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2018 Fellows
Three winners will use separate awards to individually produce a Christmas album; pen a novel about a hermit; and paint a portrait series of Caribbean families living on the Outer Cape
ince 2014, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod (AFCC) has provided fellowships to working artists in the region as a way to nurture their talents and support projects that reflect their creativity. Each year, the submissions the AFCC receives showcase the artistry that abounds in this section of the state. “I wish I could share all the applications with everybody,” AFCC Executive Director Julie Wake says. “You wouldn’t believe the caliber S of work being done here. It’s so impressive.”
As in previous years, fellowships were given out in three categories: Written Word, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Each received $1,500 to support their creative talents.
This year’s fellows, Wake says, “are each so different and they embody the great work being done by our Cape Cod artists. They are doing work that the rest of our community needs to know about. It’s really important work and it’s being done here on the Cape.”
SUSAN BLOOD (WRITTEN WORD)
Juggling multiple day jobs that include serving as the marketing director for the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT), marketing coordinator for the Left Bank Gallery in Orleans, and a grant writer at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Blood is like many working artists living on the Cape.
But she is most passionate about writing, something that has long been a part of who she is. “I’ve got all this stuff spilling out of me and need to have a place for it to go,” she says of the craft.
Two years ago, Blood was approached by Surface Popper Publications to see if she was interested in publishing a collection of her humorous essays about life’s trials and tribulations. Those essays found their way into her first book, “How Not to Do Things” which was released in June 2017.
“It was kind of unbelievable,” she says, an adjective she also used to describe her Fellowship. First the book and now the AFCC Fellowship, she says, have served as validation for her work.
A mother of two who lives in Orleans with her husband Chris, a sound engineer, she is using this year’s fellowship towards her second book, a novel about spending a year alone as a hermit. “I’m hoping that this fellowship with the Arts Foundation gives me, if not the time and the space, the permission and sort of expectation to write this book,” she says. “Now I’m writing more than ever because I have this fellowship.”
JAMES EVERETT STANLEY (VISUAL ARTS)
As the son of an immigrant – his father is from Guyana in South America – Stanley has a personal connection to the next story he wants to tell. And he will use his AFCC fellowship to tell that story through his paintings.
“I am trying to do this project painting portraits of Caribbean immigrant families living on the Outer Cape,” he explains. “I think these are really important stories to tell in this time period. And these images and faces are important to have out there and represented in art.”
The AFCC award, he says, will go directly to fund materials to allow him to complete the project. “Painting is not an inexpensive habit,” he laughs.
Despite the expenses, painting has had its rewards for Stanley, who lives in Wellfleet with his wife, poet Kirsten Andersen, and their two children Elle, 6, and Winn, 7.
A visual arts instructor at Brown University, Stanley’s work has been exhibited throughout the country, including the Freight & Volume Gallery in New York City; Andrew Rafacz Gallery in Chicago; Frederic Snitzer Gallery in Miami; and Mark Selwyn Fine Art in Los Angeles. This year, his art is being show at the Boston Center for the Arts, the Gaa Gallery in Provincetown, and the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis.
Success hasn’t happened overnight for Stanley. He has
studied, worked at, and honed his craft for more than two decades. A native of Waltham, he holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from Columbia University.
He was introduced to the Cape through a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown in 2002.
Sixteen years later, Stanley continues to impress through his art as witnessed by his latest fellowship from the AFCC. “I think this grant program is fantastic because it’s for artists on the Cape,” he says. “You know they are funding people who have decided to make a life at making art here as opposed to what is more expected, that people go to a bigger city to make art.”
Learn more about James Everett Stanley at www.jameseverettstanley.com. MARY GEORGE (PERFORMING ARTS)
A singer-songwriter who plays the piano, guitar, and “a little ukulele,” George credits her upbringing — her father is a talented amateur musician and her three siblings all have pursued careers in music – for her devotion to the arts.
“Something I really love about making my own music is it helps me to process what I’m experiencing in a way that is really meaningful and really tangible,” she says.
Originally from Long Island, George pursued her passion for music at Boston University where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance and a Master of Science in arts administration. While living in the city, George performed at a number of popular Boston-area venues, including The Burren, The Middle East, and the Lizard Lounge.
She released her first EP, Bird Songs, in May 2015.
A year later, she moved here full-time with her husband
Chris, who grew up on the Cape. Today, she splits her time between parenting – the couple welcomed their first child, Stella, roughly eight months ago – serving as the manager of the Cape Conservatory’s Falmouth branch, teaching at the conservatory, and performing.
With her award, George is in the process of producing a Christmas album that will include a mix of originals as well as traditional favorites. She plans on calling on her siblings to lend their talents when she records the album which she plans on releasing in time for the holidays.
Like the other fellows, George was ecstatic at the news of being selected as one of this year’s winners. “It was such good timing,” she says. “I felt like it was that little tap on my shoulder from the universe that I am in the right field and this is worthwhile work… Now that I actually have this money in hand, I have to come through with this project. It’s a little scary and also really
exciting to be held accountable for my dreams with this award.”
2019 Fellowship Applications will open early Spring 2019.
