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"The Individual Artist Fellowship Program, the Maine Arts Commission's showcase artist program, has celebrated Maine artists of all disciplines for over a decade. Fellows have hailed from every part of the state: from Eliot along the Piscataquay River border between Maine and New Hampshire, to Fort Kent - a community nestled into the St. John River Valley which separates the United States from Canada. Artists have been awarded fellowship funds for daring performance pieces focusing on racial and gender bias; for sweetgrass Micmac baskets, a tradition held in trust by Maine tribal elders; for non-objective formalist painting; for storytelling with students at risk; for traditional Atlantic Salmon fly tying, for poignant, self-reflective short fiction depicting the experience of a Viet Nam veteran, and many more. These awards have emerged year after year from the decision of juries charged with one criterion: artistic excellence.

The Maine Arts Commission's commitment to honor Maine artists in this manner has been unwavering. When the National Endowment for the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts eliminated funds for individual artists and private foundations turned their focus to arts education and community arts projects, members of the Maine Arts Commission turned around and increased dollars in support of the Individual Artist Fellowship program. Although the program has funded less than 10 percent of the applications in any given year, every fellowship award represents this legacy of support that ultimately honors all Maine artists.

Kathy Ann Shaw
excerpt from, 10 Artist Fellows: An Exhibition Honoring 2000 Maine Arts Commission Individual Art Fellowship Recipients in Visual Arts, Traditional Craft & Film.