The South Carolina Arts Commission names its 2021 Fellowship Recipients

The South Carolina Arts Commission Board has awarded Individual Artist Fellowships to four South Carolina artists in the categories of visual arts, craft, media: production and media: screenwriting. Each artist receives $5,000.

This year’s fellows:

• Visual: Linda Fantuzzo, Charleston County
• Craft: Elizabeth Keller, Horry County
• Media: Production: Jason Gourdine, Berkeley County
• Media: Screenwriting: Leasharn Hopkins, Richland County

Fellowships recognize and reward the artistic achievements of South Carolina’s exceptional individual artists. Fellowship awards are made through a highly competitive, anonymous process and are based on artistic excellence only. The fellowship awards bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities.

“A fellowship can be a life-changing experience,” said S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May. “Fellows share stories about how the award dollars made a transformative difference and how this validation affected their spirits and their self-perception. South Carolina’s artists are the core of our creative economy and indispensable contributors to quality of life in our communities. A fellowship is one of the best ways that we can say thank you, and we are proud to deliver these tokens of gratitude on behalf of the people of South Carolina.”

The S.C. Arts Commission board approves fellowships based on recommendations made by out-of-state review panelists, who select fellows based solely on a review of anonymous work samples. This year’s judges for visual and craft were Irwin Pickett, fine art appraiser and co-owner of Heike Pickett Gallery in Versailles, Kentucky; Geno Rodriguez, New York curator, artist and founder of the Alternative Museum; and Clarissa Sligh, artist, lecturer and essayist of Asheville, N.C. Media judges were Sabine Gruffat (production), digital media artist, award-winning filmmaker and associate professor of art at the University of North Carolina; and Joy Goodwin (screenwriting), writer, filmmaker and teacher — most recently at Elon University.

Individual artists working in prose, poetry, acting and playwriting can apply for the FY2019 fellowship awards. Applications open Aug. 7, 2017, and the deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2017.

For more information about S.C. Arts Commission programs and services, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.