ST. LOUIS (January 15, 2020) – Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2020, the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RAC) continues to advance the arts and culture sector in St. Louis and support local artists through its annual Artist Fellowship and Artist Support Grant programs.
This month, RAC is awarding $200,000 to ten local artists as part of its annual Artist Fellowship program, with each artist receiving $20,000. Artist Fellowships recognize artistic excellence and honor the work of seasoned artists, advance the work of mid-career artists, and nurture the work of developing artists. Since the inception of the program in 2013, RAC has awarded a total of $1.4 million to help regional artists further their artistic careers as fellows.
“Fellowships afford local artists the opportunity to grow themselves professionally, to study, explore, and create, which further enriches the cultural fabric of St. Louis,” said Erika Fiola, director of strategic initiatives and interim director of grants. “For 35 years, RAC has promoted, encouraged and fostered the arts and artists in the region, allocating more than $100 million in public funds to individual artists, arts organizations and other nonprofit groups.”
This year’s Artist Fellowship recipients represent a wide variety of disciplines including visual arts, theater, music, literature, design, and more. The ten winners were selected from a total of 140 applicants after an in-depth review by 20 discipline readers, a community advisory committee and RAC’s Board of Commissioners. The following will be honored at a special award ceremony at RAC at 6 p.m. on January 22:
- Eimear Arkins: Irish Musician and Singer
- Jennifer Colten: Photographer and Educator
- Shualee Cook: Playwright
- Basil Kinkaid: Post-Disciplinary Artist
- Kevin McCoy: Designer and Interdisciplinary Artist
- Monica Newsam: Performer, Choreographer, and Professor
- Norleen Nosri: Ceramic Artist and Educator
- Asha Premachandra: Artistic Director, Dances of India
- Paul Tran: Poet
- Kea Wilson: Novelist, Journalist, and Teaching Artist
To view more information about the 2020 Artist Fellows, visit racstl.org/grant/2020-artist-fellows/
In addition to its seventh annual round of Artist Fellowships, RAC also will administer 38 Artist Support Grants this month, which fund career advancement for individual artists in all artistic disciplines, totaling $103,909. Artist Support Grants are designed to encourage creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustained commitment to artistic work by providing funds for an artist’s projects, needs, and creative opportunities.
To view the full list of 2020 Artist Support Grant recipients, visit https://racstl.org/explore-grants/awarded-grants/.
Artist Fellowships and Artist Support Grants are two of the four competitive grants programs administered by RAC. Annually, RAC provides approximately more than $4 million in financial support for both non-profit organizations and individual artists in St. Louis City and County.
For additional grants information, visit https://racstl.org/grant/grants-faqs/.
Follow Us On Social Media