MEMPHIS, TN (February 21, 2020) – ArtsMemphis has awarded $30,000 in grants to six local visual artists through its ArtsAccelerator program. The ArtsAccelerator Grants are incentive grants for visual artists who are at a critical juncture in their careers. The grant is intended to deepen and expand artistic work to advance the grant recipient’s artistic accomplishments.
This year’s grant recipients are Karina Alvarez, Funlola Coker, Amber George, Johana Moscoso, Katrina Perdue and Najee Strickland. Each artist will receive a grant of $5,000.
The ArtsAccelerator Program supports visual artists working in any media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, installation art, performance art, video art, or social practice.Since the grant was established in 2013, 37 local artists have received a total of $165,000 in grant funds.
A panel of three judges from outside Memphis reviews grant applications and selects the grant recipients. The 2020 judges were Nic Brierre Aziz, Director of Programs for New Orleans based multi-arts organization Antenna and as Community Engagement Curator for the New Orleans Museum of Art; Faythe Levine, director of the Arts/Industry program at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and curator of related exhibitions at the Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; and Michael Menchaca, an artist and curator based in San Antonio, Texas who is co-curating the New York/San Antonio exhibition Xicanx: New Visions with Suzy González through 2020.
To showcase these artists’ work ArtsMemphis has organized an exhibit, Access Granted: Works by ArtsAccelerator Grant Recipients. Curated by local artist and 2012 recipient of the Emmett O’Ryan Award for Artistic Inspiration, Anthony D. Lee, the exhibit features work by the 2020 grant recipients and 14 other artists who have also received this funding. Participating artists include: Ben Butler, Hamlett Dobbins, Beth Edwards, Sharon Havelka, Jed Jackson, Chuck Johnson, Paula Kovarik, Susan Maakestad, Lacy Mitcham Veteto, Cat Peña, Terri Phillips, Aisha Raison, Juan Rojo, and Laurel Sucsy.
The exhibit will open with a reception on March 6, 5:30-7:30 at ArtsMemphis, 575 S. Mendenhall, and will run through August 2020. Exhibit hours are Monday – Friday, 10:00 – 4:00.