For Immediate Release
April 28, 2020
Contact: Carrie Kikel, 503-480-5360, carrie.kikel@oregon.gov
sidony o’neal honored with Joan Shipley Award; 2020 Individual Artist Fellowships Announced
Salem, Oregon – sidony o’neal, a writer and artist living in Portland, is the 2020 recipient of the Oregon Arts Commission’s honorary Joan Shipley Award. o’neal is one of a group of nine Oregon artists selected for the Arts Commission’s 2020 Individual Artist Fellowships. The 2020 fellowships support artists working in the visual arts; performing artists are awarded in alternating years.
The Joan Shipley Award is named for Oregon arts leader Joan Shipley, who passed away in 2011. Shipley was a collector, philanthropist and supporter of many arts and humanities organizations. In 2005, she and her husband John received an Oregon Governor’s Arts Award. Many in the arts community also counted her as a mentor and friend.
The Arts Commission’s Fellowship program is available to more than 20,000 artists who call Oregon home. Fellows are recommended by a panel of Oregon arts professionals who consider artists of outstanding talent, demonstrated ability and commitment to the creation of new work(s). The Arts Commission reviews and acts on the panel’s recommendations.
The following visual artists were awarded 2020 fellowships: Julia Bradshaw, Corvallis; Melanie Flood, Portland; Erik Geschke, Portland; Colin Ives, Eugene; ruben garcia marrufo, Portland; sidony o'neal (Shipley Fellow), Portland; Kaj-anne Pepper, Portland; Maya Vivas, Portland; and Sarah Wertzberger, Portland.
The review panel for the 2020 Fellowships was Avantika Bawa, chair, Arts Commissioner; Yaelle Amir, Independent Curator, Portland; Judith Bauman Master Printer, Crow’s Shadow Institute for the Arts, Pendleton; and Jovencio de la Paz, Textile artist, Assistant Professor, UofO, Eugene.