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Fellowship grants acknowledge the work of Rhode Island's finest artists in a variety of arts disciplines. Meet below the recipients of our fellowship awards in FY2010.
Jenine Bressner took birth outside of New York City in the summer of 1979. She studied glass at the Rhode Island School of Design and has lived in Providence since the spring of 1998. Jenine wants to see things she has never seen before. She aims to make things that satisfy this wish by drawing with glass rods in a torch flame, and by working in other various media.
The 2010 Craft Panel was impressed by the amount of flamework glass this artist puts into a single piece. They commented on the integrity of the artist’s craftsmanship and the traditional approach to glassmaking combined with a new and unusual approach to composition. The jewelry is outside of current trends in jewelry making and has both excellent aesthetic and conceptual appeal. The panel appreciated the amount of work that goes into the pieces, yet each piece maintains a sense of fun and playfulness. This artist is not just making jewelry, but experimenting with the form. The panel described these works as refreshing, fantastic, exuberant and outrageous. This artist’s work is exceptionally well crafted, but doesn't take itself too seriously.
Joshua Enck creates unique sculptural forms in wood and metal. He earned an M.F.A. with Honors from the Rhode Island School of Design and his B.S.A.S. from the University of Illinois. Combining his training as an architect and furniture maker, he constructs pieces that are conceptually rigorous and well-crafted. His work draws inspiration from agricultural and industrial landscapes. Enck's work juxtaposes organic and inorganic materials that gather markings of age, weather with interaction, and collect narrations of use.
The 2010 Craft Panel expressed a tremendous amount of respect for the craftsmanship demonstrated in this artist’s work, especially in the incorporation of difficult techniques such as coopering. They appreciated the artist’s constrained aesthetic and excellent design sensibility. They commented on the diversity of the pieces submitted, as well as the varied media that the artist is adept at using. The panel described the furniture as "exquisite" with a “postmodern” look. Overall, the panel had great respect for this artist’s process and range.
Lisa Young holds a BFA from the University of Illinois, an MFA from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and is an alumnus of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. Young's work explores the relationship between the temporal and the sublime through installation, books, video, and web projects.
Young's work has been exhibited at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, the Cue Art Foundation and White Columns, New York, NY, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY, Bard College, Annondale-oh-Hudson, NY, and the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI. Her commissioned projects include a billboard at 6150 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles (Clockshop/Julia Meltzer), an artist project for Cabinet Magazine, and the web project fortunehunting.org developed with the Scholarly Technologies Group at Brown University. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Harvard University Art Museums, the New York Public Library, Cornell University, and the Neues Museum Weserberg in Bremen Germany. She is currently a Visiting Critic in the Photography Department at the Rhode Island School of Design.
The 2010 Film and Video Panel used terms such as "meditative" and "sublime" to describe Young's filmmaking. They appreciated the work's beautiful imagery, the quality of the rhythm, and the exploration of original concepts. They described this filmmaker's approach as "innovative, simple and sophisticated."
www.cueartfoundation.org/lisa-young.html
www.whitecolumns.org
The 2010 Film and Video Panel described this filmmaker's work as beautiful and compelling. They admired the works' kinesthetic quality and they enjoyed the way the filmmaker plays with textures and editing. The panel appreciated the fact that this filmmaker shoots and edits his work, as well as often creating the musical score. They described this applicant as a truly experimental filmmaker with a lot of potential.
Mike Stoltz lives in Providence, RI where he makes films, videos, music, and food.
Michael Stewart received his M.F.A. from Brown University in 2007 where he currently teaches creative nonfiction. His work has been published in many top literary journals including: Denver Quarterly, Elimae, American Letters & Commentary and Conjunctions. Recently, he has been anthologized in both Thirty Under Thirty and Best of the Web.
The 2010 Fiction Panel described this author's work as clever, whimsical and sophisticated. They enjoyed the way the author played with a mosaic of nouns and made common words interesting. This writer is clearly engaged in the art of crafting language; they are in full control of their style and avoid sounding precious or affected. The panel felt the work was moving on multiple levels. They expressed an appreciation of the author's choice to resist conventional narrative structures, therefore retaining "a poetic tightness, suspended in an unresolved state."
