The Nevada Arts Council (NAC) has selected 15 Nevada artists to receive 2012 Artist Fellowship funding. “These are significant recognition awards that invest in Nevada’s finest artists and brings attention and validation to the state’s vibrant creative industry,” said Artist Services Program Coordinator Fran Morrow. During three days of public meetings held at the University of Nevada Reno’s Joe Crowley Student Union in June, panelists reviewed 91 applications submitted by artists working in the literary, performing and visual arts. After much discussion, the panels developed a list of recommendations, which the NAC Board considered and approved at its spring board meeting on June14. Six FY12 Artist Fellowships of $5,000 each were awarded: two each in Literary Arts, Visual Arts and Performing Arts. In addition to using the grant award to produce art during the fellowship year, each fellow provides a free public event relevant to his or her discipline, through readings, exhibitions, performances, and master classes. Nine Fellowship honorable mention awards of $500 were awarded as well.
LITERARY ARTS
• John Galarza, creative prose/non-fiction, Minden
• Carrie Ann Lahain, creative prose/fiction, Las Vegas
PERFORMING ARTS
• Paul Roth, music performance/saxophone, Reno
• Marythinee Alisa Washington, theater performance, Las Vegas
VISUAL ARTS
• Ahren Hertel, painting, Reno
• Brent Sommerhauser, sculpture, Las Vegas
HONORABLE MENTION
• Linda Alterwitz, photography, Las Vegas
• Dean Burton, photography, Reno
• Jenny Burrows, installation/performance art/new technologies, Reno
• Catherine Cotter, music performance/vocal, Reno
• Joshua Kryah, poetry, Henderson
• Tracy McQuay, writing for children & young adults, Carson City
• Susan Priest, creative prose/nonfiction, Gardnerville
• Boris Shapiro, music performance/jazz drums, Las Vegas
• Stephanie Richardson, theatre
FY2012 Artist Fellowship Panelists
Literary Arts Panel: Debra Gwartney, Author and Professor of Nonfiction Writing, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR; and Lowell Jaeger, Poet and Professor of Creative Writing, Flathead Community College, Kalispell, MT.
Performing Arts Panel: Victoria Panella Bourns, Program Manager, Salt Lake City County Zoo, Arts and Parks, Salt Lake City, UT; and Mike Musik, Cultural Events Coordinator, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.
Visual Arts Panel: Claudio Dicochea, painter, Scottsdale, AZ; Eileen Doktorski, Chair of Art Department, Mt San Jacinto College, San Jacinto, CA; and Donna Poulton, Associate Curator of Utah and Western Art, Utah’s Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT.
The Nevada Arts Council is charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity, and expand access to and public participation in the arts throughout Nevada.
The Nevada Arts Council is a division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs. The Department serves Nevada’s citizens and visitors through cultural and information management, preservation and promotion of cultural resources, and education. The Department also includes the Division of Museums and History, State Historic Preservation Office, State Library and Archives, Comstock Historic District Commission, Literacy Coalition, and the Commission for Cultural Affairs. For more information, visit the department’s website at www.NevadaCulture.org.
