FRANKFORT, Ky. – Every other year the Kentucky Arts Council offers visual and media artists an opportunity to compete for the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship awards. Before the independent panel of out-of-state jurors reviews the work, the public, along with arts consultants, artist representatives, curators and gallery owners, will have the opportunity to view projected digital images of the work by each of the 124 visual arts applicants. The screening will begin at 3:00 p.m., May 29, 2007 at the Lexington Public Library, 140 East Main Street, Lexington, Ky.
This year, 124 visual artists (including craft artists, experimental artists, painters, graphic artists, installation artists, photographers and sculptors) and 4 media artists (videographers and filmmakers) have applied for the coveted fellowship awards of $7,500; only 14 will receive the highly competitive award.
“I was very impressed with the wide range of imagery and stylistic approaches and how the body of work as a whole reflects the current direction of today’s art world, both nationally and internationally.” said Rene Barilleaux who served as a panelist on the FY 2006 panel and will return as a panelist for the current round of Individual Artist Fellowship Program applications. Barilleaux is chief curator of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
The Fellowship program utilizes a "blind jurying" process which does not provide the selection panel with applicants' names; the panel reviews the work samples and applications according to application numbers only. Criteria for the awards include artistic excellence, professional achievement and the potential of the fellowship award to enhance the artist's development and encourage the continuation of the artist's work.
The purpose of the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program is to support Kentucky artists engaged in creating artwork of high quality and to recognize creative excellence in practicing, professional Kentucky artists. Applications are accepted annually on a rotating basis by discipline. The fellowship awards are named after Kentucky journalist and past Arts Council Board chair, Al Smith.
For more information about the public screening or the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program, contact Artist and Community Arts Programs Director Amber Luallen at 888-833-2787 or amber.luallen@ky.gov.
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The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet that creates opportunities for Kentuckians through the arts. Every $1 in grant funds awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council helps grantees secure $15 in earned income and matching funds from individuals, philanthropic sources and other levels of government. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.