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For Immediate Release Contact: Heather Joy Helbach-Olds, Director of Programs ARTIST TRUST ANNOUNCES INCREASED FELLOWSHIP FUNDING; 2007 APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE :: :: :: Application Deadline: June 22, 2007 The Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Program recognizes practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability, acknowledging an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline. Now in its 20th year, the Fellowship award will increase from $6,000 to $6,500. The Artist Trust/WSAC Fellowship Program makes annual awards to artists working in four disciplines. In 2007 (and odd-numbered years), 21 individual, generative artists who reside in Washington State and work in Craft Arts, Literary Arts, Media Arts, and Music Arts will receive Fellowships (in even-numbered years, Fellowships are awarded to artists working in Emerging & Cross-Disciplinary Arts, Performing Arts, Traditional & Folk Arts, and Visual Arts). These categories were revised in 2006; please see below for Frequently Asked Questions. 2007 Fellowship Categories Craft Arts Includes but is not limited to: Ceramics, Glass, Fiber Arts, Furniture, Jewelry Arts, Metal, Paper, Stone, Wood and Book Arts. Media Arts Includes but is not limited to: Film Arts, Video Arts, Animation, Screenplays and Screenwriting. Music Arts Includes but is not limited to: Music Composition, Generative Arrangement and Improvisational Composition. Literary Arts Includes but is not limited to: Creative Non-Fiction, Experimental Works, Fiction, Graphic Novels and Poetry. Since 1993, Artist Trust has maintained a successful cooperative partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission to administer Fellowship awards on behalf of the State of Washington. Through the Artist Trust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Program, Artist Trust has awarded $1,683,000 to 309 artists. It is not only the Fellowship funds that help… but the feeling of having support from your community and peers that makes difficult times easier to overcome. (Gary Hill, video artist) The application postmark deadline is June 22, 2007. Artist Trust members receive an application by mail. All artists can receive an application at www.artisttrust.org or by mailing a business sized, self-addressed stamped envelope to: 2007 Fellowship Application, Artist Trust, 1835 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122. Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State. :: :: :: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1.  Why has Artist Trust changed the Artist Trust/WSAC Fellowship categories? Artist Trust’s Fellowship categories have not been updated for over a decade and upon review do not best reflect the submissions received over recent grant cycles. After conducting a number of artist focus groups, surveys, and consultations with peer granting organizations—including New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Creative Capital, PEW Fellowships in the Arts, and our partners at the Washington State Arts Commission—it was recognized that the program could better include categories that would encourage applications from all generative artists in Washington State. Artist Trust has modified and revised our Fellowship categories to reflect these findings. 2. Why has Theatre and Dance been conflated under Performing Arts? As in the Visual Arts category, Performing Arts now reflects a broader definition of performance-based contemporary art practices and encourages applications from artists working in performance art, costume and set design, as well as choreography, movement-based performance, theatre performance and playwriting. 3. What if I previously applied in the Design category? Artist Trust has historically received very few applicants in this category. Costume and set design have been included within a revised Performing Arts category; graphic design and illustration artists can apply in Visual Arts; architectural and/or environmental design artists can apply in Emerging & Cross-Disciplinary Arts. 4. Why is Music not included in Performing Arts? Music Arts is better articulated to align with Artist Trust Fellowship selection criteria as applicants must be generative and composition-based to apply in the Music Arts category. It is now clearly articulated as a composition-based category, not a performance-based category. 5. Why add Traditional & Folk Arts as a category? While artists working in traditional and folk art mediums have previously applied in such categories as Craft, Music or Visual Arts, the number of Traditional & Folk Arts applicants has been remarkably low for Artist Trust grant cycles and does not reflect the varied makeup of artistic communities around the State. Furthermore, this new funding category allows for Traditional & Folk artists to apply in a category that will be reviewed by a panel of peers and experts specific to this category. :: :: :: |