Arts Council Silicon Valley Awards Fellowships to Groundbreaking Artists
Three Photographers and Four Poets Receive Fellowship Grants

San Jose, CA, March 11, 2005 – Arts Council Silicon Valley today announced the recipients of seven Artist Fellowship Grants for their contributions to the field of Visual Arts (photography) and Literary Arts (poetry). Arts Council Silicon Valley annually awards Artist Fellowships in rotating categories to recognize professional working artists and to enable them to continue to pursue their creative work. The artists were selected by a notable panel of experienced judges based upon the following set of criteria:

• Artistic Quality - artistic quality and originality of work, based on the examples provided by the applicant
• Community Impact - record of professional activity and achievement, especially during the past three years, with demonstrated impact in Santa Clara County
• Professional Development - continuity and exploration of the art form by the applicant

Arts Council Silicon Valley is the only funding agency south of San Francisco that awards artists for career accomplishments. And, despite funding cuts at a state and local level, Arts Council Silicon Valley was successfully able to increase the Fellowship awards to $4,000 for each artist, compared to $3,000 last year.

The Arts Council, in partnership with the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, will honor these seven recipients at an exclusive evening reception on May 26th, 2005. This date will mark the beginning of a two month exhibit for all photography recipients and will provide an opportunity for the poets to read some of their award-winning work.

2004 Artist Fellows:

Visual Artists (Photography)
Bin Tai Dahn
Kathryn Dunlevie
Terri Garland

Literary Artists (Poetry)
Al Young
Robert Pesich

Literary Artists – Honorable Mention (Poetry)
Kat Meads
Sally Ashton

“I am very excited for these seven talented individuals,” said Bruce W. Davis, Executive Director of Arts Council Silicon Valley. “They are well-deserving of the Fellowships and I am privileged to be able to assist in their creative pursuit.”

The program, which awards artists annually in rotating categories, is supported through the Arts Council’s PARTNERS Grants Program. It provides an avenue for corporations, foundations, individuals, and government agencies to invest in artists and arts organizations in Silicon Valley. Major donors include National Endowment for the Arts, Lockheed Martin, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

About Arts Council Silicon Valley
Incorporated in 1983, Arts Council Silicon Valley is an independent, nonprofit arts agency dedicated to providing funding and advocacy support, and fundraising and marketing services to the region’s arts organizations and artists. As the official state/local partner with the California Arts Council and the County of Santa Clara, Arts Council Silicon Valley is now the largest nonprofit arts council in the state. Over the past 12 years, the Arts Council has distributed nearly $7 million to local arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, schools, and community groups.