Greater Hartford Arts Council Awards Grants to 10 Local Artists Through New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship Program

Hartford, CT (3/30/06) - Ten local artists, including painters, vocalists, sculptors, a photographer and a storyteller, have been selected to receive cash grants for their work through the Greater Hartford Arts Council`s New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship program. The awards will be made at a reception at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 6, at the Greater Hartford Welcome Center, 45 Pratt Street, Hartford.

The New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship program supports outstanding artists residing in the Greater Hartford region. By giving cash awards each year, New Boston Fund and the Greater Hartford Arts Council hope to reinforce the importance and value of individual artists in the local community.

Each of the artists will receive a $1,000 grant to support their work in the arts. The grants are intended to supplement the artists` incomes so that they can devote their time to the creation of their art.

"New Boston Fund and our Urban Strategy America Connecticut initiative are thrilled to be able to make a multi-year commitment to fund this Individual Artist Fellowship program," said Jerry Rappaport, president of New Boston Fund. "In fact, our plan is to work with the Arts Council to grow the program to award larger grants to more artists in the coming years."

"One of the measures of a community`s creativity and cultural health is the number of artists it`s able to support," said Ken Kahn, executive director of the Greater Hartford Arts Council. "Greater Hartford is fortunate to have thousands of artists of all types living and working here, some as part of our remarkable array of arts institutions, and some on their own. They help greatly to give our region its flair and personality.

"These fellowships are one way that we are helping to support their work," he said. "We`re very grateful to have such a strong partner in New Boston Fund."

The 2006 New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship are:
? Patricia Carrigan of East Granby, painter. Carrigan works in layers, scratching away coatings to reveal multiple colors and textures. Her work often speaks to contemporary social themes, using a variety of symbols, such as animals.
? Theresa Eickel of Bloomfield, vocalist. In addition to Connecticut Opera, Eickel has sung with Mobile Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Opera Memphis, Sacramento Opera and Sarasota Opera, among others. She is a three-time award winner of the Sergio Franchi competition.
? Julia Fosson of Avon, painter. Fosson specializes in encaustic ? painting in wax ? working in layers and using colors and texture. She often explores particular themes, such as circles, houses and chairs.
? Bryan Nash Gill of New Hartford, sculptor and printmaker. Gill works primarily in wood, often gathering logs, branches and even entire trees from his family farm, and then separating the pieces to reorganize them into new forms. He sometimes incorporates bronze casting into his work.
? Garrick T. Jordan of New Britain, vocalist. Classically trained at the Hartt School of Music, Jordan performs in a variety of styles, including opera, jazz, Broadway and Gospel. He has sung with the New Britain Symphony, Connecticut Opera, and International Harlem Gospel Choir, and is a founding member of Bella Voce and Inspire.
? Aaron P. Kotowski of Hartford, photographer. Kotowski specializes in fine art portraiture and digital composite manipulation. He travels the world working in visual media, focusing on photo documentaries that depict social economic conditions.
? Kathi Packer of West Hartford, painter. Packer`s paintings explore images that evoke a dream-like world that tell a story about the fragile ecosystem. Her paintings are colorful and dramatic, seamlessly mixing realism and surrealism as they explore the often contradictory relationship of people and the natural world.
? Marilyn Parkinson Thrall of Canton, sculptor. Parkinson Thrall`s latest sculptures remove the human figure and concentrate on the clothing. Her works embody the perceptions of how we look and what we wear, and represent the space between our public and private beings.
? Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti of East Hartford, storyteller. Through Quezaire-Presuitti`s one-woman presentations, she strives to have audiences relive the struggle, courage, determination and endurance of women of color, and learn morals through animal fables in which anything can happen. Her tales draw heavily on her own African-American and Native American heritage.
? Matthew Weber of Unionville (Farmington), sculptor. Weber uses basic New England building materials, such as logs, shingles and shims to create his minimalist wood sculptures. He uses wood transformed in these ways to signify contemporary American culture, as well as the country`s past.

The New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship is made possible by the Greater Hartford Arts Council`s United Arts Campaign, with major support from New Boston Fund and the Urban Strategy America Fund.

The program is one of a spectrum of grant programs offered by the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Others include operating support for arts organizations, funding of salaries at heritage organizations, project support for specific programs and events, and funding for public art installations. The Arts Council funds more than 150 arts and heritage organizations in nearly three dozen towns throughout Greater Hartford.

Based in Boston, New Boston Fund is one of the fastest-growing private real estate investment, development and management firms in New England. Founded in 1993 by the Rappaport family of Boston, New Boston Fund owns and manages more than 14 million square feet of commercial real estate worth more than $1.5 billion.

The Greater Hartford Arts Council enlivens the spirit and economy of Connecticut`s Capital Region by planning, promoting and raising funds for cultural programs that are building one of our nation`s most vibrant communities. It is the largest independent arts council in New England, runs the 10th largest United Arts fund in the country and is a national leader in diversified services and cultural promotions. The Greater Hartford Arts Council has raised and invested nearly $42 million for the arts over 34 years, helping to rank Greater Hartford in the top 6 percent of metropolitan areas in North America for its arts and culture. More information about the Greater Hartford Arts Council may be found at www.ConnectTheDots.org.