NEW YORK—Artadia has announced five finalists for its 2019 Atlanta awards: Danielle Deadwyler, Bojana Ginn, Gerald Lovell, Courtney McClellan, and Sonya Yong James. The finalists will receive studio visits with second-round jurors, who will ultimately select two artists as awardees to receive $10,000 in unrestricted funds. The finalists were selected by jurors Gabriel de Guzman, curator and director of exhibitions, Smackmellon, New York; Ike Onyewuenyi, curatorial assistant at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and Louise Shaw, a curator based in Atlanta.
“Making a selection from such an exceptionally strong pool of applicants was no easy task for us,” Guzman said. “In the end, we felt that the group of finalists reflect a diverse range of voices, media, and approaches. The high caliber of creative integrity represented by these finalists speaks to the unique vibrancy of the arts in Atlanta.”
Shaw added, “As an Atlanta-based curator and cultural worker, I am proud of depth and breadth of work being produced by artists in this region. The 2019 Artadia finalists were selected from a pool of excellent applicants whose diversity in terms of practice and personal histories is reflective of the ever expanding Atlanta arts landscape at large.”
This is Artadia’s seventh award cycle in Atlanta. The Atlanta Artadia Awards were open to all visual artists living in Atlanta for over two years, working in any media, and at any stage of their career. Since 1999, Artadia has awarded over $5 million to more than 330 artists in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Artadia is unique in that it allows any artist to apply, engages nationally recognized artists and curators to review work, and culminates in direct grants.
The 2019 Atlanta Artadia Awards are generously supported by MailChimp, the Wish Foundation, Artadia’s Board of Directors, Artadia Council Members, through a contribution by artist Shara Hughes, and individual donors across the country.
