November 2, 2007

Arts Council Silicon Valley announces new opportunity for local artists

Arts Council Silicon Valley has restructured its very popular Artist Fellowship grants program to engage a broader segment of the artist community. The Arts Council is now awarding up to a $4,000 fellowship in each of six different categories to recognize established professional working artists and to enable them to continue to pursue their creative work. Arts Council Silicon Valley remains the only funding agency south of San Francisco that recognizes and awards artists for the continuation of their artistic pursuit.

Since the program’s inception, it has funded three artists in two categories each year and rotated the other categories every six years, enabling a number of different types of artists to receive funding but severely limiting the ability for artists to re-apply on a regular basis. The new Artist Fellowship program allows for one artist in each of six categories to be funded each year with the rotation every two to three years.

Artists who live in Santa Clara County or in an adjoining county showing impact in Santa Clara County are eligible to apply. No specific project needs to be carried out with the funds awarded. In 2007/08, Artist Fellowships will be awarded in the following categories:

Fellowship Categories:

Visual Arts /2-dimensional: painting, drawing, printmaking, mural

Visual Arts /3-dimensional: textile, installation

Literary Arts: memoir & novel

Performing Arts /Music: composition

Performing Arts /Dance: dance performance

Performing Arts /Theatre: theatre performance

In addition, the Arts Council is offering free informational workshops on submitting a fellowship application on Tuesday, Nov, 13, at 6:15 p.m. at the San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art and on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 4 p.m. at the Arts Council’s office in Suite 200. Attendance at the workshop is voluntary, but potential applicants are encouraged to participate. To RSVP for a workshop, or for Arts Council assistance, please contact: Audrey Wong, the Arts Council’s Grants Program Manager, at awong@artscouncil.org or (408) 998-2787 x214.