2019’s list of United States Artists (USA) fellows was released on January 22nd. Ranging from traditional artforms, like painting, architecture, and design, to new mediums like podcasts and media, the 45 artists and collectives selected for this year’s fellows programme will received $50,000 in unrestricted funding.
‘We believe in artists and are honored to support and care for them in this way. Each Fellow is a reminder of the breadth of our cultural landscape, and the 2019 cohort is yet another testament to how much incredible work is happening across the country,’ said Deana Haggag, president and CEO of USA, in the USA press release.
The USA fellows programme was launched in 2006 after a 2003 survey by the Urban Institute found that while 96% of Americans valued art, only 27% valued artists. Thus, leaders of the Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson, and Prudential Foundations came together to create USA to promote artists from across the US working to promote American society. Since its creation, more than 500 artists have benefited from over $25 million invested through the programme.
So, without further ado, these are 2019’s newest fellows:
Architecture & Design
Erin Besler & Ian Besler, architects and designers, Princeton, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York
Lucia Cuba, designer and textile artist, New York
Keller Easterling, writer and designer, New Haven, Connecticut, and New York
Craft
Coulter Fussell, quilter, Water Valley, Mississippi
Samuel Harvey, ceramicist, Aspen, Colorado
Michelle Holzapfel, wood carver, Marlboro, Vermont
Janice Lessman-Moss, digital weaver, Kent, Ohio
Carole Frances Lung, social practice and performance artist, Long Beach, California
Dance
David Dorfman, choreographer, New London, Connecticut
Lenora Lee, dancer and choreographer, San Francisco
Alice Sheppard, dancer and choreographer, Los Altos, California
Merián Soto, dancer and choreographer, Philadelphia
Yara Travieso, choreographer and filmmaker, Brooklyn, New York
Film
Nuotama Frances Bodomo, filmmaker, Queens, New York
Ramona S. Diaz, documentary filmmaker, Baltimore
Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar, documentary filmmakers, Yellow Springs, Ohio
Media
Hyphen-Labs, designers, New York
Mitra Kaboli, multimedia artist and podcaster, Brooklyn, New York
Music
Reena Esmail, composer, Pasadena, California
Helado Negro, avant-pop musician and performer, Brooklyn, New York
Susie Ibarra, percussionist and composer, New Paltz, New York
Roscoe Mitchell, multi-instrumentalist and composer, Oakland, California
Tunde Olaniran, pop musician and performer, Flint, Michigan
Jen Shyu, vocalist and composer, Brooklyn, New York
Theater & Performance
Charlotte Brathwaite, Director, New York, NY
Rashida Bumbray, Choreographer & Performer, Brooklyn, NY
Teo Castellanos, Theater Artist, Miami, FL
Complex Movements, Installation & Performance Collective, Detroit, MI
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, Dramatist, Santa Barbara, CA
Kaneza Schaal, Theater Artist, Brooklyn, NY
Traditional Arts
Juan Díes, Mexican folk musician, Chicago
Gabriel Frey, traditional basketmaker, Orono, Maine
Arthur Lopez, wood sculptor, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Allison Akootchook Warden, multidisciplinary artist and performer, Anchorage, Alaska
Visual Art
Firelei Báez, multidisciplinary artist, New York
Juliana Huxtable, multidisciplinary artist and writer, Brooklyn, New York
Simone Leigh, multidisciplinary artist, New York
Wu Tsang, filmmaker and artist, Los Angeles
Cecilia Vicuña, multidisciplinary artist and poet, New York
Dyani White Hawk, painter and mixed media artist, Minneapolis
Writing
Lesley Nneka Arimah, fiction writer, Minneapolis
Lisa Armstrong, journalist, Brooklyn, New York
Lynda Barry, cartoonist, Footville, Wisconsin
Tarfa Faizullah, poet, Dallas, Texas
Rebecca Gayle Howell, poet, Lexington, Kentucky
