The Finalists will receive virtual studio visits with second-round jurors, who will ultimately select two artists to receive $10,000 unrestricted funds supported by Angeles Art Fund and Capital Group, and one artist to receive $25,000 provided by Marciano Art Foundation. This year’s Finalists jurors were Taylor Renee Aldridge, Visual Arts Curator, California African American Museum, Los Angeles; Erika Umali, Assistant Curator of Collections, Brooklyn Museum, New York; and Yao Wu, Jane Chace Carroll Curator of Asian Art, Smith College Museum of Art, Massachusetts.

Of the process, Taylor notes, “As a newcomer to California, it was a great pleasure jurying the 2021 Los Angeles Artadia awards. Throughout the process, I was exposed to an impressive group of artists in the city who are working in a variety of mediums and ideas.” 

Expanding on the process and Finalists, Erika states, “Having the opportunity to see how many artists and creatives are still being inspired after almost a full year of the pandemic was especially moving; this process has made me feel connected again to a group of artists I have been physically distant from. This group of artists is particularly exciting as their work offers us a first person perspective of their experiences without diluting them to be more accessible to outsider audiences.” Yao notes, “Coming from a wide range of backgrounds and working in many different media, the six finalists represent the diversity and vibrancy of the Los Angeles art scene.”

The 2021 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County for a minimum of two years. 

Read the full press release here