A Captured Image Photography
Filmmaker Notasia DeRubertis was a 2012 Emerging Artist
The Durham Arts Council’s Emerging Artists Program has funded 435 grants over the course of nearly 30 years to promote the development of talented local artists who pursue excellence in visual, performing, literary and media arts. During its 29th Annual Awards Ceremony Thu. Feb. 21, the program will add another 16 grants to that total.
In 1984, Mary D.B.T. Semans and Jim Semans started the Emerging Artists Program, which was further developed by Ella Fountain Pratt and the DAC. For the past three decades, it has given artists in five counties and the central Piedmont both community recognition and up to $1,500 to fund a project to help them achieve their goals.
From Grammy-nominated jazz musician Nnenna Freelon to painter Beverly McIver, the artists championed by the program come from a variety of mediums. Support for the grants comes from many different individuals and organizations, including the North Carolina Arts Council and the Orange County Arts Commission.
This year’s 16 recipients excel in everything from ceramics to dance, and their project ideas range from creating an online book trailer to attending a workshop at Oberlin College. You can see a list of the 2013 Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artists at the grant program’s Indiegogo page.
To help celebrate this year’s honorees, several Emerging Artists alumni—including singer Eve Cornelious—will be performing.
The awards ceremony begins at 6:30pm at the Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris Street. Tickets are $35 per person.
