Awards

2015 United States Artists Fellows Announced – and Mark is honored to be one of them!

November 10, 2015 – United States Artists (USA) is pleased to announce the 37 new USA Fellows for 2015. Each artist or collaborative will receive an award of $50,000 to support their practice and professional development, opening up exciting creative possibilities through the transformative power of unrestricted financial support.

As one of the largest grant-making organizations in the country providing direct support to artists, USA spotlights the importance of originality across every creative discipline, from literature and performance to crafts and theater. Celebrating the breadth of American artistic practices from coast to coast, USA cultivates a creative ecology that is diverse in age, race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. USA honors innovative, accomplished artists at all stages of their careers, who are nominated by their peers and field experts for the quality, imagination, and enduring potential of their work in the following disciplines: Architecture & Design, Crafts, Dance, Literature, Media, Music, Theater & Performance, Traditional Arts, and Visual Arts. Awards are entirely unrestricted and may be used by Fellows in any way they choose. Over $20 Million Dollars has been awarded through the USA Fellows program since its inception.

The 37 recipients of this year’s awards were selected from over 400 nominated artists living in the United States and US Territories and were chosen by panels of expert peers in each artistic discipline. “USA Fellowships are awarded to innovative artists of all ages and at all stages of their careers, who are nominated for their commitment to excellence and the enduring potential of their work,” said United States Artists CEO Carolina García Jayaram. “We are honored to present this year’s Fellows, a group of artists who were selected through a rigorous, highly competitive process. What continues to set the USA Fellowship apart is the unrestricted nature of our award. USA’s mission is to put artists first as they are the core of our organization. This is shown by the inherent trust we place in them to know how to use the money to further their practice and pursue unrealized opportunities.”

The 2015 USA Fellows are:

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Jonathan Muecke, USA Knight Fellow (Saint Paul, MN)
Chat Travieso, USA YoungArts Fellow (New York, NY)

CRAFTS
Cristina Córdova, USA Distinguished Fellow (Penland, NC)
Mark Hewitt, USA Distinguished Fellow (Pittsboro, NC)
Ayumi Horie, USA Distinguished Fellow (Portland, ME)
Amos Paul Kennedy, USA Glasgow Fellow (Detroit, MI)
Therman Statom, USA Smith Fellow (Omaha, NE)
Anne Wilson, USA Distinguished Fellow (Evanston, IL)

DANCE
Jonah Bokaer, USA Ford Fellow (Brooklyn, NY)
Camille A. Brown, USA Jay Franke & David Herro Fellow (Jamaica, NY)
Toni Pierce-Sands & Uri Sands, USA Knight Fellows (Saint Paul, MN)

LITERATURE
Teju Cole, USA Zell Fellow (Brooklyn, NY)
Adrian Matejka, USA Simon Fellow (Bloomington, IN)

MEDIA
Peter Nicks, USA Pritzker Pucker Fellow (Oakland, CA)
Deborah Stratman, USA Collins Fellow (Chicago, IL)

MUSIC
Maya Beiser, USA Distinguished Fellow (Bronx, NY)
David Lang, USA Distinguished Fellow (New York, NY)
Rudresh Mahanthappa, USA Distinguished Fellow (Montclair, NJ)
Joe Louis Walker, USA Oliver Fellow (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Invincible ill Weaver, USA Ford Fellow (Detroit, MI)
Shara Worden, USA Knight Fellow (Detroit, MI)
Jasiri X, USA Cummings Fellow (Pittsburgh, PA)

THEATER & PERFORMANCE
Jackie Sibblies Drury, USA Gracie Fellow (Brooklyn, NY) § Narcissister, USA Ford Fellow (Brooklyn, NY)

TRADITIONAL ARTS
Shan Goshorn, USA Distinguished Fellow (Tulsa, OK)
Kathleen Carlo-Kendall, USA Rasmuson Fellow (Fairbanks, AK)
Da-ka-xeen Mehner, USA Rasmuson Fellow (Fairbanks, AK)
Diego Romero, USA Distinguished Fellow (Santa Fe, NM)
Sidonka Wadina, USA Distinguished Fellow (Lyons, WI)
Mary Louise Defender Wilson, USA Weitz Fellow (Flasher, ND)

