ArtServe Michigan Announces Winners of 2003 Creative Artist Grants (CAG)

SOUTHFIELD, MI (November 26, 2002) – Twenty-five Michigan artists from ten counties statewide will receive individual grants of approximately $8,000 for fiscal year 2003. The grantees were selected from the artistic disciplines of music, creative writing, film/video and inter/multidisciplinary.

The CAG program, administered by ArtServe Michigan, is designed to support the creation of new works or to complete works in progress by individual artists residing in Michigan with funding provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Culture.

The 2003 winners listed by counties are:

Emmet

Marla Kay Houghteling, literature, Harbor Springs

Grand

Jeff Haas, music, Traverse City

Houghton

Nathan Barber, music, Houghton

Ingham

Louise Peacock, literature, Haslett

Kalamazoo

Carolyn Koebel, music, Kalamazoo

Elizabeth J. Start, music, Kalamazoo

Tom Knific, music, Kalamazoo

Kent

Patricia Clark, literature, Grand Rapids

William P. Osborn, literature, Grand Rapids

Midland

Liesel Lanz Litzenburger, literature, Midland

Oakland

Galen Chandler, film/video, Farmington Hills

Stewart Francke, music, Huntington Woods

Mary Jo Gillet, literature, Pleasant Ridge

James John Hartway, music, Southfield

Margaret LaGattuta, literature, Rochester

Washtenaw

John Fulton, literature, Ann Arbor

Andy Kirshner, music, Ann Arbor

Terri Sarris, film/video, Ann Arbor

Richard Tillinghast, literature, Ann Arbor

Roland Vazquez, music, Ann Arbor

Wayne

Ron Allen, literature, Detroit

Frank Pahl, multidiscipline, Wyandotte

Katherine Weider, film/video, Grosse Pointe Park

The winners were selected from 225 grant applications. ArtServe Michigan President Barbara Kratchman said, "We were pleased to receive so many outstanding applications from artists across the state. It made the selection process very challenging for the panel who included peer artists."

Ronald Paquin, a 2002 CAG recipient from Sault Ste. Marie, described how he used his grant to build a traditional birch bark canoe. He said, "This grant allowed me to pass on a nearly lost Native American traditional art form to both adults and youth in the underserved Chippewa, Mackinac and Luce county areas. Building the canoe brought together elders and cultural specialists from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to work on a project that instills pride, self esteem and awareness of the importance of the birch bark canoe to our ancestors."

Applications for the fiscal year 2004 CAG will be available by January 31, 2003. Eligible artistic disciplines, which alternate bi-annually, will be visual arts, traditional arts, design arts, dance, theater, opera/musical, theater and inter/multidisciplinary.

Artists and/or art and cultural organizations interested in more information about CAG and other ArtServe Michigan programs are urged to contact Christine Schefman, director of Artist Services, ArtServe Michigan at 248-557-8288, ext. 14, or via email at artists@ArtServeMichigan.org.

ArtServe Michigan, an independent statewide not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with offices in Southfield and Lansing, builds support for the arts, artists and cultural activities throughout Michigan through advocacy, education and services.

For more information about ArtServe, its programs and services or to become a member, call (248) 557-8288 or visit www.artservemichigan.org.

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Media contacts:

Christine Schefman Margaret Knes

248-557-8288 x14 313-406-3467