The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), on behalf of the McKnight Foundation, is proud to announce the eight recipients of the 2015 McKnight Fellowships for Visual Artists: Gregory Euclide from Le Sueur, Kristina Estell from Duluth, and Luis Fitch, Tracy Krumm, Alexandros Lindsay, Scott Nedrelow, Kelly O’Brien and Selma Fernandez Richter, all of the Twin Cities.
Designed to identify and support outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists, the McKnight Fellowships for Visual Artists provide recipients with $25,000 stipends, public recognition, professional encouragement from national visiting critics, and an opportunity to participate in a speaker series. The fellowships are funded by a generous grant from The McKnight Foundation and administered by MCAD.
The 2015 McKnight fellows were selected from a group of 270 applicants by a panel of arts professionals of varying backgrounds whose careers intersect with the visual arts in different ways. This year’s jurors were Steven Matijcio, curator at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; Russell Lord, curator of photography at the New Orleans Museum of Art; and Kellie Jones, professor of contemporary art at Columbia University, NYC.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Luis Fitch is an international artist, designer and mentor and the founder of UNO Branding, a strategic cross-cultural visual communication agency. Raised in Tijuana, Mexico, Fitch moved to the U.S. in 1985. There he attended the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and graduated in 1990 with a BFA degree. While he has enjoyed great success with commercial art through his agency UNO, his artwork has been presented nationally and internationally and is in more than 100 collections in Latin America and the U.S. With the accelerated growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S., Fitch is anxious to insure this community is served.
ABOUT THE McKNIGHT ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
The McKnight Artist Fellowship program is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. Established in 1981, the fellowship program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in ten areas, totaling nearly $1 million each year. Non-profit arts organizations oversee the administration of the fellowships and structure their own programs to respond to the unique opportunities and challenges of different creative disciplines.
ABOUT THE McKNIGHT FOUNDATION
The McKnight Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grant-making, coalition-building and the encouragement of strategic policy reform. Founded in 1953 and independently endowed by William and Maude McKnight, the Minnesota-based foundation had assets of approximately $2.2 billion and granted about $88 million in 2014.
ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
Recognized nationally and internationally for its innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to visual arts education, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design is home to more than 700 students and offers professional certificates, bachelor of fine arts and bachelor of science degrees, and graduate degrees.