Artadia is pleased to announce the 2020 Houston Awards Finalists:
Valentina Jager
Cindee Travis Klement
Bria Lauren
Anna Mavromatis
Phillip Pyle II
The Finalists will receive virtual studio visits with second-round jurors, who will ultimately select two artists to receive $10,000 unrestricted funds. This year’s Finalists jurors were Ashley DeHoyos, Assistant Curator, DiverseWorks; Judy Ditner, Curator of Photography and Digital Media, Yale University Art Gallery; and Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Steven and Lisa Tananbaum Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Of the process, Judy notes, “It was particularly inspiring to be involved this year, in this time of socially distancing; to get to know and feel connected to such a strong and diverse group of artists working in Houston.”
Speaking on the Finalists, Ashley states, “Not only do these artists address timely and relevant topics but they also take interesting approaches in their artistic practice that exhibit a range of creative choices that highlights an artistic knowledge of the history of the field, and an understanding of materials.”
The 2020 Houston Artadia Award application was open to visual artists working in any visual media, at any stage in their career, who have been living and working within Harris County for a minimum of two years.
Artadia is a national non-profit organization that awards artists with unrestricted grants followed by a lifetime of program opportunities. As arts communities continue to be deeply impacted by COVID-19, with many artists losing exhibition opportunities, access to their studios, and having their livelihoods jeopardized, Artadia’s mission to support artists is more critical than ever before. Artadia is unique in that it allows any artist to apply, engages nationally recognized artists and curators to review work, and culminates in direct grants. Since 1999, Artadia has awarded over $5 million to more than 346 artists in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
The 2020 Houston Artadia Awards are generously supported by John R. Eckel Jr. Foundation, The Brown Foundation, the Houston Endowment, Artadia Board of Directors, and individual donors from across the country.