VISUAL ARTS
Judith Baca, USA Rockefeller Fellow (Venice, CA)
Frank Big Bear, USA Knight Fellow (Duluth, MN)
Dawoud Bey, USA Guthman Fellow (Chicago, IL)
Paul Pfeiffer, USA Shari D. Behnke Fellow (New York, NY)
Mickalene Thomas, USA Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Fellow (Brooklyn, NY)
Kade Twist, USA Jeanne & Michael Klein Fellow (Santa Fe, NM)

About United States Artists and the USA Fellows
Founded in 2006 by the Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson and Prudential Foundations with $22 million to support artists in America, USA is currently funded by a broad range of philanthropic foundations and individuals. Through its signature USA Fellows program, USA has distributed over $20 million in support to 442 artists. Past recipients of USA Fellowships include visual artists Glenn Ligon, Kara Walker, Theaster Gates and Catherine Opie; cartoonist Chris Ware; designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy (of Rodarte); performing artist Meredith Monk; jazz composer Jason Moran; ballet dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied; choreographer Bill T. Jones; and writers Sapphire and Chris Abani.

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Mark is very honored to have received several other awards and recognition in the past few years. Here they are….

2015

Finalists, winner, and jurors of the 2015 American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Award in association with The Balvenie (left to right): David Stewart, Garth Johnson, Mark Hewitt, Elizabeth Brim, Mary Jackson, Anthony Bourdain, Bob Kramer, James Fox, and Perry Price. Photo: Joe Gallo, courtesy of Magrino At a luncheon with Anthomy Bourdain on March 10, 2015 in NYC, Mark was honored as one of the five finalists who were chosen for the 2015 Balvenie Rare Craft Fellowship Award awarded in association with the American Craft Council. The finalists were selected for their contribution to the maintenance or revival of traditional or rare craft techniques. The winner of the award was bladesmith Bob Kramer of Olympia, Washington.

In addition to Bob, the finalists for the award who were in attendance in NYC were blacksmith Elizabeth Brim (Penland, North Carolina), potter Mark Hewitt (Pittsboro, North Carolina), and basketweaver Mary Jackson (Charleston, South Carolina).

At a luncheon held in their honor, the artists were joined by the jurors for the 2015 award, including chef, author, and raconteur Anthony Bourdain as lead juror, The Balvenie’s malt master David Stewart, ACC’s director of education Perry A. Price, Arizona State University Art Museum curator of ceramics Garth Johnson, and digital librarian and writer of 10engines.com, James Fox.

The American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Award is presented in recognition and support of contributions to the maintenance and revival of traditional or rare crafts in America. Fellow Bob Kramer will receive an exclusive trip to Scotland and a $10,000 endowment toward his work. The finalists each received a $5,000 endowment.

2014

Mark was awarded the 2014 Voulkos Visiting Artist Fellowship by the Archie Bray Ceramics Foundation in Helena, MT. This allowed him to spend three weeks in January 2015 at Archie Bray, exploring new ideas and having a rare break from his potting regimen here at home.

The Voulkos Visiting Artist Fellowship was created in memory of the renowned ceramic artist, Peter Voulkos who began his career at the Archie Bray Foundation in 1951. His family and friends established the Fellowship at the Bray to be awarded each year to a special and distinguished visiting artist whose generosity, commitment to innovation, and passion for creative exchange through shared ideas reflect Pete’s spirit.

Best in Show at the 26th Annual “Sculpture in the Garden” invitational sculpture exhibition at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, NC

2013

Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award presented by St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, NC
The Sam Ragan Award was created in 1981 to honor Samuel Talmadge Ragan, North Carolina’s first Secretary of Cultural Resources. It is presented annually to one or more persons for outstanding contributions to the Fine Arts of North Carolina over an extended period –including, but above and beyond — the recipient’s own primary commitment.

Best in Show at the 25th Annual “Sculpture in the Garden” invitational sculpture exhibition at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, NC.