This year features four 2018 Artist Fellows
in disciplines ranging from fine craft to sculpture

Wilmington, Del. (August 9, 2018) – The Mezzanine Gallery presents monthly solo exhibitions of work by Delaware artists in disciplines including painting, photography, sculpture, crafts, folk, and media arts. The opportunity to exhibit is available to emerging and established visual artists who have won Individual Artist Fellowships or have been chosen by the annual Gallery Panel.

Opening receptions are typically held the First Friday of the month to coincide with the City of Wilmington’s Art Loop from 5–7 p.m. Receptions are free and open to the public. Each month, the artist will be in attendance to greet visitors, and answer questions about his or her work. The artwork is generally available for purchase directly from the artist.*

2018-19 Mezzanine Gallery Schedule

Visit today

Meet the Artist Video Series

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZh_Aim7UhnfQa6J-grLnNlr37pC3CuYF

Learn more about former Gallery artists with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

The Mezzanine Gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. *No commission is taken by the Gallery

View past Mezzanine Gallery exhibitions on our Flickr page: Delaware Division of the Arts

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is dedicated to cultivating and supporting the arts to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.

DELAWARE DIVISION OF THE ARTS ANNOUNCES
 2018 INDIVIDUAL ARTIST FELLOWSHIP AWARDEES

Seventeen Delaware artists are being recognized by the Division for the high quality of their artwork. Work samples from 124 Delaware choreographers, composers, musicians, writers, folk and visual artists were reviewed by out-of-state arts professionals, considering demonstrated creativity and skill in their art form. The 17 selected fellows reside throughout Delaware including Lewes, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, and Wilmington.

Awards are given in three categories – $10,000 for the Masters Award, $6,000 for the Established Professional Award, and $3,000 for the Emerging Professional Award – and Fellows are required to offer at least one exhibit or performance during the upcoming year, providing an opportunity for the public to experience their work. The work of the Fellows will be featured in a group exhibition, Award Winners XVIII, at the Biggs Museum this summer.

“Individual Artist Fellowship grants provide the recognition and exposure that artists need to successfully promote their work,” said Paul Weagraff, director of Delaware Division of the Arts.  “The financial award allows them to pursue advanced training, purchase equipment and materials, or fulfill other needs to advance their careers.”

The Masters Fellowship is open to differing artistic disciplines each year. In Fiscal Year 2018, Masters Fellowship applications were accepted in Dance, Jazz or Music from artists who had previously received an Established Professional Fellowship. In addition to exemplifying high artistic quality, Masters Fellowship applicants must demonstrate their involvement and commitment to the arts in Delaware. Listed below are the Delaware Division of the Arts 2018 Individual Artist Fellows and four Honorable Mentions.

Musician and educator Lloyd Shorter has been awarded this year’s Masters Fellowship in Music: Solo Recital. Shorter plays English horn, oboe, and oboe d’amore. This season marks Shorter’s 45th season with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. He is also a performer and Co-Artistic Director of the Relâche Ensemble, an eight-member contemporary music ensemble based in Philadelphia. With Relâche he has recorded or performed new works, toured nationally and internationally, and collaborated with numerous composers including Philip Glass. At the University of Delaware, Shorter spent 34 years as Assistant Professor of Oboe, and was the Director for the Governor’s School Music Program and a member of the Del Arte Woodwind Quintet. He continues to teach privately and explore new music with a special interest in technology.

2018 Individual Artist Fellows

Masters Award ($10,000)

Established Professional Award ($6,000)

Emerging Artist Award ($3,000)

Honorable Mention

To contact an individual artist, please email or call: Roxanne Stanulis, Program Officer, Artist Programs and Services, Roxanne.Stanulis@delaware.gov or 302-577-8283.

The next deadline for Individual Artist Fellowship applications will be Tuesday, August 1, 2018 by 4:30 p.m.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

Wilmington, Del. (October 25, 2017) – Owing to Circumstances is a participatory site specific installation that will be on view in the Mezzanine Gallery from November 3-22, 2017. An opening reception to meet the artist will be held on Friday, November 3 from 5-7 p.m. Borders received a 2017 Emerging Fellowship in Sculpture.

Borders designed this installation specifically for the Mezzanine Gallery after multiple visits and meetings with staff. The exhibition was inspired by her own family’s immigration story and the stories from a previous installation in which Borders asked visitors to sit and write in a notebook about their family’s history and why they came to the United States. The artist transcribed these responses in the handwriting of each author into drawings that will be suspended from the ceiling in the Gallery. Visitors will have the opportunity to add their own family’s history to her notebook. With this work, Borders hopes to “stimulate conversations about where we have come from, our current places in this country, and in this world.”

Borders will donate all proceeds to Refugee Integration Support Effort (RISE) of the Jewish Family Services of Delaware.

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

Learn more about Borders with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

This year will feature seven Individual Artist Fellows and
two National Arts Program in Delaware Award Winners

Wilmington, Del. (August 22, 2017) – The Gallery presents solo exhibitions of work by Delaware artists in disciplines including painting, photography, sculpture, crafts, folk, and media artists. The opportunity to exhibit is available to emerging and established visual artists who have won Individual Artist Fellowships or have been chosen by the Division’s annual Gallery Panel.

Opening receptions are typically held the First Friday of the month from 5-7 p.m. to coincide with the City of Wilmington’s Art Loop. The reception is free and open to the public. Each month, the artist will be in attendance to greet visitors and answer questions about his or her work. The artwork is generally available for purchase directly from the artist.*

Mezzanine Gallery 2017-18 Exhibitions

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

Learn more about each month’s artist with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series, which debut a week prior to the opening reception in the press release and on social media. View past Mezzanine Gallery exhibitions on our Flickr page: Delaware Division of the Arts. Follow us by using #MezzanineGallery.

*No commission is taken by the Gallery
^Denotes 2016 Individual Artist Fellow
‘Denotes 2001 Individual Artist Fellow
**National Arts Program in Delaware award winner

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

THE MEZZANINE GALLERY TO EXHIBIT RHYTHMIC CHAOS BY SUSAN BENARCIK

For Immediate Release

The Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of works on paper and small sculptures by Susan Benarcik during the month of March.  Rhythmic Chaos will be on view from March 4-24, with an opening reception on Friday, March 4 from 5-7 p.m.

Benarcik, a sculptor and printmaker, is inspired by the rhythm, harmony, chaos and balance in the patterns and shapes designed by nature. Rather than recreating the work of nature, she borrows forms from nature and transforms ordinary materials into dimensional sculpture and patterns that possess a balance of symmetry, imperfection, and consistent ‘otherness’. Benarcik’s love of horticulture and design inform a series of botanical drawings of fictitious plants that are also included in the show.

Learn more about Susan Benarcik with our YouTube Meet the Artist video series.

The Mezzanine Gallery, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. The Gallery schedule of upcoming artists through August 2016 is now available on our website.

About the Delaware Division of the Arts

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 arts programming, 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 General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit artsdel.org or call 302-577-8278.

Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov
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