The Durham Arts Council is pleased to announce the 2017 recipients of the Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artists Grants. The Emerging Artists Grants are career development project grants intended to assist artists in all art forms to take the next step in developing their artistic careers.
110 applications were submitted for the 2017 grant cycle and 16 applications were awarded grants. Three levels of review involving 37 individuals evaluate the applications by three criteria: the strength of the work sample, the feasibility of the proposed project and the impact of the project on the artist’s career development. The recipients will be honored at the Annual Awards Ceremony in the spring.
This year’s recipients are: Chieko Murasugi, painting; Yholima Vargas-Pedroza, painting; Josh Hockensmith, mixed media; Alyssa Miserendino, installation; Erin Oliver, installation; Meg Stein, sculpture; Nelson Johns, music; Jihyun Park, music; Doreen Jakob, craft; Martha Clippinger, craft; Pamela Baggett, literature; Candace Howze, literature; Rodrigo Dorfman, film; Charlie Evergreen, film; Kate Medley, photography, Jeri Lynn Schulke, drama.
Program Partners
The Emerging Artists Grant Program is administered by the Durham Arts Council coordinating with the local arts agencies in the partner counties: Orange County Arts Commission, Chatham Arts Council, Person County Arts Council and the Granville Education Foundation.
The first grant program in North Carolina dedicated to artists’ career development, the Emerging Artists Program has awarded 516 grants totaling $576,916 to artists such as jazz vocalists Nnenna Freelon and Lois Deloatch, installation artist Antoine Williams, photographer Roger Manley, painters Beverly McIver and Jacob Cooley, sculptor Francis Vega, and composer and musician Ari Picker.
“The Durham Arts Council is proud to continue the support of individual artists through the Emerging Artists Grant program, which it helped to pilot in 1984. These artists make significant contributions to their communities and the arts world and they repeatedly credit the Emerging Artists grant for opening new doors and opportunities for their work,” commented Sherry DeVries, Executive Director of the Durham Arts Council.
Funders
The program is funded by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the Durham Arts Council Annual Fund, the Linda Ironside Fund for the Arts of the Triangle Community Foundation, the partner county agencies and contributions from individual donors.
The award made to Jeri Lynn Schulke in drama is sponsored by the Anika James Foundation, which supports emerging artists in the performing arts.
