Luminarts Cultural Foundation announces 2022 Visual Arts and Creative Writing Fellows
$170,000 in direct funds have been awarded to Chicago-based young artists this year. Over $2 million has been distributed since 2012.
May 19, 2022 - CHICAGO - Luminarts Cultural Foundation (Luminarts) is extraordinarily proud to announce its 2022 Visual Arts and Creative Writing Fellows. This year's Visual Arts Fellows are Andrew Boynton, Diana Cisneros, and Jade Williams. The 2022 Creative Writing Fellows are Asia Calcagno and Sadaf Ferdowsi. Each year Luminarts awards two $10,000 Luminarts Fellowships for excellence in creative writing in the categories of prose and poetry, both fiction and nonfiction and three $10,000 Luminarts Fellowships for excellence in visual arts.
A Luminarts Fellowship provides enduring support and opens the door to countless opportunities. Luminarts Fellows are eligible for project grants for 10 years and have access to Luminarts as a lifelong resource.
The work these incredible young artists bring to life is astounding. Each year I am thoroughly impressed and challenged by their virtuosity. The opportunity to witness their artistry inspire others is truly something special. - Jason Kalajainen, Luminarts Cultural Foundation Executive Director
Chicago native Asia Calcagno is a writer and educator who uses storytelling and cross-cultural dialogue to create more effective educational spaces. Asia holds an MFA from Bennington College and her work has been recognized by the Academy of American Poets. She has performed locally and abroad in celebrated settings such as the Poetry Foundation of Chicago, the Brave New Voices poetry festival, and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Visit Asia Calcagno's Luminarts profile here.
Sadaf Ferdowski earned her Master of Arts in Nonfiction from Columbia College Chicago, where she served as the Graduate Student Instructor Representative for the Writing and Rhetoric committee and developed a 15-week course on research writing. Her writing can be found in The Rumpus, Gordon Square Review, and Newcity, and heard on the 2nd Story podcast. She worked as the Assistant Managing Editor for Punctuate Magazine and currently edits the ThinkKaleidoscope blog. Visit Sadaf's Luminarts profile here.
Visual Arts Fellow Andre Boynton is receving his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Boynton's photography "investigates the conflicts that afflict our heavily polarized comtemporary moment." His work has been showcased at Mana Contemporary Chicago, as well as The Research House for Asian Art. Boynton is featured in several private collections, including the Joan Flasch Artist Book Collection. Visit Boynton's Luminarts profile here.
Diana Cisneros recently graduated from the American Academy of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a specialization in oil painting. She is a first generation Mexican American and she uses her art to honor her Mexican heritage. Her oil paintings center around snapshots of her family in Mexico and hands holding objects she keeps with her in America. She intentionally produces her paintings at a small scale in order to communicate the sense of intimacy she feels towards the featured objects. Cisnero aspires to educate on the beauty of Mexican heritage through her body of work. She recently earned a student assistant position for artist Carlos Rolón. Visit Cisneros' Luminarts profile here.
Jade Williams is an interdisciplinary artist and designer whose practice "reflects the ways that she engages in the radical traditions of alteration, adornment, collecting, and congregating." She uses hair, gold hoops, acrylic nails, and original surface patterns in her art, which is heavily influenced by the 1970s and 1980s. Williams graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her art has been exhibited at the Evanston Art Center, Slate Arts and Performance Center, the Leather Archives and Museum, and more. She is a 2021 recipient of the National Black Arts Festival Artist Project Fund and a 2021 HATCH Artist Resident with the Chicago Artists Coalition. Williams created The Black Bloom Project, a "culmination of an artist's self discovery, generations of black womanhood walking and working the earth, as well as healing through community and earth." The Black Bloom Project uses art to process trauma, grief, and healing through artist-led workshops, gatherings, pop-up shops, and installations. Visit Williams' Luminarts profile here.
About Luminarts Cultural Foundation
Luminarts Cultural Foundation (Luminarts) cultivates Chicago’s vibrant arts community by supporting exemplary young artists through its competitive programs that offer financial awards, artistic opportunities, and mentoring that bridge the gap between education and career.
Luminarts welcomes talented young artists of all social, economic and cultural backgrounds. As a young visual artist, musician, vocalist, or writer from the Chicago area, we invite and encourage you to compete for grants, creative opportunities, and to become Luminarts Fellows.
Luminarts Cultural Foundation is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. Visit Luminarts.org for more information or to contribute.
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