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Bush Foundation Expands Artist Fellows Program
with Unique Awards for Mature Artists
June 11, 2007
The Bush Foundation will significantly expand its Artist Fellows Program with the addition of three $100,000 awards given annually to artists in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota who have at least 25 years of continued work.
The Enduring Vision Awards are designed to propel the artistic investigations of mature artists and to encourage their continued influence on present and future generations of artists, audiences and the artist’s field of work. There are no other such awards of this size and intent in the country.
The new awards will be added to the existing Bush Artist Fellows Program, which annually provides 15 artists in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota with $48,000 in unrestricted funds. Established in 1976, the Bush Artist Fellows Program is one of only two open-application artist fellowships in the country to provide unrestricted grants at this financial level.
The decision to expand the Artist Fellows Program grew out of an evaluation by San Francisco-based consultant Melanie Beene. One of the persistent issues that surfaced in her investigations
was the particular needs and concerns of mature artists. Beene found that older, accomplished artists, while having found their voice, are focused on deepening their investigations and honing their craft rather than on making leaps in new directions. And while older artists may have found more consistent income through teaching or commissions, advancing their work can be difficult due to greater demands on their time and fewer funding opportunities. These issues are compounded by the fact that artists rarely retire. Regionally and nationally, Beene found a dearth of financial opportunities for artists at the later stages of their careers, and yet mature, accomplished artists often are at their most confident and productive level.
“Jim Melchert, a contemporary ceramic artist and former Bush Artist Fellow panelist from San Francisco, said it well,”
foundation president Anita Pampusch said in making the award announcement. “He told us, ‘I was at my most productive in my 60s. It is a time when you still have your energy and you have all your experiences. It’s a time of a lot of strength, but not necessarily a cheering audience.’” Pampusch also noted, “With the addition of this award category, the Bush Foundation will be a national leader in supporting artists at all stages of their careers.”
Artists eligible for this new program will be selected by open nominations and
by invitation. Selection committees will consider the artists’ past creative accomplishments and the promise of future artistic excellence, their commitment to the work and the energy of their vision, and how the artists will continue to enrich their particular fields of work. The first awards will be given in spring 2008.
The foundation also announced the creation of a new program, Dakota Creative Connections, to serve artists in North and South Dakota. The program will award up to $50,000 in small project grants (between $3,000 and $6,000) for travel, study and research, artist residencies and retreats, equipment and materials, and short-term projects. Between eight and 12 artists will be supported each year through this program. The foundation also is working with First Peoples Fund in Rapid City, South Dakota, to identify Native artists in the region and to assist them in applying for programs for which they are eligible.
In addition, the foundation will expand its Bush Artist Fellowships to include new professional development activities for fellows plus an additional $2,000 to plan and implement individual communications strategies.
“In sum, these additions and changes in our program will nearly double the number of artists served by the program and increase our grants to them by nearly 54 percent,” said Julie Dalgleish, director
of the Bush Artist Fellows Program. “But beyond the pure financial expansion, we expect to draw and keep a more diverse group of artists in the region who will make the cultural, educational and commercial fabric of our communities stronger.”
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