Ana & Adeline Foundation Announces $110,000 in Artist Grants & Scholarships to YAYA and YAYA Alumni

Ana & Adeline Foundation is excited to announce its 2019-2020 grants and scholarships to YAYA, the New Orleans youth arts organization, and the YAYA alumni. Grants and scholarships totaling $95,000 are awarded to 19 visual artists and designers and a $15,000 is awarded to YAYA for their Paint the World youth travel program. Ana & Adeline Foundation supports the emerging YAYA visual artist community with resources for advancing their careers and creative practice. YAYA is a working studio and youth arts center in New Orleans that was founded in 1988 by artist Jana Napoli. For more than three decades, YAYA has worked to empower creative young people through educational and entrepreneurial experiences in the visual arts. Seeing the value of investing in the long-term trajectory of artists, Napoli established the Ana & Adeline Foundation in 2011 to complement the YAYA program by supporting its alumni into their adult lives. The Foundation awards grants and scholarships to individual visual artists who represent a range in age and stage of their lives - from college students to emerging artists and creative business owners. Ana & Adeline Foundation also makes grants to YAYA for projects that engage their teen and young adult artists with national and international visual arts and design communities.

Grants

Ana & Adeline Foundation grants are for projects that push the limits of creative process, take risks, collaborate with other artists, and engage with a broader community through art. Grants may be used to build professional resources or to advance entrepreneurial endeavors in the visual arts and design. Awards start at $750 for seeding new projects and go up to $10,000 for more advanced endeavors. Rontherin Ratliff’s grant is in support of Can’t Call Home, his showing along with Level Artist Collective at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, October 5, 2019-March 1, 2020. In 2015, Ratliff co-founded Level Artist Collective along with Ana Hernandez, Horton Humble, John Isiah Walton and Carl Joe Williams. Ogden Museum states, “As five artists of color with deep ties to the city of New Orleans, Level Artist Collective developed with the intent of creating a platform to promote, support and sustain their cooperative voice and vision.“ Ratliff also opens Finding Way, his first ever solo exhibition, at Antenna Gallery 3718 St. Claude Avenue September 12-October 9, 2019; reception Saturday September 14, 6-10pm.

Rontherin Ratliff "Alphabetical Playscape" 2019, alphabet blocks, fence, gold leaf, paint

Derroles Taylor is one of the featured designers for the 2019 New Orleans Fashion Week. Her grant was invested in the creation of her collection: Beyond the Canvas, inspired by master works of art and featuring dresses painted by artists Gerard Caliste, Journey Allen, and Ronnie Dent. Through her company, Derroles the Dressmaker, Taylor creates custom gowns for festive occasions and carnival balls. Her new collection hits the runway at the New Orleans Board of Trade, Saturday, September 28, 7pm.

Derroles Taylor "Formal Gown" satin and organza with beaded appliques and faux leather flowers

The complete list of the 2019-2020 grantees are: Jourdan Barnes, New Orleans | Noire King: Immersive Experiencemulti-media installation Skip Boyd, New Orleans | Healing Thronesprotypes Gerard Caliste, Houston | In da city In na citi exhibitand development of Swedish collaboration Kara Crowley, New Orleans | Help H.E.R. Growsummer studio residency at Xavier University Glenn Garrison, Jr.New Orleans | Glass dinnerware prototypes Quinton Hakeem, New Orleans | From Dark to Litedevelopment for large scale installation KAwayne Powell, New Orleans | Painting exploration of the strength of Women of Color Rontherin Ratliff, Houston | Exhibition with Level Collective at Ogden Museum of Southern Art Raymond Rollins, Houston | Independent studio practice Derroles Taylor, New Orleans | Beyond the Canvas collection at New Orleans Fashion Week Joseph-Brandon Thomas, Los Angeles | Be Immense Studio support Channel Thomas, Los Angeles | Studio space to expand ChannelGuice Collective wearable art Monica Tyran, New Orleans | Website development to promote her artwork

Scholarships

Ana & Adeline Foundation makes scholarships to YAYA alumni pursuing degrees in visual arts and design or studies that support leadership in those disciplines. Ana & Adeline Foundation is particularly dedicated to supporting first-generation college students and artists of color. Scholarships are up to $10,000 annually and artists may apply for 5 consecutive years or until they earn their degree, whichever comes first. Scholars may also use awards for continuing education, intensive workshops, and nontraditional institutions such as General Assembly. In May 2019, Paul Michael Wright graduated from Parsons School of Design with a BA in illustration and this year he continues his education at the School of Visual Arts in New York City to pursue a Masters of Fine Art in Illustration as Visual Essay. Wright says, “I feel that the more I study the idea of narrative elements in my artwork, the more I will discover how much of a role each element can play to strengthen the depth in my work. The thought of painting the story of my past, the highlights and shadows of everything that has shaped me into who I am, will be a challenging one but I feel that I'm ready and prepared.” Wright is also the recipient of the Gustave Blache, III Art Scholarship for Aspiring Artists through the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

