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Letter from New Executive Director Fidelma McGinn As I write this, I am concluding the second week of my new job as the incoming Executive Director of Artist Trust. It’s very gratifying to join such a committed and enthusiastic group of people to support the artists of Washington State! As a happy stroke of coincide, my first major task was to present the 2005 awards to 21 deserving artists at a public reception on November 10th at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle. The Fellowship award recognizes an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline. In a recent conversation with grant recipient Amy Wheeler, performing artist, she cites, “The gift of time to work on a single project, free from the stress of meeting financial obligations – even briefly – is the greatest gift an artist can receive”. While we are all artists in one sense or another, a select few daring men and women specialize in making art. Our communities benefit from the work of these creative entrepreneurs because the results of their creativity are offered back for our enlightenment, entertainment, enjoyment, and inspiration. The artists’ creative gifts are offered to their communities, often without the adequate financial compensation and security that many of us count on through our professions. To help correct that imbalance, for over 18 years, Artist Trust has provided information to tens of thousands of artists each year and more than $2.4 million in direct grant support to 1,192 Washington State promising musicians, writers, visual and craft artists, playwrights, choreographers, composers, performers and filmmakers. Artist Trust has awarded over $1.5m to 288 Washington State artists through the Fellowship program alone. This year, the Fellowships were awarded in Craft, Literature, Media and Music and you can read more about these intrepid artists here www.artisttrust.org/grants/recipient_profiles/FELL/current. My sincere thanks to the generosity of our patrons, to our colleagues at WSAC, to the panelists who made the arduous decisions, and to the artists themselves who submitted their work for consideration for this year’s Fellowships. It is an honor and a privilege to be leading this vital and important organization, and I look forward to traveling across the State to witness first-hand the engines of creativity that abound. In the meantime, please feel free to email or contact me at the office to discuss any element of the work we do here at Artist Trust. Here’s to more progress towards supporting art at its source.
Fidelma McGinn |
