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.

This year, the Division received work samples from 124 Delaware choreographers, composers, musicians, writers, folk and visual artists were reviewed by out-of-state arts professionals, considering demonstrated creativity and skill in their art form. The 17 selected fellows reside throughout Delaware including Hockessin, Lewes, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, and Wilmington.

Meet the Artist Fellows

Join us for the annual Award Winners exhibition, a group show featuring the 2018 Individual Artist Fellows from now through September 27 at Cab Calloway School of the Arts.

Award Winners Exhibition Schedule

Cab Calloway School of the Arts: September 7-27, open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. All visitors must check in at the front office and abide by school security procedures.

 

Masters


Lloyd Shorter
Music: Solo Recital

“I am an ardent listener. My general advice is: Listen more! To family, friends, others with different backgrounds and beliefs, and especially to music you have not heard before.”

Established Professional

Dennis Beach
Visual Arts: Sculpture

“I edit, simplify, and bring out the essential elements from the everyday observation of nature to create objects that combine the beauty and order that I mine from our natural world.”

Jack Clemons
Literature: Fiction

“I’m especially fascinated by the almost ‘Old West’ dynamism that abounded in Lewes at the turn of the 20th Century.”

Thomas Del Porte
Visual Arts: Painting

“The moment I found oil paint, it was like coming home.”

Ellen Durkan
Visual Arts: Sculpture

“I forge metal gates; I just put them on the human form.”

Maribeth Fischer
Literature: Creative Nonfiction

“It’s what I love most about writing – the wrestling with a subject, grappling with it, trying to pin it down even as it slips from my grasp.” Photo: Scott Nathan

David P. Kozinski
Literature: Poetry

“My writing style has not evolved in a straight line. It has been more like a series of stops on an archipelago, with some return visits.”

Lawrence Stomberg
Music: Solo Recital

“My guiding philosophy is to be always striving for improvement and fighting complacency. [To me,] ‘complacency’ in the performing arts is not’ standing still’ – It means moving backward as the rest of the world moves forward.”

Joan Warburton-Phibbs
Dance: Choreography

“I was always dancing and moving my body as a child.  I could never sit still.”

 

Emerging Professional

Leah Beach
Visual Arts: Photography

“When I meet a subject for the first time, instead of immediately taking a photo, I stop to hear their story before I create my version.”

Kevin Bielicki
Visual Arts: Sculpture

“Nature surrounds us; it is us, and it connects us to one another.”

Joyce Chen
Music: Solo Recital

“I am always fascinated by the healing power of music.”

Jen Epler
Literature: Fiction

“Perhaps it is luck that some of her secrets remain, and that there is still a mystery about her. Perhaps that is what holds me captive.”

Gemelle John
Literature: Poetry

“In a world cresting with its own troubles, what can writing do? I want to begin to carve out my space as a young poet. I want to begin to make my mark. Keep surprising and being surprised.”

Lauren E. Peters
Visual Arts: Painting

“I feel like I have so much to figure out. I’m all set up to paint, and that’s all I want to do.” Photo Credit: David Norbut

Robert Waters
Media Arts: Video/Film

“Every [film] shoot is different and it rarely goes as planned. But it’s the challenge that makes me love it. I really enjoy figuring out dilemmas in the moment.”

Shannon Connor Winward
Literature: Fiction

“I was eight years old when I decided to be a writer. It’s all I ever really wanted to do.”

 

About the Fellowship

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.

The awards—$3,000 for Emerging Artists, $6,000 for Established Professionals, and $10,000 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. 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 our Grants for Artists page.

 

Fellowship Home