LANSDOWNE, VA – The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is pleased to announce the 20 up-and-coming artists receiving the 2014 Graduate Arts Awards. The leading graduate scholarship in the nation for the visual arts, performing arts, and creative writing, the Graduate Arts Award provides up to $50,000 per year for up to three years for exceptional students with financial need to study at an accredited graduate institution in the U.S. or abroad.
“We believe that society is enriched through art and our most exceptional artists should be able to develop and share their talents, regardless of their financial means,” said Vice President of Programs Emily Froimson. “By removing a financial obstacle, our award will allow these students to focus on studying and honing their crafts.”
In this its fourth year, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Arts Award elicited 320 applications and portfolios from students in 41 states and the District of Columbia. The 20 finalists represent just 7 percent of the total applicant pool. They were selected by a 38-member panel of experienced artists and arts educators in the fields of music, dance, theater, creative writing, visual arts, and film.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation congratulates the following award recipients:
Isidore Bethel
Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University
Graduate Institution: To be determined
Thomas Capobianco
Undergraduate Institution: Temple University
Graduate Institution: University of Cincinnati
August Cohn Thomas
Undergraduate Institution: University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Graduate Institution: University of Edinburgh (UK)
Gregory Cuellar
Undergraduate Institution: Saint Louis University
Graduate Institution: Columbia University
Maeghan Dineen
Undergraduate Institution: State University of New York at Geneseo
Graduate Institution: University of Limerick (Ireland)
Myles Dunigan
Undergraduate Institution: Rhode Island School of Design
Graduate Institution: University of Kansas
Zachary Evans
Undergraduate Institution: Kennesaw State University
Graduate Institution: University of Texas at Austin
Jan-Henry Gray
Undergraduate Institution: San Francisco State University
Graduate Institution: Columbia College of Chicago
Jossalyn Jensen
Undergraduate Institution: Cleveland Institute of Music
Graduate Institution: The Juilliard School
Eloise Kim
Undergraduate Institution: The Colburn School
Graduate Institution: To be determined
Louis King
Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Graduate Institution: University of the Arts, London (UK)
Natalie Krause
Undergraduate Institution: Kansas City Art Institute
Graduate Institution: To be determined
Sasha LaPointe
Undergraduate Institution: Institute of American Indian Arts
Graduate Institution: Institute of American Indian Arts
Yuebing Lin
Undergraduate Institution: The Juilliard School
Graduate Institution: The Juilliard School
James Manganello
Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Graduate Institution: University of London, Birkbeck College (UK)
Zoe Melcher
Undergraduate Institution: University of Missouri-Kansas City
Graduate Institution: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK)
Jonathan Molina Garcia
Undergraduate Institution: University of North Texas
Graduate Institution: California Institute of the Arts
Robin Myers
Undergraduate Institution: Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Graduate Institution: Yale University
Michael Parmelee
Undergraduate Institution: Hope College
Graduate Institution: University of Michigan
Jinxiang Yu
Undergraduate Institution: Queens College, City University of New York
Graduate Institution: Yale University
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Because we believe that high-potential, low-income students will excel educationally when given the resources to develop their talents, the Foundation supports exceptional students from elementary school to graduate school through scholarships, grants, direct service, and knowledge creation and dissemination. Founded in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke, the Foundation has awarded $120 million for over 2,000 scholarships and $76 million in grants to organizations that support our mission. www.jkcf.org
