicago in 2011.
The application for 2010 Midwestern Voices and Visions awards will open June 15, 2009, and close August 15, 2009.
January 9, 2009
Creative Capital Names Visions Artists Among Awardees
Creative Capital celebrates ten years with the announcement of its 2009 artists today. More than $2.5 million in grants and services has been committed to 61 artists across the nation, encompassing 41 projects in three disciplines: Emerging Fields, Innovative Literature, and Performing Arts. Among its 2009 grantees are Robert Farid Karimi (2008 Midwestern Voices and Visions award-winner) and Victor Cartagena (2004 Visions from the New California award-winner). Previous Alliance award-winners Lauren Woods and John Leaños (2007 Visions from the New California) were 2008 Creative Capital grantees.
Ten years ago, Creative Capital reinvented arts philanthropy, constructing a new paradigm to fulfill the specific needs of the country’s most innovative artists. Today, it is the premier national artist support organization, committed to the principle that time and advisory services are as crucial to artistic success as funding. Over the lives of its funded projects, Creative Capital provides artists with a flexible program of multi-faceted support and partners with them to determine how targeted funds and services can best work in concert to progress towards the grantees’ own goals. Since its founding in 1999, the organization has committed more than $14 million in financial support and services to 324 projects representing 411 artists.
Read the full story at creative-capital.org
December 19, 2008
Alliance of Artists Communities Releases Midwestern Voices and Visions Publication
The Alliance of Artists Communities announces the release of the publication Midwestern Voices and Visions, documenting the 2006-2008 project by the same name.
The book includes images and essays from the seven artists who were recipients of the first Midwestern Voices and Visions awards, as well as information on the seven participating Midwestern artists’ residency programs and on the project as a whole.
The project is fully supported by The Joyce Foundation, and aims to celebrate, support, and promote the work of highly talented, yet under-recognized artists of color and broaden awareness of and support for the opportunities available at Midwestern residency programs for artists of diverse backgrounds.
“Communities like these are an extremely valuable resource for working artists, giving them time, space, and support to pursue their art. Too often in the past artists of color have not known about or been able to take advantage of such opportunities; we’re delighted to help make the connection,” says Michelle T. Boone, Program Officer for The Joyce Foundation.
January 10, 2007
The Alliance of Artists Communities recently named Francisco Aragón, Reginald Baylor, Robert Karimi, Cecil McDonald, Tomiko Pilson, Artur Silva, and Thu Tran recipients of the Midwestern Voices and Visions award. Funded by The Joyce Foundation, this award supports highly talented, yet under-recognized, artists of color in the
Selected from a pool of 115 nominated artists of all disciplines from across the
Artists’ residency programs support working artists of all disciplines by providing them with time and space to create new work, and opportunities for interaction and collaboration with artistic peers.
The award recipients will complete their residencies by early 2008 and are listed below with their host residency programs:
- Francisco Aragón, poet, South Bend, IN – Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Red Wing, MN
- Tomiko Pilson, painter,
- Reginald Baylor, painter,
- Robert Karimi, interdisciplinary performing artist, poet and playwright,
- Cecil McDonald, Jr., photographer,
- Artur Silva, multi-media artist,
- Thu Tran, glass and mixed-media artist,
The seven artists’ residency programs listed above are collaborating with the Alliance of Artists Communities on Midwestern Voices and Visions in an effort to both recognize outstanding artists of color in the
“Communities like these are an extremely valuable resource for working artists, giving them time, space, and support to pursue their art. Too often in the past artists of color have not known about or been able to take advantage of such opportunities; we’re delighted to help make the connection,” said Michelle T. Boone, Program Officer, The Joyce Foundation.
“We are very excited to facilitate collaboration among our Midwestern members to celebrate, support and promote the work of outstanding visual artists and writers from the region,” said Deborah Obalil, Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities. “This program will both further the careers of the seven selected artists and strengthen the Midwestern residency programs by engaging with artists under-represented in the mainstream.”
Artists were nominated for the award by a pool of respected artists and arts professionals, and then reviewed by a prestigious panel including: Lia Rivamonte, Executive Director, Banfill-Locke Center For The Arts, Fridley, MN; Quraysh Ali Lansana, Director, The Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing, Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing, Chicago State University; Kimberly Cridler, Assistant Professor, Art Metals, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Therman Statom, artist, Omaha, NE; and Gustavo Leone, Director of Composition Studies, Associate Professor of Composition, Columbia College of Chicago.