Alison Bundy’s work has appeared in Ploughshares, Chicago Review, Kenyon Review, and Harper’s Magazine. Two collections of her fiction— A Bad Business (Lost Roads) and DunceCap (Burning Deck)—have been published, as well as a short novel, Tale of a Good Cook (paradigm press).
The 2010 Fiction Panel described this author's work as interesting and atmospheric. They observed that the events occurring in the work felt very alive, while avoiding the risk of becoming dramatic or overwrought. The author maintained a subtly of style, engaging the reader by retaining a sense of the unknown. Overall, the panel felt that the author possesses an exciting approach to their craft and has the potential to emerge as a strong, unique voice.
Michael Stewart received his M.F.A. from Brown University in 2007 where he currently teaches creative nonfiction. His work has been published in many top literary journals including: Denver Quarterly, Elimae, American Letters & Commentary and Conjunctions. Recently, he has been anthologized in both Thirty Under Thirty and Best of the Web.
The 2010 Poetry Panel unanimously and enthusiastically selected this applicant for the Fellowship Award. The panel appreciated the way the poet remains committed to the figures represented in his poems through each piece. They felt that this poet successfully makes unexpected connections and unusual juxtapositions. The panel commented that they would like to own a book of this poet’s work and be able re-read the poems in their free time. The poems were described as sensuous, accomplished, intelligent, fresh, and very American.
Julie Danho O'Connell received an MFA from Ohio State University and currently works as a writer and editor in Providence. Her poems and essays have appeared in Barrow Street, Southern Poetry Review, Mid-American Review, and West Branch, among others. She is currently at work on her first full-length collection.
The 2010 Poetry Panel described these poems as mysterious, eloquent, accomplished and well crafted. They commented on the range of functional variety in this poet’s work, with excellent use of formal constraints. The poems revealed “a good ear”, good use of beats and excellent diction. They complimented the poet’s strong use of metaphor and unrestrained imagery. They also commented on the nice tension between the title and body of each poem. The panel felt that this writer takes on a challenging approach to writing and succeeds.
As a writer/director/editor, Laura Colella has made several short films and videos and two feature films, TAX DAY and STAY UNTIL TOMORROW. With the latter project, she was a Sundance Institute Directing and Screenwriting Fellow. Her two features and her short STATUARY have cumulatively screened at about a hundred film festivals and venues internationally, winning numerous awards.
Laura's current projects include a series of videos for songs by Alec K. Redfearn, as well as a feature length narrative film to be executive produced by the New York production company This Is That. She is also working on two other screenplays, and often serves as a video collaborator with Everett Dance Theatre.
Laura is a graduate of Harvard College and has received grants and fellowships from the LEF Foundation, the Sundance Institute, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, Harvard University, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the Rhode Island School of Design. She teaches Film Production and Directing part-time at RISD, and does freelance film/video production work and consulting. Her feature films are distributed by Passion River Films and she is represented by United Talent Agency.
The 2010 Play and Screenwriting Panel felt that this was the strongest of the screenplay samples. They commented that the writing style is very visual and the playwright is in command of their craft. Panelists described the manuscript as "so fantastic" and remarked that it "affected" them. They felt that this work could easily go "from script to screen".
Leigh Medeiros graduated from the University of Hartford in 1994 with a Fine arts major and an English minor. After college Leigh naturally gravitated toward screenwriting, an art that combined both her visual and storytelling skills.
In 2000 Leigh moved to Los Angeles to hone the screenwriting craft and work in the filmmaking industry. She worked as a personal assistant to screenwriter Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One, Hollow Man) to whom she provided story research and plot breakdowns, and learned the business side of the screenwriting industry. She also interned as a script reader for John Crosby Management Company providing coverage and development notes to eager executives.
In 2004 her feature-length romantic comedy, Cursed in Love, won a top prize in the Rhode Island International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and became a finalist in the competitive San Diego International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. In 2005 Island Bound, a short film she wrote and co-produced, won a Judges Commendation in the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Also in 2005 Leigh founded Silver Wing Script Services, to provide script notes and editing to screenwriters. From 2006 to 2008 Leigh also taught Screenwriting at RISD in the Continuing Education department. In addition to her screenwriting and filmmaking work, Leigh has taught art and writing for 15 years in traditional classrooms and workshop settings. She lives between Warren and Block Island.
