CLOSE AD ×

2008 U.S. Artists Fellows Announced

2008 U.S. Artists Fellows Announced

United States Artists (USA), the national artists’ advocacy organization, announced today its third annual USA Fellowship awards, established to bolster private support of individuals across a wide range of the art and design disciplines. A $50,000 award is granted to each of the 50 artists selected from the fields of design, literature, media, and the performing and visual arts. The winners are to be honored tonight in a celebration at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

 

This year’s five USA Target Fellows for Architecture and Design were Julie Bargmann, Stephen Burks, Douglas Garofalo, J. Meejin Yoon, and Andrew Zago.

Julie Bargmann is known for her work in building regenerative landscapes on derelict sites, with the aim of producing cleaner air, water, and soil while retaining visual links to a site’s industrial past. She is the founding principal of D.I.R.T. in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Industrial designer Stephen Burks founded Readymade Projects in 1997, and his portfolio includes designs for Boffi, Calvin Klein, Cappellini, Estée Lauder, and Missoni. In addition, he has served as consultant for the nonprofit Aid to Artisans and the Nature Conservancy, collaborating with local artisans across the globe to find international markets for their products.

Douglas Garofalo’s architectural practice was established in Chicago in 1988. He is currently working on plans for Chicago’s Olympic Village, and is known for his experimental early work like the New York Presbyterian Church (with Greg Lynn and Michael McInturf) in Long Island City.

J. Meejin Yoon founded MY Studio, from which she creates solo conceptual work as an architect and designer, working at the intersection of art, architecture, and landscape. She is the cofounder of Höweler + Yoon Architecture.

Andrew Zago formed Zago Architecture in 1992. He was the founding director of the M.Arch program at the City College of New York, and has recently returned to practice in his native Detroit.

Other honorees this year include Los Angeles conceptual artist Michael Asher, New York–based installation artist Kara Walker, artist Martha Rosler of Brooklyn, independent filmmaker William Greaves, and the playwright and hip-hop theater performer Will Power. 

The Los Angeles–based USA was established in 2005 with $20 million from the Ford, Rockefeller, Prudential, and Rasmuson foundations to address the chronic lack of funding for artists and designers. Other underwriters of the fellowship program have included Michael R. Bloomberg, Eli and Edythe Broad, Agnes Gund, and Target, with a total of $7.5 million having been awarded over three years to support the vital role artists play in society.

CLOSE AD ×