Paul Michael Wright "5% Thesis" 2019, oil pastel & acrylic on acetate

The complete list of the 2019-2020 scholars are: Jeremiah Brown Tulane University School of Professional Advancement, BA in Digital Design Kayla Curley Loyola University of New Orleans, BA in Graphic Design Kenyatta Johnson University of Houston, BA in Painting Hannah Lee Boston University, BFA in Painting Justin Parker University of New Orleans, BS in Computer Science/Game Design & Art minor Paul Michael Wright School of Visual Arts, New York City, MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay

YAYA Paint the World 2019 Travel Grant

Paint the World creates travel opportunities for teens and young adult artists to serve as ambassadors while expanding their world perspectives. Many YAYA artists do not have opportunities to travel and Paint the World gives them the chance to broaden horizons through art projects, workshop partnerships, college exploration, and personal and career growth. Paint the World, also made possible by the host organizations and support from Crafting the Future, ho sted sixteen artists with exchanges to: Disney Imagineers, Disneyworld’s behind-the-scenes studios, Orlando, Florida; The Center for Craft and The Village Potters, Ashville, North Carolina; Lower Eastside Girls Club, New York City; and Studio Everything, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Seventeen-year old Imani Brown is a senior at Helen Cox High School in Jefferson Parish who traveled to Disney Imagineers. Imani said, “I especially love the high diversity within Disney’s ranks. Disney breaks the standard and allows people of all backgrounds, that’s for sure. This trip gave me more motivation for the field I'm trying to pursue and a lot more drive. I hope to maybe intern at Disney one day.”

YAYA at Disneyworld

The Ana & Adeline Foundation sees monetary support as one element among the complex resources that artists need to advance their practice. The Foundation structures the award application process as a professional development opportunity, offering workshops, one-on-one guidance, and constructive feedback from the jury. Our partnerships and alliances with creative and cultural leaders are a great asset and support mechanism to the emerging artists.

The 2019-2020 grant and scholarship recipients were selected by the following panel of jurors: Lydon Barrois is an animation director and partner in Blackthorn Media, Inc. Based in Los Angeles, Barrois has a thirty-plus year career whose notable work includes visual effects director of The Matrix Trilogy and his recent stop motion animated profile on author TaNehisi Coates for topic.com Barrois is a board member of the Ana & Adeline Foundation among other national arts institutions and serves as a Commissioner for The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Rondell Crier is a hybrid-creative working at the cross section of visual art, civic engagement, and community leadership. He is an alumnus of YAYA and rose to serve as the organization’s Creative Director 2002-2013. Now based in Chattanooga, Rondell has achieved local acclaim through his public sculptures and Studio Everything an open studio space he founded in East Chattanooga for neighbors of all ages to learn skills and express themselves. Samuel Hoi is the president of Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He is an experienced and innovative higher education leader, as well as an advocate for art and design education and creative professionals as drivers in social, economic, and cultural advancement. Hoi was president of Otis College of Art and Design for 14 years and dean of the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. where he created a visual arts program serving inner-city youth. Tatiana Clay Jurzak is a Certified Public Accountant in New Orleans. From 2009 to 2015 she worked as a consultant with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center where she was recognized nationally for her achievements in assisting entrepreneurs access capital to start and grow their companies. She is on the board of the Ana & Adeline Foundation and Goat in the Road theater company. Jana Napoli is a mixed-media artist and creative entrepreneur concerned with civic and community engagement. Her career began through her study of painting with residencies and exhibits in Guatemala City, Paris, and London. In the early 1980s, Napoli opened her own gallery, joining an urban redevelopment movement that spawned what is now known as the New Orleans Arts District. In 1988, she founded YAYA and served as its Creative Director for 12 years, earning numerous awards including the President’s Award for Arts and Humanities and Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life Award. Napoli is the founder and president of the Ana & Adeline Foundation. José Ortiz is the Artist Programs Manager of the Young Artist Initiatives at the Joan Mitchell Foundation in New York City. Ortiz runs a mentorship and portfolio development program for participants age 12 to 25. He is a painter, multi-media artist and arts educator, committed to connecting art with our everyday world. As an art educator, Ortiz has worked for The Children’s Art Carnival, Henry Street Settlement, Romare Bearden Foundation, The Anyone Can Fly Foundation and other national and international arts organizations.