Lynden Sculpture Garden
Press Release

Thirteenth Cycle of Fellowship Program for Visual Artists Announced

Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists Program to Recognize Five Artists in 2015

By - Sep 4th, 2015 12:25 pm

The Bradley Family Foundation, in collaboration with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, announces the thirteenth cycle of the prestigious fellowship program for visual artists. The program, funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund, provides unrestricted funds for artists to create new work or complete work in progress. The program is open to practicing artists residing in the four-county area comprised of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington counties. Eighty-one fellowships have been awarded since the program began in 2003.

Five fellowships will be awarded in 2015: two for established artists ($20,000 each) and three for emerging artists ($10,000 each). This represents a reduction in the number of annual fellowships, but an increase in both the individual and overall amounts awarded. When the Nohl program began, awards of $15,000 for established artists and $5,000 for emerging artists were generous for regional, and even national, fellowships. After the lapse of twelve years, it was determined that increasing the size of the awards would better help the Nohl program reach its goals of encouraging visual artists who are making, or will make, significant contributions to their fields to stay in Greater Milwaukee; to evolve as artistic practitioners; and to contribute to our community through the creation of art.

Applications and guidelines for the thirteenth cycle of the fellowship program will be available beginning Tuesday, September 8, 2015. The electronic application will be available on the web at http://lyndensculpturegarden.org/nohl beginning at 11 am. Completed applications are due no later than Thursday, October 8, 2015. If you are unable to access the electronic application, you may receive application materials and complete eligibility requirements by contacting Polly Morris at (414) 446-8794 or by e-mail at pmorris@lyndensculpturegarden.org. Awards will be announced on Monday, November 9, 2015.

Three public workshops will be offered to help applicants better understand the application process. Polly Morris, executive director of the Lynden Sculpture Garden, who administers the fellowship program, will be joined by current and past Nohl Fellows at these informal sessions. The workshops are free and open to new applicants as well as those who have applied in the past.

  • Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 6-7:30 pm at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, 839 S. 5th St. This session is co-sponsored by WPCA.
  • Sunday, September 13, 2015, 10:30 am-12 noon at Jazz Gallery, a Riverwest Community Art Center, 926 E. Center St. This session is co-sponsored by Riverwest Artist Association.
  • Tuesday, September 15, 2014, 6-7:30 pm at Ayzha Fine Arts Gallery, The Shops at the Grand Avenue Mall, 275 W. Wisconsin Ave., 2nd floor (enter at 3rd Street & Wisconsin Avenue). This session is co-sponsored by Wisconsin Visual Artists.

Artist Mary L. Nohl of Fox Point, Wisconsin, died in December 2001 at the age of 87. She left a $9.6 million bequest to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Her fund supports local visual arts and education programs, keeping her passion for the visual arts alive in the community.
In addition to receiving an award, the Nohl Fellows will participate in an exhibition in the autumn of 2016. An exhibition catalogue will be published and disseminated nationally.

A reception honoring the seven fellows selected in the 2014 cycle of the competition—Anne Kingsbury, Shana McCaw/Brent Budsberg, and John Riepenhoff in the Established Artist category; and Emerging Artists Emily Belknap, Jenna Knapp, Erik Ljung and Kyle Seis–will be held in conjunction with the opening of the Fellowship Exhibition on Friday, October 9, 2015. The opening of the exhibition at INOVA, 2155 N. Prospect Ave., begins at 5 pm and is free and open to the public.

The Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowship program also includes a Suitcase Export Fund for exporting work by local artists beyond the four-county area. The thirteenth cycle of the Suitcase Export Fund will open on Tuesday, December 1, 2015, when the electronic application and guidelines will become available at http://lyndensculpturegarden.org/nohl.

For a century, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation has helped individuals, families and organizations realize their philanthropic goals and make a difference in the community, during their lifetimes and for future generations. The Foundation consists of more than 1,200 individual charitable funds, each created by donors to serve the charitable causes of their choice. The Foundation also deploys both human and financial resources to address the most critical needs of the community and ensure the vitality of the region. Established in 1915, the Foundation was one of the first community foundations in the world. Ending 2014 with more than $841 million in assets, it is also among the largest.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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