Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2023

Lily Cox-Richard, Photo courtesy of the artist

Ja’Tovia Gary. Photo courtesy of the artist

Gina Osterloh. Photo courtesy of the artist

Maya Freelon, Photo courtesy of the artist

The Nancy Graves Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists.

Established through a provision of the artist’s Last Will and Testament, the Foundation has supported the work and artistic development of individual artists since 2001. This year’s grantees include Lily Cox-Richard, Maya Freelon, Ja’Tovia Gary, and Gina Osterloh. Initially nominated by artists and arts professionals from across the country, a second panel of jurors selected four grantees to receive unrestricted funds to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized.

Each artist will receive an award of $12,500.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2022

Abigail DeVille. Photo Credit: Tonje Thilesen

Adrienne Elise Tarver. Photo credit: Ian Witlen

Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio. Photo credit: Evan Davis

Shoshanna Weinberger. Photo courtesy of the artist

The Nancy Graves Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists.

Established through a provision of the artist’s Last Will and Testament, the Foundation has supported the work and artistic development of individual artists since 2001. This year’s grantees include Abigail DeVille, Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio, Adrienne Elise Tarver, and Shoshanna Weinberger. Initially nominated by artists and arts professionals from across the country, a second panel of jurors selected four grantees to receive unrestricted funds to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized.

Abigail DeVille is a multidisciplinary artist who works in the Bronx, NY. Her site-specific projects often take the form of guerrilla street performances, costumes, theatrical sets, installations, paintings, and sculptures. DeVille will use the grant funding to make a series of experimental stone lithographs based on her grandfather’s poetry that will ultimately become a printed book. Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio is a sculptor, printmaker, and painter who lives and works in Altadena, CA. Rodolfo Aparicio will use the grant funding to incorporate new materials into his work through a collaboration with a glass factory in Jalisco, Mexico. Adrienne Elise Tarver is a Brooklyn, NY based artist who works primarily in painting and also sculpture, installation, textiles, photography, and video. Tarver will use the grant funding to work with ceramics inspired by the root systems of mangrove trees—a progression from the tropical foliage that appears in her previous work. Shoshanna Weinberger is an artist who works in water-based media such as ink, gouache, collage, and mixed media on paper or panel who is based in Newark, NJ. Weinberger plans to use funding to begin a project titled 202 Mountain View, in which she will recreate her grandmother’s veranda in Kingston, Jamaica using hand made ceramic tiles.

Each artist will receive an award of $12,500.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2021

Nicki Green Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Deborah Jack Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Wendy Red Star
Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Dianne Smith
Photo: Courtesy of the artist

The Nancy Graves Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists.

Established through a provision of the artist’s Last Will and Testament, the Foundation has supported the work and artistic development of individual artists since 2001. This year’s grantees include Nicki Green, Deborah Jack, Wendy Red Star, and Dianne Smith. Initially nominated by artists and arts professionals from across the country, a second panel of jurors selected four grantees to receive unrestricted funds to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized. Nicki Green is a trans disciplinary artist working primarily in clay. Green, who is based in San Francisco, CA, will use the grant funding to learn about pipe soldering, water pumps, and plumbing in order to integrate running water into sculptures. Deborah Jack is a photographer and video artist based in Jersey City, NJ and St. Maarten. Jack will use the grant to expand her lens based work on memory and ecology into a more tactile practice using beeswax, encaustic, and canvas. Wendy Red Star is an interdisciplinary artist working in photography, sculptures, video, fiber arts, and performance. Based in Portland, OR, Red Star plans to use the grant funds to undertake a sculpture and sound based project on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Dianne Smith  is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist working with video installations. Smith will use grant funding to start projection mapping in order to create an immersive public art installation in Harlem. 

Each artist will receive an award of $12,500.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2020

Artist Lavialle Campbell. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Artist Patty Chang. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Artist Kija Lucas. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Artist Maia Cruz Palileo. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

The Nancy Graves Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists. Established through a provision of the artist’s Last Will and Testament, the Foundation has supported the work and artistic development of individual artists since 2001. This year’s grantees include Lavialle Campbell, Patty Chang, Kija Lucas, and Maia Cruz Palileo. Initially nominated by artists and arts professionals from across the country, a second panel of jurors selected four grantees to receive unrestricted funds to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized.

