2015 Chicago Artadia Awardees Announced

Artadia is pleased to announce the 2015 Chicago Artadia Awardees.

LaMont Hamilton and Cauleen Smith will each receive $12,000 in unrestricted funds. Laura Davis and Irena Haiduk will each be awarded $5,000 in unrestricted funds.

Each artist will receive the lifetime benefits of the Artadia Award program including access to Awardee exhibitions, our New York residency, connections with curators, and participation in Artadia projects at art fairs across the country. Artadia is thrilled to be partnering with EXPO CHICAGO to present work by the four new Chicago Artadia Awardees at this year's fair.

"Congratulations to LaMont Hamilton, Cauleen Smith, Irena Haiduk, Laura Davis-and all ten finalists for the 2015 Chicago Artadia Awards," said Michelle T. Boone, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. "And congratulations to Artadia for continuing to recognize artistic excellence in cities throughout the U.S. and introduce local communities to the international art conversation. The important work of this organization-and the work of these talented Awardees-helps to enrich Chicago's artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy."

Applications for the Chicago Artadia Awards were open to visual artists living in Cook County, IL for over two years and working in all media and at any stage of their career. In the first round of jury review Naomi Beckwith, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, joined by Lumi Tan, Curator at The Kitchen, and artist Sara Greenberger Rafferty selected ten finalists from an applicant pool of 450 Chicago-based artists. A voice of local expertise during both rounds of the Chicago Award deliberations, Beckwith noted that, "it was a pleasure to serve on an Artadia jury in New York. The encouragement, attention and, of course funds they bring to artists are key in making sure important contemporary artists are given a platform. I'm especially thrilled to serve in a capacity that brings further support to artists in the Chicago community."

Beckwith was jointed by second round jurors Dominic Molon, Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art, RISD Museum, and Ruth Estévez, Gallery Director and Curator, REDCAT, to conduct studio visits with the ten finalists in late August. Estévez noted "Chicago's Artadia finalists all came from very different disciplines and working subjects, moreover all of them share an incredible curiosity for experimentation, trying to find new ways to move forward with their own practices, breaking grounds with an amazing energy. These artists gave me a little taste as to what Chicago represents today, an incredible creative and prolific art scene." Molon further emphasized the strength of the finalist pool making the jurors' "task even more difficult in selecting those individuals who are making work of incredible insight, significance and urgency. The overall group emphasizes the remarkable strides that Chicago has made in the past few decades in having the ability to sustain a strong, vibrant, and diverse art scene."

Since 1999, Artadia has recognized artistic excellence in cities across the United States with unrestricted, merit-based Awards and connections to a network of opportunities. In addition to Chicago, Artadia currently funds Awards on a rotating cycle in Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

For more on Artadia's national programs for artists, click here.

Pictured, clockwise from top left: Laura Davis, Irena Haiduk, Cauleen Smith and LaMont Hamilton.

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