Arts Council
Kentucky Arts Council Awards Fellowships to Visual and Media Artists

FRANKFORT, Ky. –The Kentucky Arts Council has awarded 15 Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship awards of $7,500 each to Kentucky visual and media artists.  The purpose of the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program is to recognize and support Kentucky professional artists who are producing work of creative and artistic excellence.

The fellowship awards are named after retired Kentucky journalist and past Arts Council Board chair, Al Smith.

The 12 visual artists and three media artists selected to receive the highly competitive award are: Matthew Albritton, photography, Campbell County; Ronald Davis, mixed media, Woodford County; Ben Durham, drawing, Woodford County; Joe Gray, media, Jefferson County; Bruce Linn, painting, Jefferson County; Marco Logsdon, experimental, Fayette County; Laura Mentor, glass, Fayette County; Jeffrey Nichols, ceramics, Rowan County; Michael Nichols, painting, Warren County; Mark Priest, painting, Jefferson County; Reba Rye, mixed media, Henry County; Nicholas Szuberla, media, Letcher County; Patrick Yen, media, Jefferson County; Jennifer Heller Zurick, fiber, Madison County; and David Zurick, photography, Madison County

This year, a category for emerging artists has been added to the awards program to recognize artistic excellence for new and emerging artists including Kentuckians who are undergraduate seniors or graduate students in Kentucky college or university fine arts programs.  These awards of $1000 each went to three visual artists and one media artist: Erin Behling, wood, Jefferson County; Wilson Bessinger, media, Franklin County; Laura Marie O'Neal Segre-Lewis, installation, Jessamine County; and Michael Winters, photography, Jefferson County.

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.

In alternate years, the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowships and Emerging Artist Awards are available to writers, composers, choreographers and interdisciplinary artists.

For more information about the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program or other Kentucky Arts Council opportunities for artists, contact Individual Artist Program Director Tamara Coffey at 502-564-3757, 888-833-2787 or tamara.coffey@ky.gov.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Sample images of work by Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Award recipients and Emerging Artist Award recipients in the visual arts category are provided are available along with contact information for artists are available upon request to Ed Lawrence at (502) 564-3757 ext. 473 or ed.lawrence@ky,gov.