Estate of Artist Su Job Announces 2018 Conductive Garboil Grant Recipients

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October 9, 2018 – 4Culture, Artist Trust, and the Estate of Su Job announce Fulgencio Lazo, Shontina Vernon, and Carol Rashawnna Williams as the three recipients of the 2018 Conductive Garboil Grant. Each artist will receive an unrestricted award of $3,000 in recognition of the high degree to which they disrupt the status quo and meaningfully integrate their art practice within the community.

Fulgencio Lazo (Seattle) works predominantly with acrylics on canvas at his studios in Seattle and in his hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico. In Seattle, where he has lived since 1990, he is most known for his tireless work to create programs and spaces that are inclusive and reflect diverse audiences. Most recently Fulgencio co-founded Studio Lazo, an organization of artists and community members creating a welcoming venue that especially showcases the creativity of Latino artists, writers, and musicians. He is also a 2018 recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Award.

Shontina Vernon (Seattle) is a dynamic, multidisciplinary artist whose work is grassroots, visionary, and global in scope. An accomplished filmmaker, theater artist, musician, creative facilitator, and educator, her work champions the necessity of arts and culture to catalyze social change. A believer in the transformative power of art and story, Shontina facilitates workshops using creative writing, theatre, music, and movement to aid marginalized communities in connecting with a sense of voice and agency. She is a 2016-2018 Rauschenberg Artist as Activist Fellow, a prestigious two-year grant program funding artistic projects addressing racial justice through the lens of mass incarceration.

Carol Rashawnna Williams (Seattle) was born in Topeka, Kansas into a military family. She lived in Germany until the age of 11, when her family relocated to Tacoma. A graduate of Evergreen State College, Carol resides in the TK Lofts in Pioneer Square and works to mentor emerging artists from various backgrounds. Carol believes in the power of art to build community, bridge community relationships, and create authentic space for healing. A large body of her work deals with environmentalism, PNW conifers, old growth trees, endangered animals, and climate change. Last year, one of her interactive installations, Healing Forests, was presented in Occidental Park as part of the Seattle Urban Design Festival.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary and final year of the award, past Conductive Garboil Grant recipients and Lynn Schirmer, representative from the Estate of Su Job, were asked to submit names of up to four artists working in all disciplines and varied practices, living in King County, and considered by their nominator to be both “conductive” and “garbolic.” A total of 34 artists were nominated and all were invited by 4Culture to apply for the award. Of the 19 applications received, nine finalists were selected to be interviewed by the panel.

2018 Conductive Garboil Grant Finalists

Carina del Rosario
Cheryl Delostrinos
Alice Gosti
Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons
Fulgencio Lazo
Paul D. McKee
Delbert Richardson
Carol Rashawnna Williams
Shontina Vernon

The 2018 Selection Panelists were co-chairs and 2017 Conductive Garboil Grant recipients Juan Alonso-Rodríguez and Romson Regarde Bustillo, writer Beverly Aarons, visual artist Sara Everett, and Su Job’s Estate representative Lynn Schirmer, who served as the panel’s advisor.

The public is invited to celebrate the legacy of the Conductive Garboil Grant on Thursday, November 15, 6:00-8:30 PM at Traver Gallery, 110 Union St. #200 in Seattle. Remarks and award presentations begin at 7:00 PM. Admission is by sliding scale donation. RSVP on Eventbrite.

About the Conductive Garboil Grant
Envisioned and endowed by Seattle artist Su Job in 2008, the Conductive Garboil Grant acknowledges artists who demonstrate a profound ability to challenge the limits of creative discourse and its effect on our society and push the artistic act beyond accepted limits, definitions, or purposes while engaging audiences outside the aesthetic industrial complex. A woman of extraordinary energy and fiercely dedicated to her art, Su was interested in acknowledging persons committed to an artistic practice that connects with community and society.

For 10 years, Artist Trust, 4Culture, and the Estate of Su Job have worked together to administer the Conductive Garboil Grant. Over the last decade the award has supported many remarkable artists in our community. Read more about Su’s vision at garboil.org.

Conductive Garboil Grant Awardees (by year)
2008: Johnathan Heath Lambe, media
2009: Sheri Brown, performance
2010: Kelly Lyles, visual
2011: Rio Pacific Studio, visual (Jeff Jacobson and Jen Vertz)
2012: Paul Rucker, multidisciplinary
2013: Christian French, visual
2014: Jeppa K. Hall, performance
2015: Robb Kunz, emerging & cross-disciplinary
2016: Tariqa Waters, visual
2017: Juan Alonso-Rodríguez, visual; Romson Regarde Bustillo, visual
2018: Fulgencio Lazo, visual; Shontina Vernon, multidisciplinary; Carol Rashawnna Williams, visual

About 4Culture
As the cultural funding and support agency for King County, 4Culture works to make our region vibrant. Using Lodging Tax and 1% for Art funds, our team of grant-makers, producers, advocates, advisory committees, and volunteer review panelists support a diverse array of cultural endeavors. 4Culture.org

About Artist Trust
Artist Trust’s mission is to support and encourage artists working in all disciplines to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Since 1986, Artist Trust has invested over $10 million in individual artists through grant programs, and provides a comprehensive suite of professional development training and resources to help artists achieve their career goals. Learn more at artisttrust.org.

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