Three students are among the best M.F.A. artists in the Bay, recently winning Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Fellowships and Edwin Anthony and Adelaide Boudreaux Cadogan Scholarships by The San Francisco Foundation. Ceramicist Shannon Abac, photographer Kimberley Arteche and painter/mixed media artist Nash Bellows each received $5,000 in tuition assistance and will have their artwork featured in a professionally curated exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center in September.
All three SF State students are entering the second year of the three-year M.F.A. program.
The annual fellowships and scholarships help fuel the continued forward-thinking, visual arts movement that makes the Bay Area unique. Established in 1986, these awards are designed to further the development of Bay Area M.F.A. students and to foster the exploration of their artistic potential in digital art, film/video, hybrid practice, installation, mixed media, painting, photography and sculpture. A total of 24 awards were given this year.
The exhibition at SOMArts, surveying work from all of this year’s winners, is on display September 3 – 27. A reception and awards ceremony takes place the evening of September 5.
Mixed media artist Genevieve Hastings was the lone SF State winner last year.
Scholarship and fellowship applicants must be M.F.A. students currently pursuing a graduate degree at SF State, the California College of the Arts, Mills College, San Francisco Art Institute, Stanford University or University of California, Berkeley. Students must have completed at least one semester of graduate study, be continuously enrolled in the same program and be in good academic standing.
The San Francisco Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation has served the Bay Area since 1948, granting more than $800 million over the past 10 years. The foundation brings together donors and builds on community assets through grant making, leveraging, public policy, advocacy and leadership development to make a greater impact in the community. By focusing on people, organizations, neighborhoods, policy, advocacy and organizing, the foundation addresses community needs in the areas of community health, education, arts and culture, community development and the environment. The San Francisco Foundation serves San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Mateo counties.