Delaware’s Individual Artist Fellowships recognize artists for their outstanding quality of work and provide monetary awards. Individual Artist Fellows are publicly acknowledged and benefit from the additional exposure to their work. Fellows are required to showcase their work in a public exhibition or performance, so we’ve set up a special section on DelawareScene.com for you to experience their work.

In 2023, the Division received work samples from 118 Delaware choreographers; composers; musicians; writers; and folk, media, and visual artists. The work samples were reviewed by out-of-state arts professionals who considered the demonstrated creativity and skill in each artist’s respective art form. Seventeen artists were awarded fellowships in the following categories – two, Masters; seven, Established; and eight, Emerging. The seventeen selected fellows reside throughout Delaware including Bridgeville, Claymont, Felton, Harrington, Lewes, Newark, Smyrna, and Wilmington.

 

The 2023 Individual Artist Fellows are:

Master Fellows

B. Proud, Visual Arts: Photography, Wilmington

TAHIRA, Folk Art: Oral Literature, Claymont

Established Fellows

Joyce Barbagallo, Literature: Fiction, Wilmington

Ron Meick, Visual Arts: Sculpture, Wilmington

Michael Miller, Folk Art: Music, Felton

Mary Pauer, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Bridgeville

Christopher Penna, Literature: Poetry, Newark

Lauren E. Peters, Visual Arts: Painting, Wilmington

IVA (Emily Tepe), Music: Contemporary Performance, Wilmington

Emerging Fellows

Jill Althouse-Wood, Visual Arts: Painting, Wilmington

Bryant (Tee) Bell, Visual Arts: Painting, Dover

Liz DeJesus, Literature: Creative Nonfiction, Wilmington

Constanza (Cony) Madariaga, Visual Arts: Painting, Wilmington

James Morgan, Media Arts: Video/Film, Harrington

Charlese Phillips, Visual Arts: Interdisciplinary, Smyrna

Kim Hoey Stevenson, Literature: Fiction, Lewes

Anne Yarbrough, Literature: Poetry, New Castle

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Save the Dates!

The work of the Fellows will be featured in a group exhibition, Award Winners XXII, at the Biggs Museum of American Art, and will travel to CAMP Rehoboth and Cab Calloway School of the Arts.

 

Previous Artist Fellows by Year:

2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009

To contact an individual artist, please email or call: Roxanne Stanulis, Program Officer, Artist Programs and Services, Roxanne.Stanulis@delaware.gov or 302-577-8283.

The next deadline for Individual Artist Fellowship applications will be Monday, August 1, 2023 by 4:30 p.m.

 

About the Fellowship

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The Division offers fellowships in the artistic disciplines of choreography, folk art, jazz, literature, media arts, music, and visual arts. Artists’ work samples are reviewed by nationally recognized out-of-state arts professionals, considering both demonstrated creativity and skill in the art form.

NEW FOR 2023! Thanks to generous funding from the Department of State, the awards have increased—$5,000 for Emerging Artists, $8,000 for Established Professionals, and $12,000 for Masters—allow artists to pursue advanced training, purchase equipment and materials, or fulfill other needs that will help advance their careers.

The highest honor—the Masters Fellow—is reserved for those who meet rigorous criteria. Funding dependent, typically only one Masters Fellow can be awarded each year. Disciplines rotate every three years.

During the fellowship year, recipients are required to showcase their work in a public exhibit or performance in Delaware.

For more details about the Individual Artist Fellowship program, please visit the Grants for Artist page.