Virginia native Kevin Beasley shortlisted for the Hugo Boss Prize
NEW YORK—The Hugo Boss Prize, one of the largest unrestricted prizes in the world, announced its shortlist this week. Facilitated by the Guggenheim Museum, the winner receives $100,000 and a solo show at the museum in 2021. This year’s shortlist included Kevin Beasley, who was born and raised in Virginia and makes sculptures and installations that excavate the traumas of racial violence. Beasley recently exhibited A View of a Landscape at the Whitney Museum of Art, which was reviewed in this magazine earlier this year by Sam Korman.
The Momentary and Crystal Bridges announce sixty artists chosen for State of the Art 2020
BENTONVILLE—Lauren Haynes, curator of visual arts at the Momentary and curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges, is preparing to mount State of the Art 2020 along with Alejo Benedetti and Allison Glenn, associate curators of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges. “State of the Art 2020 fits our vision for the Momentary and builds on some of what we’ve already done at Crystal Bridges—presenting contemporary artists who are making work that raise topics and important questions about this moment in time,” said Haynes in a press release. “As we traveled the US talking with artists, connections between their work and ideas began to emerge, which drove the selection of themes.” Several artists from the South will be participating in the massive exhibition, including Paul Stephen Benjamin (Atlanta), Jiha Moon (Atlanta), Larry Walker (Atlanta), Mae Aur (Memphis), Domingo Castillo (Miami), L. Kasimu Harris (New Orleans), Nicholas Lobo (Miami), Christina Molina (New Orleans), George Sanchez – Calderon (Miami), Karen Seapker (Memphis), Anthony Sonnenberg (Fayetteville), Damien Stamer (Hillsbourough, NC), Jena Thomas (Spartenburg), and Stacy Lynn Waddell (Durham). State of the Art 2020 opens the Momentary on February 22.
Danielle Deadwyler and Sonya Young James win 2019 Atlanta Artadia Awards
ATLANTA—Artadia has announced artists Danielle Deadwyler and Sonya Yong James as the 2019 recipients of its Atlanta awards. Each artist will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funds and access to the ongoing benefits of the Artadia Awards program. This is Artadia’s seventh year providing unrestricted Awards to artists in Atlanta. In addition to Deadwyler and James, the finalists for this year’s awards included Bojana Ginn, Gerald Lovell, and Courtney McClellan. After these five finalists were chosen by an initial panel, High Museum of Art photographer curator Gregory Harris and Atlanta-based independent curator Louise Shaw selected Deadwyler and James as the award’s ultimate recipients.
C4 Atlanta awarded $50,000 for operational support from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
ATLANTA—C4 announced they have been awarded $50,000 over two years from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta in support of their mission to provide professional development resources for artists.
The funding will support the general operations of the organization over a two-year period. Founded in 2010, C4 Atlanta was created to provide resources, skills and connections to strengthen and support the careers of arts professionals in Metro Atlanta. The organization also advocates for the issues that keep artists living and working in Atlanta such as fair wages, affordable housing, small business policies and more. In a press release, C4 executive director Jessyca Holland said, “This investment in our programming has the potential to have an impact in communities all over Atlanta. Artists are an important part of Atlanta’s identity. By supporting artists, we’re supporting great art for our city.”
Destinee Filmore 
Adeja Sterling
High Museum of Art announces Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellows for 2019 – 2021 cycle
ATLANTA—The Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art announced the 2019–2021 class of fellows for The Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program. The fellowship provides specialized training to students across the United States from historically underrepresented groups in the curatorial field. The two-year fellowship provides students with hands-on experience in a museum setting, assisting curators and staff on exhibitions, collections, and programs. The new fellows at the High are Destinee Filmore (Spelman College) and Adeja Sterling (Emory University).
New curator of Asian art announced at Ackland Art Museum
CHAPEL HILL—The Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced the appointment of Ellen C. Huang as curator for Asian Art. In a statement, Huang said, “I am honored and delighted to be joining the Ackland, and I look forward to working with the energetic staff, boards, and university colleagues to deepen understanding and appreciation of art from Asia. Not only is the University renowned for its active and ambitious program in Asian studies, but the Ackland’s distinguished and growing collection is also a tremendous springboard for research, education, and outreach. I am interested in the confluence between the industrial and artisanal production of art, and I am keen to explore the ways such stories may be expressed through innovative programming and exhibitions at the Ackland Art Museum. I am particularly attracted by North Carolina’s rich heritage in clay and kilns, which can connect productively with my interest in ceramics on the world stage.”
Baltimore Museum of Art plans to exclusively purchase art made by women in 2020
BALTIMORE—BMA director Christopher Bedford announced that every piece of art the museum purchases next year must have been created by a woman. In a press release, he said, “You don’t just purchase one painting by a female artist of color and hang it on the wall next to a painting by Mark Rothko. To rectify centuries of imbalance, you have to do something radical.” Additionally, each of the twenty-two exhibitions planned next year will have focus on women artists and their work.
