Northern Arapaho artist Robert Martinez from Riverton wins First Peoples Fund fellowship

From a press release:

First Peoples Fund, a Rapid City-based national nonprofit organization supporting the work of indigenous artists nationwide, is proud to announce its 2012 Artist in Business Leadership and Cultural Capital Fellows.

2012 Artist in Business Leadership Fellows:

·        Robert Martinez (Northern Arapaho), a mixed media artist from Riverton, WY

·        Joseph Allen (Sicangu Lakota), a photographer from Ogema, MN 

·        Jeremy Frey (Passamaquoddy), a basket weaver from Princeton, ME 

·        Jereldine Redcorn (Caddo/Potawatomi), a clay/ceramics artist from Norman, OK 

·        Todd Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota), a mixed media artist from White River, SD

·        Frank Waln (Sicangu Lakota), a Hip-Hop artist from Chicago, IL 

·        Ken Metoxen (On^yote?a*ka), a potter/sculpter from Oneida, WI 

·        Wade Fernandes (Menominee), a musician from Keshena, WI 

·        Gyasi Ross (Blackfeet), a writer/videoographer from Suquamish, WA

·        Sondra Simone Segundo  (Haida), a watercolor artist from Seattle, WA 

   

 2012 Cultural Capital Fellows:

·        Lois Chichinoff Thadei (Aleut), a printmaking/weaver artist from Olympia, WA

·        Bonnie LeBeau (Cheyenne River Sioux), a quilter/textile artist from Eagle Butte, SD

·        James Star Comes Out  (Oglala Lakota), a multi medium artist from Pine Ridge, SD

·        Pete Peterson, Sr. (Skokomish), master carver from Hoodsport, WA

The 2012 Artist in Business Leadership Program is an independent business arts fellowship program that features a working capital grant of $5,000 to be used to support a one year marketing plan/strategy or business goal as defined by the artist applicant.  Artists will receive technical assistance, a professional network of peers, as well as travel funds to participate in FPF's individualized professional development workshops. The fellowship also provides a focus on new works to stimulate creativity and a renewal of energy in Native art expression.

The 2012 Cultural Capital Program is a $5,000 grant that provides tradition bearers of tribal communities the opportunity to further their important cultural work. The program is designed to support previous year Community Spirit Award recipients allowing them to commit more time in teaching and sharing their ancestral knowledge and practices with others who want to learn.
 

The Fund is supported  in part by the Ford Foundation, Bush Foundation's Regional Arts Development Program II, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation (Minnesota), Nathan Cummings Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, Native Arts and Culture Foundation, The John T. Vecurevich Foundation, The HRK Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and Open Society Foundation.
 

For further information about First Peoples Fund or to apply for support through one of our programs, please visit www.firstpeoplesfund.org, or contact us at First Peoples Fund, P.O. Box 2977, Rapid City, SD 57709-2977 

Robert Martinez (www.martinezartdesign.com) is a Wyoming Arts Council roster artist. Bring him to your community through an Arts Across Wyoming grant. FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/Roster/Artist.aspx?ID=33