The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Announces 2010 Pew Fellowships in the Arts Recipients
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Pew Fellowships in the Arts (PFA) announced the names of 12 new Fellows, each of whom will receive a $60,000 award.
This year's recipients, including six first-time applicants to the program, work in a wide variety of artistic disciplines, ranging from classical Arab music to tap dance, to architectural design and jewelry making, among others. They also come from an equally broad array of backgrounds. They include, for example, an X-ray technician turned documentary filmmaker; a past professional skateboarder, music producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist; and a former prisoner of war and longtime educator who has worked with clay for over half a century, to name but a few. The 2010 Pew Fellows reflect PFA's commitment to supporting the most vibrant and innovative artists in the Philadelphia region.
The 2010 Pew Fellows in the Arts are:
- Max Apple –Fiction Writer
- Melanie Bilenker - Jewelry Maker
- John Blake, Jr - Jazz Violinist/Composer/Arranger
- Kara Crombie - Video Artist
- William Daley - Clay Artist
- Orrin Evans - Jazz Pianist/Composer/Arranger
- Germaine Ingram - Tap Performer/Choreographer
- Hanna Khoury - Violinist/Classical Arab Musician
- Tina Morton- Documentary Filmmaker
- Jenny Sabin - Architect/Designer
- James Sugg - Solo Theater Artist/Sound Designer/Composer
- Charles “Chuck” Treece - Multi-Instrumentalist/Producer/Songwriter
Pew Fellowships in the Arts (PFA) provides “no strings attached” fellowships of $60,000 over 1–2 years to artists of exemplary talent in the five-county Philadelphia area. Artists are selected based on the merit of their work, dedication to their professional practice and the potential impact that the fellowship will have on their subsequent creative endeavors. Fellowships may be awarded to artists at any stage of their career development—this year's Fellows range in age from 32 to 85—and to artists working in a wide range of aesthetics and traditions.
This year marks the first cycle of Pew Fellows chosen through a new multi-level review process through which artists were nominated and invited to apply to the program. In addition, for the first time in PFA's history, artists working in any discipline(s) could be considered in the same year. This process resulted in a highly diverse group of new Fellows, some of whom would have not been able to apply comfortably under the old guidelines. For example, Fellows such as individual theater artist, sound designer, and composer James Sugg, noted for his brilliant work with the experimental Pig Iron Theatre Company, or Chuck Treece, a charismatic composer, self-taught musician, and former professional skateboarder who has toured with over 100 bands, may have been overlooked in previous years due to the constraints of considering artists only within specific disciplinary categories. PFA can now recognize such artists for the full scope of their creative accomplishments, and have a positive impact on their work through the financial support of the Pew Fellowship.
As with all of the programs at the Center, grant decisions were made by a distinguished panel of experts in the various disciplines. Their work was informed by assessments made by an equally accomplished group of evaluators with the necessary expertise in the candidates' disciplines. Lists of both panelists and evaluators are attached. For a detailed description of the revisions to the PFA fellowship application and review process, visit the PFA Web site's Program Overview page.
Pew Fellowships in the Arts director, Melissa Franklin notes, “I'm gratified that our new process has introduced us to artists in our community such as jazz pianist and composer Orrin Evans and architect and designer Jenny Sabin, who hadn't applied to the program before now, as well as allowing for an artist like James Sugg, whose work includes solo performance, music composition, and sound design, to be given the opportunity for the entire range of his work to be considered. I look forward to working with each of the 12 highly talented artists selected this year during their fellowship period.”
For the complete list of 2010 Pew Fellows in the Arts and full artist descriptions, please visit www.pcah.us/fellowships. For press images, please contact Nicole Steinberg, Communications Specialist, at [email protected].
“I am proud of the Fellowship's evolution and its significant place within The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage's overall commitment to supporting excellence,” said Greg Rowe, director of Culture Initiatives at The Pew Charitable Trusts. “This group of Fellows clearly represents the scope and vitality of our region's strong artistic community, and we are delighted to generously reward and support their ongoing pursuits. The individual accomplishments of these twelve artists remind us once again that Philadelphia is an exciting hub for innovative creative practice.”
Pew Fellowships in the Arts, a program of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, was established by The Pew Charitable Trusts in 1991 and awards grants to artists working in a wide variety of performing, visual, and literary disciplines. The program is in its 19th year and has awarded 244 fellowships to 249 artists, for a total investment of over $12.5 million in the creative and professional development of working artists in the Philadelphia area. Fellowships have been awarded to three collaborative teams over the years.
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is dedicated to stimulating a vibrant cultural community in the five-county, Southeastern Pennsylvania region. Established in 2005, the Center houses seven funding Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and through them supports area artists and arts and heritage organizations whose work is distinguished by excellence, imagination, and courage. Each year, the Center's grants make possible more than 800 performances in dance, music, and theater as well as history and visual arts exhibitions, and other public programs for audiences in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.pcah.us.