The 2010 Play and Screenwriting Panel complimented this writer's manuscript as for its strong dialogue, solid structure, and original story. The writing was described by as "tight". They described the story as "fun" and "kooky" - a lighthearted comedy. One panelist explained that there was a sense of "anarchy and joyfulness" in the script that was appealing. The panel felt that this applicant shows excellent ability in the genre.
Traer Scott, author of the bestselling books Shelter Dogs (Merrell Publishers 2006), and Street Dogs (October 2007) is a New England based fine art photographer specializing in narrative and editorial portraiture as well as animal photography. Her work has been featured in O Magazine, Life, Vogue, People, the British Journal of Photography and many other national and international publications. Recent solo exhibitions of her work have been held in New York, Providence and Tokyo. Her third book Wild Horses; Endangered Beauty was released in October 2008.
The 2010 Photography Panel felt that this photographer's work is universal, as well as beautiful. They were impressed by the "solid" and "cohesive" feel of the group of photographs submitted. They felt that the images transcend a mere technical approach to photography and reach a deeper level. They remarked that the photographs "take [you] in and hold [you] there" and described them as a beautiful and impressive body of work.
Matthew’s recent exhibitions include Sepia International, New York City, the RISD Museum, Newark Art Museum, Newark, NJ, 2009 Guangzhou Biennial of Photography, China, 2006 Noorderlicht Photo Festival in Netherlands and the 2005 Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal Photo Biennale in Canada.
In 2007, Matthew was the first of three artists to be awarded the MacColl Johnson Fellowship in Visual Arts. Among the list of other grants recently supporting Matthew‘s work include the John Gutmann Fellowship, Rhode Island State Council of the Arts Fellowship and the American Institute of Indian Studies Creative Arts fellowship. She was recently an artist in residence at the Yaddo Colony, Saratoga Springs, NY and the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH. Her work can be found in the collection of the George Eastman House, Fogg Museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Center for Creative Photography and the RISD Museum among others. Matthew’s work is included in the book BLINKfrom Phaidon, that according to the publisher celebrates the quality and vision of today's 100 most exciting international contemporary photographers and the upcoming book Self-Portraits by Susan Bright.
Annu Palakunnathu Matthew is Professor of Art (Photography) at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island and is represented by Sepia International Inc., New York City & Tasveer Gallery, India
The 2010 Photography Panel was impressed with the cohesiveness of this photographer's work. The photographs explore a very specific issue, yet they evoke many layers of meaning. This photographer is exploring an important contemporary issue and successfully devised a thoughtful and beautiful approach to documenting and presenting it. The resulting photographs are images that "ask questions, rather than answer them." The amount of research invested in the project is evident. Panelists commented that it is a challenge to combine text and image in photography and this photographer does so successfully.
Maureen Keaveny received her M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2007 and her B.F.A. from Columbia College Chicago. She has participated in numerous exhibitions held in Rhode Island and the Northeast, most recently at Dead Cat Gallery in Providence, and Plane Space Gallery in New York.
The 2010 Three Dimensional Art Panel unanimously chose this artist for the Fellowship Award. They discussed the ways that each of this artist's pieces transform the spaces they inhabit. The panel appreciated the size and scale of the works and described them as "grand statements." The work was also described as exciting and creative with excellent content and substance. The selection of artworks was aesthetically cohesive, yet each individual piece was interesting and unique. The panelists remarked that they would love to see this work in person and they were enthusiastic about seeing what this artist does next.
Elizabeth Duffy's sculpture, installations, and drawings reexamine everyday materials to explore themes of transience and transformation, using techniques that are repetitive and labor-intensive. Her work has been shown widely in such places as the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, The Islip Art Museum, Wave Hill, White Columns, and Holland Tunnel Gallery in New York and at Raw and Co. Gallery in Cleveland and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She has won awards including the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Pollock Krasner Foundation, and several fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.
The 2010 Three Dimensional Art Panel described this artists' small wall pieces as clean and sculptural "little jewels". The panel felt that this artist successfully transforms common materials into compelling artworks, employing creative and unexpected structural design and installation techniques. They described this artist's work as "pristine" and "impressive."
http://www.elizabethduffy.net/