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For Immediate Release Contact: Heather Helbach-Olds, Director of Programs ARTIST TRUST SUPPORTS 77 ARTISTS WITH GAP AWARDS! Artist Trust is proud to announce its support of 77 artists through the 2007 Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) Program. The GAP Program provides up to $1,500 to individual artists for projects in all artistic disciplines. This June, Artist Trust distributed 77 GAP grants to Washington State artists, a 45% increase in the number of awards given from 2006. Over 18% more recipients were from outside of King County than in 2006. A record 795 applications were received from artists across Washington State, including over 10% more applications received from outside of King County than in 2006. The maximum amount awarded per grant also increased from $1,400 to $1,500 this year, for a total of $112,214 awarded, the most distributed in the history of the GAP Program. “In Artist Trust’s 20th year of providing grants to Washington State's most creative artists, we are delighted to be able to increase both the level and quantity of our GAP awards," says Artist Trust Executive Director Fidelma McGinn. "The GAP awards are synonymous with artistic risk-taking, and the citizens of our state will benefit enormously from the creative output of this year's recipients." This year’s recipients were selected by review panels made up of artists, past Artist Trust grant recipients, and arts professionals from Eastern, Central and Western Washington, as well as Oregon. A complete list of 2007 recipients and selection panelists is here. The foremost criterion for selection is the artistic excellence of an applicant’s artwork. Panelists are also asked to respond to an applicant’s project proposal and the feasibility of their project. Selection panels rotate annually. GAP recipients and their projects are posted on Artist Trust’s website at www.artisttrust.org/grants/recipient_profiles/GAP/current and will be featured in the upcoming Fall 2007 edition of Art Source, Artist Trust’s newsletter. A new addition to this year's project grants, Artist Trust announces the creation of two new partnerships that offer artist residencies in Port Townsend and on Camano Island. Artist Trust is partnering with Centrum – a gathering place for artists and creative thinkers from around the world, located at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend – to provide a month-long residency for four artists. This year’s residency recipients are visual artists Dionne Bonner and Karen Rudd and musicians Tiffany Li-Chin Lin and Cuong Vu. Each artist will have private accommodations and access to studio resources at Centrum for up to one month, plus a stipend for travel, living expenses and supplies. In addition, by special arrangement through the generosity of the Hafer Family Foundation, writer and filmmaker Anne de Marcken was selected for the inaugural residency on the Hafer family property on Camano Island. De Marcken will have full access to this retreat-like property, plus a stipend for travel, living expenses and supplies. Artist Trust also administers the Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Program and the Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Artist Trust is also a vital information resource for artists, providing professional development information through print, website, telephone, email and in person at our office in Seattle. For more information on Artist Trust grant recipients and all Artist Trust services for Washington State artists, visit our website at www.artisttrust.org. Support for the 2007 Artist Trust Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) Program is generously provided by: Edie Adams, Kenneth and Marleen Alhadeff, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Eve and Chap Alvord, Joan Alworth and Peter Ackroyd, Harry and Merrily Applewhite, ArtsFund, Robert Bayersdorfer, Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation, Paul and Debbi Brainerd, Joan Broughton, Craig and Sharon Campbell, Michael and Cathy Casteel, T. Samuel Coleman, Betsy and Peter Currie, Lane DeCamp and Paula Rimmer, Carole D'Inverno and Bill Frisell, Ellen Ferguson, Robert E. Frey, Helen Gamble, David Green, Barbara and Bert Gregory, Karen Guzak and Warner Blake, Hafer Family Foundation, Marlow Harris and Jo David, Mitchell Karton and Ann Gardner, King County 4Culture, Diane Lasko and Clint Diener, Jeffrey Miller, Michael and Michele Miller, Robin Naughton, Norcliffe Foundation, Sarah Novotny and John Kintz, Julie O'Farrell, Rick and Lisa Plath, PONCHO, Raynier Institute and Foundation, Sahlin Foundation, Michael Smith and Jess Van Nostrand, Larry Stapleton and Jerrol Golden, Vickie Strand, David and Dana Persson Taft, Bill and Ruth True, Lorraine W. Vagner, Judith A. Whetzel, Woods & Associates and donors to the Artist Trust Benefit Art Auction and the Fund-a-Grant program. Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State. :: :: :: |