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2009 Artist Fellows Announced

June 15, 2009—

The Bush Artist Fellowships provide strong and promising artists with resources to deepen and advance their work and to foster their careers as artists. One of the largest artist grants in the Upper Midwest, it is one of only three open-application artist fellowships of this size in the United States. This year’s fellowships focused on performing and literary arts.

The 2009 Bush Artist Fellows

David Adjmi (Minneapolis, MN), script works

Keith Bear (O’Mashi! Ryu Ta – “Northern Lights”) (New Town, ND), traditional and ethnic performing arts

Maura Bosch (Minneapolis, MN), music composition

Laura M. Flynn (Minneapolis, MN), literary arts

J. Vincent Hansen (Saint Cloud, MN), literary arts

Greg Herriges (Minneapolis, MN), music composition

Laura MacKenzie (Saint Paul, MN), traditional and ethnic performing arts

Peter Mayer (Stillwater, MN), music composition

Sheila O’Connor (Minneapolis, MN), literary arts

Matt Rasmussen (Robbinsdale, MN), literary arts

Thomas Scott (Minneapolis, MN), music composition

Dominique Serrand (Minneapolis, MN), performance-based work

Karen Sherman (Minneapolis, MN), performance-based work

Dáithí Sproule (West Saint Paul, MN), traditional and ethnic performing arts

Deborah Stein (Minneapolis, MN), script works

(Individual profiles of these artists, including pictures and links to their websites, are at www.bushfoundation.org.)

A Rigorous Competition & Career-Changing Award Fellows are selected through a rigorous, national peer panel review process. Applicants submit a written application that is subsequently reviewed by national panelists who are experts in the fields of performing and literary arts. A final panel makes the selection of 15 from a field of 39 finalists. (Panelists noted at end of release.)

“Since the inception of the Bush Artist Program in 1976, the Foundation has invested in some of the most talented and courageous people in our communities—artists,” said Pamela Wheelock, Vice President and Leadership/Community Engagement Team Leader. “Their leadership and creativity have a profound effect on communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The fellowships support the artists themselves but are also an investment in the well-being of all people in those states.”

For many past recipients, the fellowship is a career-changing award. For example, writer Patricia Hampl was able to finish her groundbreaking memoir A Romantic Education while a fellow and the late playwright August Wilson completed his second major play, Fences, which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.

About the Bush Foundation

The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife Edyth. The Foundation strives to be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota by investing in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of people in these three states. In 2009, the Bush Foundation is pursuing its Goals for a Decade, —in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to develop courageous leaders and engage entire communities in solving problems, to support the self-determination of Native nations and to increase educational achievement.

The Bush Artist Program (BAP) was established in 1976. Since then, it has awarded 475 grants to 416 different artists. BAP creates opportunities for artists to advance their work, stimulate dialogue and contribute to deeper community engagement by providing financial and professional development support through three grant initiatives: 1) the Enduring Vision Awards providing $100,000 to up to three mature artists annually; 2) the Bush Artist Fellowships; and 3) Dakota Creative Connections, providing artists in North and South Dakota with project and professional development grants ranging from $3,000 to $6,000.

2009 Bush Artist Fellows Program PreliminaryPanelists

Literary Arts

Linh Dinh, Poet and Fiction Writer, Philadelphia, PA

Jewelle Gomez, Novelist and Grantmaker, San Francisco, CA

Fenton Johnson, Novelist, Essayist, Professor of Creative Writing at University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Script Works

Elizabeth Bennett, Dramaturg and Arts Administrator, Brooklyn, NY

Milos Stehlik, Executive Director, Facets Multimedia, Chicago, IL

Karen Zacarias, Playwright, Washington, DC

Performance-Based Work

Rinde Eckert, Writer, Composer, Performer and Director, Nyack, NY

Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Artistic Director of Youth Speaks Inc., San Francisco, CA

Deborah Riley, Director, Dance Place, Washington, DC

Traditional and Ethnic Performing Arts

Meg Glaser, Artistic Director, Western Folklife Center, Elko, NV

James P. Leary, Folklorist and Professor of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies, Director of the Folklore Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Elizabeth Peterson, Executive Director, Fund for Folk Culture, Austin, TX

Music Composition

Don Byron, Composer and Musician, Boiceville, NY

Michael Ching, Composer and Artistic Director, Opera Memphis, Memphis, TN

Mary Jane Leach, Composer, Valley Falls, NY

2009 Bush Artist Fellows Program Final Panel

Michael Ching, Composer and Artistic Director, Opera Memphis, Memphis, TN

Meg Glaser, Artistic Director, Western Folklife Center, Elko, NV

Rinde Eckert, Writer, Composer, Performer and Director, Nyack, NY

Elizabeth Bennett, Dramaturg and Arts Administrator, Brooklyn, NY

Jewelle Gomez, Novelist and Grantmaker, San Francisco, CA