This morning, I was surprised by a phone call from a gentleman who introduced himself as Charles C. Bergman. He went on to state that he was the CEO and Chairman of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in Manhattan, and that he was calling to let me know that the Foundation and their Board had reviewed and approved my grant proposal which was submitted last summer. I was shocked and amazed, and left pretty much speechless.
It is an amazing honor to have been awarded this grant, and I would like to specially thank my friends who supported me through their advice and letters of recommendation: artists Terry Elkins and Judith Nilson, who are both past PKF Grant recipients, and Helen Harrison, curator, writer, and Director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, NY. Somehow, I feel that both Jackson and Lee are smiling down on me today!
ADDENDUM (12/28/13)
I am very honored to have several of my works added to the Pollock-Krasner Foundation online image archive of grant recipients. You can view the images the Foundation selected here.
ABOUT THE GRANT
Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, ca. 1951. Photograph by Hans Namuth. © 1991 Hans Namuth Estate. Courtesy
Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona.
Last year, out of approximately 4000 international applicants, 145 grants were awarded to individual artists. The grant is open-ended, allowing artists to utilize the funds as they choose for both personal and professional expenses over the course of the year. I plan on investing in a large-format printer and other studio assets to develop a new body of large works on paper and canvas which I hope to exhibit by the summer of 2014.
More information about the grant (from the Foundation’s website) follows:
Pollock-Krasner grants have enabled artists to create new work, purchase needed materials and pay for studio rent, as well as their personal and medical expenses. Past recipients of Pollock-Krasner grants acknowledge their critical impact in allowing concentrated time for studio work, and in preparing for exhibitions and other professional opportunities such as accepting a residency.
Grants are awarded to professional visual artists internationally, based on dual criteria of artistic merit and financial need. Painters, sculptors, printmakers and artists who work on paper are eligible to apply.
Now entering its twenty-ninth year of grant making, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. has reaffirmed its mission of supporting individual visual artists worldwide. The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. awarded 159 grants totaling $2,325,500 were awarded to visual artists and organizations internationally in fiscal year 2012-2013. These grants support the artists’ personal and/or professional expenses for one year. Since its inception in 1985, the Foundation has awarded over 58 million dollars to artists in 75 countries.
More Information on the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the grant are available at pkf.org.