3 Glen Ellen artists win grants from Creative Sonoma

Creative Sonoma program awards grants to three local artists directly impacted by fires.|

Sixteen recipients of professional art grants totaling $50,000 were announced this month by Creative Sonoma, the county artist-support program. The grants were awarded to help artists “re-launch” their careers after experiencing losses – including loss of their homes, studios and workplaces during the fires of 2017. The grants were funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council and the Hewlett Foundation.

Three of the grantees were Glen Ellen artists: interactive light sculptor Erick Dunn; jewelry and ceramic artist Mary Neuer Lee and filmmaker Claudia Meglin.

Grants were awarded to artists for projects that will help them get back to the business of getting their work created, seen, heard and sold – creating new work, purchasing art supplies and mounting new exhibitions.

“Creative Sonoma was able to provide emergency financial assistance to many in our community who experienced physical loss immediately after the fires,” said Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt. “These grants help our local artists see over the horizon of addressing their emergency needs... and re-start their careers.”

The grants represent the fifth round of funding disbursed by Creative Sonoma. It has distributed more than $400,000 to individuals, businesses, organizations and schools, in response to the fires.

Creative Sonoma also offers Arts Resilience Residencies, a free program placing trained teaching artists in Sonoma County schools to use the arts to address the impacts of trauma. Residencies can still be scheduled by schools; forms are available at CreativeSonoma.org/arts-education/atr.

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