Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2006

Artadia Awards in the Visual Arts Announced for Chicago 2006

NEW YORK --  Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue is very pleased to announce the 10 awardees of the Artadia Awards for visual artists in Cook County, Illinois. From November 16 through November 18, 2006 three nationally prominent curators conducted studio visits with the fifteen finalists for the Artadia Awards in the Visual Arts in Chicago. Jurors Lydia Yee (Senior Curator, Bronx Museum of Art), William Stover (Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Stephanie Smith (Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago) selected three artists for $15,000 grants and seven artists for $1,500 grants in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

On October 13, 2006 an initial jury convened in New York City to review the applications of more than 460 artists from Cook County, Illinois. The fifteen finalists for the Artadia Awards in Chicago were selected by Gilbert Vicario (Assistant Curator of Latin American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston), Robert Lazzarini (artist), and Stephanie Smith.

The Artadia Awards in Chicago are funded in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and The Joyce Foundation.

Artadia Awards $15,000 Awardees:

Visual and performing artist, Nick Cave graduated from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Kansas City Art Institute. His soundsuits are part of an elaborate narrative that is often autobiographical. Cave’s mix of materials, textures, and textiles challenge our cultural perceptions and reveal complex political and aesthetic themes. Cave considers the works “collages” and combines found textiles with hand-stitching and intricate knits.

William J. O’Brien holds a MFA in Fiber and Material Studies at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. He currently teaches at Chicago State University.  O’Brien’s drawing, collage, video and installation work depicts material culture and human experience. With bright colors and thought provoking juxtapositions, O’Brien's work is both hand-made and digital. 

Temporary Services is a collective of three individuals formed in 1998. Brett Bloom, Salem Collo-Julin, Marc Fischer create dynamic temporary public projects and modest installations that encourage dialogue and community engagement. Temporary Services has published more than 70 informational booklets that entice audiences into social critique and personal reflection.

Artadia Awards $1,500 Awardees:

Robert Davis and Michael Langlois are both graduates of the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Known as Davis/Langlois, they has been working together ever since they met at SAIC. Employing classical and diverse media such as watercolor, graphite, oil, and bronze, they subvert the language of common objects and pop culture by manipulating images and text to engage the viewer.

Ken Fandell graduated with a MFA in Photography and New Genres from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His assembled skies reveal disparate geographies, seasons and times of day. Fandell’s photos and video work are as much self-reflexive musings on the larger mysteries of life, as they are collaged information that conflates science and artistic enterprise.

A graduate in Photography from Columbia College in Chicago, Jason Lazarus currently teaches at St. Xavier University. His photographs playfully challenge the perceptions and role of the contemporary artist as author, and the viewer’s expectations of him.

Cecil McDonald graduated with a MFA from Columbia College in Chicago. His photographs are constructed as tableaux vivants which describe familiar scenes filtered through an autobiographical lens. Intimate moments and relationships depicted transcend personal space to expose universal themes of domestic life and contemporary American society.

Julia Oldham is a MFA graduate from the University of Chicago.  Her short videos explore behavior of insects and other invertebrates translating them into choreographed movements. Her playful presentation encourages self-reflection and is a careful mix of curiosity and cleverness.

Steve Reber received an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and teaches at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Reber combines modern building materials such as plywood, ceramic, plastic laminate and decorative paneling with found objects. His sculptural compositions and wall-drawings balance at the threshold of refined geometry and confined architectural space.

Melanie Schiff graduated with an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her photographs capture everyday intimate moments and the sublime often hidden in ephemera. Still-lifes and portraits evoke an appreciation for passing moments and a connection between humanness and the environment that surrounds us.

About Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue

Artadia was originally founded as The ArtCouncil in 1997, by investment banker and art collector Christopher E. Vroom, as a response to the demise of the National Endowment for the Arts’ artist fellowships.  The first grants were given in San Francisco, where Vroom was living at the time. Chicago was added as a program city in 2001. In 2003, Artadia added Houston to its roster. Once Artadia commits to a community, it returns every other year to run its grant programs and, on the off years, it co-sponsors a public program with a local institution. Started as an individual’s philanthropy, Artadia is now expanding its base of support by recruiting art patrons from across the United States to join its board of directors, which provides governance and covers administrative costs. Artadia has been based in New York City since late 2002. 

Artadia awards are determined through a jury process that employs nationally prominent curators, artists, and critics. Artadia partners with local foundations and individuals in the host cities to raise funds that go directly to artists in that community. Artadia matches those contributions by providing the funds that administer the program. Once an artist receives an Artadia Award, he or she becomes part of a national network of support forever. Since its founding, Artadia has awarded over $1.6 million to more than 165 artists in its participating cities.

In the next year, Artadia will also present events and programming in New York, Atlanta, and Miami. Upcoming programs are intended to not only demonstrate the tremendous creativity in partner communities, but also facilitate exchange and dialogue nationwide.

Press inquiries and information on Artadia, contact us at info@artadia.org.

For information on becoming a partner or friend of Artadia, contact:
Lila Kanner, Program Manager: lilakanner@artadia.org
(212) 727-2233 x 207.