Artists as Innovators Exhibition

Celebrating 30 years of NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships with Landmark Traveling Exhibition

NYFA commemorated three decades of NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships with programming around New York State from Fall 2017-Winter 2020, including a landmark traveling exhibition Artists as Innovators: Celebrating Three Decades of New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships. The artists in the exhibition are acclaimed and respected around the world, but what is less known is that they all received support from NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships at crucial points in their careers. Curated by Judith K. Brodsky and David C. Terry with the assistance of Madeline Scholl, Artists as Innovators featured work by more than 20 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellows who have gone on to record significant achievements in their artistic careers. The works on display show how the fellows have addressed pressing and often controversial issues through their art, including racism, gender equality, sexual orientation, immigration, and globalization.

Exhibition Schedule

  • Fall 2017: Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz
  • Spring 2018: Dowd Gallery, SUNY Cortland
  • Fall 2018: Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred University
  • Winter 2019: Cathy & Jesse Marion Art Gallery, SUNY Fredonia
  • Summer 2019: The Joseph C. and Joan T. Burke Gallery, SUNY Plattsburgh
  • Fall 2019: Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook University

Artists as Innovators by the Numbers

  • 29 months on the road
  • 1,260 miles traveled
  • 48 individual artworks featured
  • 18 public programs presented
  • 10,000 visitors welcomed

ARTISTS AS INNOVATORS: CELEBRATING THREE DECADES OF NYSCA/NYFA FELLOWSHIPS

This landmark exhibition celebrates three decades of New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships and will travel to seven SUNY campuses between Fall 2017 and Spring 2020. 

Digital version of the exhibition catalogue available here.

FUNDING SUPPORT

NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships are administered with leadership support from New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 

Major funding is also provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

Additional funding was provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Deutsche Bank, and individual donors. 

You can join NYFA’s generous benefactors in helping artists. Visit our Support pages to learn more about the impact of your gift.

Funding for Artists as Innovators: Celebrating Three Decades of New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) with shipping support from Atelier 4

Image: Artists as Innovators installation at Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook University, Pictured in Foreground from Left: Black Widow, 2007; Seneca Hall Table, 2008; Which Side Up Table, 2007; and Nirvana, 2008; all by Wendell Castle (Fellow in Crafts ’86) and Courtesy of Friedman Benda Gallery and the artist; Photo Credit: Nick Koridis