The Joan Mitchell Foundation has announced the 15 artists chosen for its 2024 fellowships, which come with $60,000 in unrestricted grants over a five-year period.
The artists chosen for the fellowship program this year are Scott Anderson, Michaela Pilar Brown, Victoria Burge, Peggy Chiang, Ruby Chishti, Sharif Farrag, Emilie Louise Gossiaux, André Leon Gray, Joe Harjo, Rebecca Morris, Gamaliel Rodríguez, Abigail Kahilikia Romanchak, Rupy C. Tut, Yvonne Wells, and Sandy Williams IV.
A press release noted the group’s work “in a variety of media in the evolving fields of painting and sculpture”, such as drawing, printmaking, mixed media, and installation art. Two artists, the foundation added, are self-taught.
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Rodríguez told ARTnews being chosen for this year’s fellowship class was “a great honor” and he was planning to use the funding for research travel from Cabo Rojo to other parts of the Caribbean. “As an artist, you have the relief that you don’t need to go crazy to look for money or private funding to nurture your career, and do some research that you’re really going to take into the value of the work, of the input, and put it in practice in your work,” he said, noting his interest in observing the historical relationship between slaves and the types of plants imported into the area to feed them, such as bananas and breadfruits.
The foundation’s fellowship program offers additional support for artists, including Zoom meetings on gallery relationships, contract law, self-care strategies, sourcing materials, and juggling caregiving responsibilities; as well as coaching sessions on finance and strategic planning.
The foundation’s fellowships has awarded $3.6 million in funding directly to artists since it relaunched in 2021.
“We see clearly the impact of the financial resources, but equally important are the non-monetary supports,” Solana Chehtman, the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s Director of Artist Programs, said in a statement. “We continue to expand the opportunities for gathering and exchange, providing the artists a group of peers with whom they can share experiences, learn new tools and techniques, and discuss the practice-related challenges that can come with being a working artist.”