Lavialle Campbell is an artist based in Studio City, California. Campbell uses quilting, ceramics, and glass in her work. She plans to use her grant to start hand stitching large quilts and utilizing Korean bojagi techniques. Patty Chang is a multidisciplinary artist based in Altadena, CA who works in performance, video, and photography. Chang plans on creating a seaweed farm with her grant in order begin a material-based practice utilizing seaweed as a sculpture medium as well as a site of ecosystem building and investigation. Kija Lucas is an artist based in San Francisco, CA. Working primarily in digital photography, Lucas plans on using the grant to experiment with photograms using detritus from her home and that of her friends and family. Maia Cruz Palileo is a painter based in Brooklyn, NY. She plans on using the grant to learn woodworking to expand her practice into sculpture.

Each artist will receive an award of $12,500.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2019

Artist Ron Bechet. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Artist Dylan Hausthor. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Artist Anna Hepler. Photo: Darius Riley

Artists Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen. Photo: David Clough

The Nancy Graves Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of its annual Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists. Established by the artist, the Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists supports artists wishing to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized.

Ron Bechet, based in New Orleans, LA, is known for his large black and white charcoal murals and installations that reference transformation, place and ancestry. He plans to cast large sculptures using the lost wax technique. Dylan Hausthor, based on Peaks Island, ME, is known for his documentary filmmaking and photography. He plans to build a large wooden sculptural structure as a site for experimental narrative performance projects. Anna Hepler, based in Greenfield, MA, is known for her immersive installations and suspended sculptures made from a wide range of materials. She plans to construct a ceramic sculpture built to billboard proportions. Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen, based in Bethel, ME, are known for their warehouse-sized immersive environments and large sculptures using paper as their medium. They plan to experiment with steel and translating their work into public spaces.

Each artist received an award of $12,500.00.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2018

Artist Dyani White Hawk Photo: David Ellis

Artist Sharon Lockhart. Photo: Artist

Artist Carmen Argote. Photo Craig Kirk

Artist Joiri Minaya. Photo: Maxim Ryazansky

The Nancy Graves Foundation awards the annual Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists to Dyani White Hawk, Sharon Lockhart, Carmen Argote and Joiri Minaya. Established by the artist, the Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists supports artists wishing to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized. Nominators from different parts of the country proposed several artists, who were invited to apply. A panel of independent jurors reviewed the applications and selected the grantees.

Dyani White Hawk, based in Minneapolis, is known for her paintings combining modernist abstraction with Lakota art forms. She wishes to create a gallery installation of video works. Sharon Lockhart, based in Los Angeles, is known for her filmic and photographic work. She plans a collaborative project to produce a large embroidered textile work.Carmen Argote, based in Los Angeles, is known for her installations assembled from domestic, industrial and natural materials. She seeks to create a series of large paintings. Joiri Minaya, based in the Bronx, NY, is known for her videos and performances exploring tropical identities. She plans on researching the botanical materiality of pigments extracted from tropical colonies. Each artist received an award of $12,500.00.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2017

Artist Mildred Howard. Photo: Don Farnsworth

Artist Alex Chitty. Photo: Ashleigh Dye

The Nancy Graves foundation awards the annual Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists to Mildred Howard and Alex Chitty. Established by the artist, the Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists supports artists wishing to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized. Mildred Howard, based in Emeryville, CA, is known for her prints and collages that incorporate a wide range of materials and techniques. She seeks to explore filmmaking. Alex Chitty, based in Chicago, IL, is known for her sculptures assembled from fabricated materials and found objects. She seeks to explore printmaking. Each artist received an award of $12,500.00.

Nancy Graves Foundation Awards Grants for 2016

Left: Sam Contis. Photo courtesy the artist. Right: Myeongsoo Kim. Photo Yorgos Prinos.

The Nancy Graves foundation awards the annual Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists to Sam Contis and Myeongsoo Kim. Established by the artist, the Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists supports artists wishing to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized. Sam Contis, based in Oakland, CA, is known for her photographic practice and works in a range of traditional and alternative printing processes. She seeks to explore HD video. Myeongsoo Kim, based in Brooklyn, NY, is known for building installations that include a wide range of materials. He seeks to explore working with a CNC router. Each artist received an award of $5,000.00. 

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