WashU Alumni, Students, and Faculty Receive Grants from Regional Arts Commission

More than a dozen artists with connections to the Sam Fox School will receive grants from the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) this year. The local nonprofit announced it will award $4.4 million to 350 artists and organizations throughout the St. Louis region. The funds are allocated in artist support grants aimed at developing an individual artist’s practice and program support grants for providing general operating support to arts organizations.

This year’s awards mark a significant increase over past years, even surpassing the pre-pandemic average award amount of $3.5 million.

According to RAC, nearly 80% of eligible applicants receive funding, making these grants a markedly accessible way to fund art-making in St. Louis.

Sam Fox School faculty, students, and alumni received RAC awards totaling more than $100,000, including:

Faculty

Heather Bennett – Photos of Gifts, Exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art and Library in Burgas, Bulgaria

Jennifer Colten – Episodic But Not Accidental: Encounters Along the American Bottom

John Early – Nothing but Net

Gavin Kroeber – Creve Coeur: A Repository

Denise Ward-Brown – “Legacy,” a vignette in the dance documentary Josephine’s World

Current Students

Emily Elhoffer, MFA ’24 – The Fine Art of Fire Safety

Alumni

Kahlil Robert Irving, MFA ’17 – Tools and technology to evolve artist’s studio practice

Meenashki Jha, MFA ’19 – Preparation for upcoming exhibition

Sarah Knight, MFA ’20 – Queer/Trans Midwest Ceramic Exhibition

Erin Johnston, MFA ’22 – Truck Stop Exhibition

Martin Lammert, MFA ’22 – Mold-making and casting materials

Carlos Salazar Lermont, MFA ’22 – Video and photo upgrade for artist’s studio

Edo Rosenblith, MFA ’17 – Four Seasons Mural at 3415 South Compton Avenue

Linnea Ryshke, MFA ’20 – Afield: Meet Me There

Janie Stamm, MFA ’19 – In the Face of the Flood

Taylor Yocom, MFA ’18 – Jacquard Weaving in Vancouver

Organizations

4theville – Aaron Williams, AB ’08, Co-Founder and Board Chair

RAC was founded in 1985 and is funded primarily through a small portion of the St. Louis City and St. Louis County hotel/motel tax. RAC also recently received $10.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Did we miss you? Let us know or send us an update on your work here.