USA
Fellows

USA Fellowships are annual $50,000 unrestricted awards recognizing the most compelling artists working and living in the United States, in all disciplines, at every stage of their career. 

Each year, individual artists and collaboratives are anonymously nominated to apply by a geographically diverse and rotating group of artists, scholars, critics, producers, curators, and other arts professionals. Applications are reviewed by discipline-specific panels who select the finalists, which are then approved by our Board of Trustees. A full list of our panelists can be found here.

2019 USA Fellow
Dance

Alice Sheppard

Dancer and Choreographer
Los Altos, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Traditional Arts

Allison Akootchook Warden

Multidisciplinary Artist and Performer
Anchorage, AK
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Traditional Arts

Arthur López

Wood Sculptor
Santa Fe, NM
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Craft

Carole Frances Lung

Social Practice and Performance Artist
Long Beach, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Visual Art

Cecilia Vicuña

Multidisciplinary Artist and Poet
New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Theater & Performance

Charlotte Brathwaite

Director
New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Theater & Performance

Complex Movements

Installation and Performance Collective
Detroit, MI
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Craft

Coulter Fussell

Quilter
Water Valley, MS
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Dance

David Dorfman

Choreographer
New London, CT
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Visual Art

Dyani White Hawk

Painter and Multimedia Artist
Minneapolis, MN
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Architecture & Design

Erin Besler and Ian Besler

Architects and Designers
Princeton, NJ and Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Visual Art

Firelei Báez

Multidisciplinary Artist
New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Theater & Performance

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

Dramatist
Santa Barbara, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Traditional Arts

Gabriel Frey

Traditional Basketmaker
Orono, ME
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Music

Helado Negro

Avant-Pop Musician and Performer
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Media

Hyphen-Labs

Designers
New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Craft

Janice Lessman-Moss

Digital Weaver
Kent, OH
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Music

Jen Shyu

Vocalist and Composer
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Traditional Arts

Juan Díes

Mexican Folk Musician
Chicago, IL
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Film

Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar

Documentary Filmmakers
Yellow Springs, OH
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Visual Art

Juliana Huxtable

Multidisciplinary Artist and Writer
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Theater & Performance

Kaneza Schaal

Theater Artist
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Architecture & Design

Keller Easterling

Writer and Designer
New Haven, CT and New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Dance

Lenora Lee

Dancer and Choreographer
San Francisco, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Writing

Lesley Nneka Arimah

Fiction Writer
Minneapolis, MN
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Writing

Lisa Armstrong

Journalist
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Architecture & Design

Lucia Cuba

Designer and Textile Artist
New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Writing

Lynda Barry

Cartoonist
Footville, WI
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Dance

Merián Soto

Dancer and Choreographer
Philadelphia, PA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Craft

Michelle Holzapfel

Wood Carver
Marlboro, VT
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Media

Mitra Kaboli

Multimedia Artist and Podcaster
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Film

Nuotama Frances Bodomo

Filmmaker
Queens, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Film

Ramona S. Diaz

Documentary Filmmaker
Baltimore, MD
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Theater & Performance

Rashida Bumbray

Choreographer and Performer
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Writing

Rebecca Gayle Howell

Poet
Lexington, KY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Music

Reena Esmail

Composer
Pasadena, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Music

Roscoe Mitchell

Multi-Instrumentalist and Composer
Oakland, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Craft

Samuel Harvey

Ceramicist
Aspen, CO
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Visual Art

Simone Leigh

Multidisciplinary Artist
New York, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Music

Susie Ibarra

Percussionist and Composer
New Paltz, NY
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Writing

Tarfia Faizullah

Poet
Dallas, TX and Chicago, IL
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Theater & Performance

Teo Castellanos

Theater Artist
Miami, FL
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Music

Tunde Olaniran

Pop Musician and Performer
Flint, MI
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Visual Art

Wu Tsang

Filmmaker and Artist
Los Angeles, CA
2019 USA Fellow
2019 USA Fellow
Dance

Yara Travieso

Director, Choreographer, and Filmmaker
Brooklyn, NY
2019 USA Fellow