Seventeen Delaware Artists Receive Fellowship Grants in 2014

The Delaware Division of the Arts has announced the Fiscal Year 2014 winners of its Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF) grants. Seventeen individual Delaware artists are being recognized for the high quality of their artwork in the visual arts, literature, music, choreography, and folk arts. Artists were selected from towns throughout the state including Seaford, Bridgeville, Lewes, Milford, Dover, New Castle, Newark, and Wilmington. Their work ranged from painting and sculpture to poetry and choreography.

The work of 115 applicants was judged by arts professionals from around the country. Through the IAF grants, the artists’ achievements are affirmed, helping provide the recognition and exposure that artists need to successfully promote their work. The artists receive a financial award—$3,000 for the Emerging category, $6,000 for the Established category, and $10,000 for the Masters level—allowing them to pursue advanced training, purchase equipment and materials, or fulfill other needs that allow them to advance their careers. The public will have an opportunity to see the varied artwork by these artists as they are required to have a public exhibit or performance showcasing their work in the upcoming year.

This year, the arts discipline category for the Masters Fellowship was Visual Arts. The discipline category rotates every three years, and only artists that have previously won in the Established category are eligible to apply. In addition to the high artistic quality of their work, artists must demonstrate their involvement and commitment to the arts in Delaware. This year’s winner of the Masters Fellowship is Carson Zullinger of Wilmington in Photography. He is being honored for the outstanding quality of his work, his dedication to the arts and arts organizations in Delaware, and his contributions both locally and nationally in the field of photography.

Listed below are the Delaware Division of the Arts 2014 Individual Artist Fellows. Contact information for the artists may be obtained by calling Kristin Pleasanton, the Division’s Deputy Director, at (302) 577-8284 in Wilmington or (302) 736-7436 in Dover.

2014 INDIVIDUAL ARTIST FELLOWS

Masters ($10,000 award)
Name Community Artistic Discipline
Carson Zullinger Wilmington Visual Arts: Photography
Established Professional ($6,000 award)
Name Community Artistic Discipline
Viet Dinh Wilmington Literature: Creative Nonfiction
Nancy Josephson Wilmington Visual Arts: Crafts
Torrey Kist Wilmington Visual Arts: Painting
Mary-Margaret Pauer Bridgeville Literature: Fiction
Barbara Proud Wilmington Visual Arts: Photography
Gabriel Zepecki Seaford Visual Arts: Works on Paper
Joseph “Butch” Zito Wilmington Folk Art: Music
Emerging Professional ($3,000 award)
Name Community Artistic Discipline
Zachary Adams Dover Visual Arts: Sculpture
Thomas Del Porte Wilmington Visual Arts: Painting
Maribeth Fischer Lewes Literature: Creative Nonfiction
Dennis Lawson Newark Literature: Fiction
Guy Miller, Jr. New Castle Visual Arts: Works on Paper
Jane Miller Wilmington Literature: Poetry
Matthew Smith Wilmington Music: Solo Recital
Leon Syfrit Wilmington Visual Arts: Photography
Michele Xiques Milford Dance: Choreography
Honorable Mentions
Name Community Artistic Discipline
Kevin Bielicki Newark Visual Arts: Sculpture
Linda Celestian Wilmington Visual Arts: Painting
Wendy Ingersoll Newark Literature: Poetry
C. Robert Kelly Wilmington Visual Arts: Works on Paper
Georgia Leonhart Rehoboth Beach Literature: Creative Nonfiction
Joshua Meier Middletown Visual Arts: Photography
Shannon Winward Newark Literature: Fiction
Dennis Young New Castle Visual Arts: Painting

The next deadline for Individual Artist Fellowship applications is August 1, 2014.

The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support artists and arts organizations, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware State Legislature, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.