A! Magazine for the Arts

Suzanne Stryk will be working on images such as "Journey Work" during the fellowship.

Suzanne Stryk will be working on images such as "Journey Work" during the fellowship.

Suzanne Stryk Awarded Fellowship

January 7, 2011

BRISTOL, VA - Suzanne Stryk of Bristol is among the recipients of the Virginia Commission for the Arts' 2010-2011 Artist Fellowships.

Fellowships are awarded annually to artists residing in Virginia in recognition of creative excellence and to support their pursuit of artistic excellence. This year, four Virginia artists have been honored in the field of Works on Paper. Each of the artists will receive fellowships of $5,000.

Stryk's project, "Notes on the State of Virginia," will explore different geographical and ecological areas of the state -- "sort of a contemporary take on Thomas Jefferson's book of the same title," she explains.

Previously Stryk received a fellowship from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (1999) and was a fellowship finalist for the National Endowment for the Arts in 1996, as well as a fellowship finalist for the Virginia Arts Commission in 2001. Stryk received a Master of Arts in Painting from East Tennessee State University and her Bachelor of Arts (art history) from Northern Illinois University. Recent solo exhibitions were held at Gallery 180, The Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, IL; Danville Museum of Fine Art and History, Danville; Perspective Gallery, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. She is represented in many collections including the Smithsonian Institution and the Taubman Museum of Art.

Artist Fellowships are offered on a rotating basis to Virginia artists in the following disciplines: crafts, photography, sculpture, fiction, music composition, choreography, painting, works on paper (prints and drawing), poetry, and playwriting depending upon the amount of state and federal funding available to the Commission.

The Virginia Commission for the Arts is the state agency that supports the arts through funding from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Commission distributes grant awards to artists, arts and other not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, educators and local governments, and provides technical assistance in arts management.

For information about the Virginia Commission for the Arts or its programs or resources, contact: The Virginia Commission for the Arts, 223 Governor Street Richmond, VA 23219; (804) 225-3132; or visit www.arts.virginia.gov.

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