United States Artists

On Being Read for Filth: A Conversation with Mei Ann Teo — United States Artists Mei Ann Teo on documentary theater and works that open us up.

Mei Ann Teo is dedicated to work that centers marginalized people and challenges audiences. In our latest conversation, they discuss their origins in theater, encountering texts that open up something inside us, and strategies that make audiences active participants in the work.

3 Chicago artists are among the 2026 winners of $50,000 USA Fellowships The Chicago-based philanthropic organization United States Artists has announced its latest fellowships, awarding $50,000 to 50 artists in 10 disciplines, including three artists local to Chicago.

In my first for @chicagotribune.com, I interviewed Chicago-based artists Edra Soto, Ben LaMar Gay, and Sharon Udoh who are all recipients of $50,000 @unitedstatesartists.org fellowships!
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/u...

[ID. The background features an abstract artwork by Sonnenzimmer with paint strokes of green, blue, and pink. Overlaid on top is the USA logo in the top left corner with the words '2026 USA Fellows' next to it. A central grid features the photos and names of all 50 Awardees. The link 'unitedstatesartists.org' is below the grid.]

⭐ Say hello to our 2026 USA Fellows ⭐

This year, we are thrilled to award a new cohort of USA Fellows, fifty exceptional artists and collectives across all disciplines, spanning nineteen US states and Washington, DC.

To learn more about the USA Fellowship head to www.unitedstatesartists.org

As museum and cultural budgets shrink across the US, more artists are being asked to finance their own exhibitions, raising questions about access, equity and who can afford to show.

www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/06/u...

Playing Through the Absurd: A Conversation with Geoff Sobelle — United States Artists Geoff Sobelle on his artistic upbringing and love of clowning as a form

Theater artist Geoff Sobelle is a dedicated absurdist, drawn to illusion and the surreal. In the following conversation, Sobelle retraces his creative upbringing, describes new clown work underway, and explains the active role of the audience in his work.

Best Play Tony Winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Says 'Now More Than Ever' Is the Time to Invest in Regional Theatre Jenkins won the coveted statue for Purpose .

Congratulations to USA Fellow (2020) Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on their Tony win for PURPOSE (playing through August 30)! On the heels of your Pulitzer!!
playbill.com/article/best...

We share news of the fifth cohort of Rainin Arts Fellows with tremendous pride and excitement. Please join us in applauding Vanessa Sanchez (Dance), Kyle Casey Chu (Film), Christy Chan (Public Space) and Brenda Wong Aoki (Theater). www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

We are so unbelievable proud of Susie Ibarra (Music, USA Fellow 2019) and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Theater, USA Fellow 2020) for their well-deserved Pulitzer Prizes in recognition of their works "Sky Island" (Ibarra) and "Purpose" (Jacobs-Jenkins). wowowowow
pulitzer.org/news/22865

The Rainin Arts Fellowship The Rainin Arts Fellowship supports visionary Bay Area artists working across dance, film, public space and theater.

The Rainin Arts Fellowship, administered by @unitedstatesartists.org supports visionary Bay Area artists working in dance, film, public space and theater with unrestricted grants alongside tailored resources to sustain and strengthen their practices.

Announcing the 2025 Wagner Arts Fellows — United States Artists Three Boston artists, L’Merchie Frazier, Daniela Rivera, and Wen-ti Tsen, to receive $75,000 as the first Wagner Arts Fellows

We're so proud to announce the inaugural Wagner Arts Fellowship with Wagner Foundation. This award recognizes mid-career visual artists in Boston. The awardees are L'Merchie Frazier, Daniela Rivera and Wen-ti Tsen.
www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

Miami Art Week Listening Party with Helado Negro — United States Artists We believe in artists and their essential role in our society.

USA Fellow Helado Negro (2019, Music) @heladonegro.bsky.social will be playing at Big Ears tomorrow night in Tennessee! Here's a recap of the preview for "Star Scores" (Roberto Carlos Lange x Kristi Sword) we hosted during Miami Art Week last winter.
www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

Reach Out — United States Artists We believe in artists and their essential role in our society.

JOB ALERT: United States Artists is hiring for a Communications Assistant! Know someone or want to submit your resume? Follow the link here (click through to "Careers" for full job posting):
www.unitedstatesartists.org/contact

Meet the inaugural cohort of Wagner Fellows! As an Initiative partner, USA excited to share the announcement of L'Merchie Frazier, Daniela River and Wen-ti Tsen as 3 Boston-based artists who are being celebrated with this Award. www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

For Angel Bat Dawid, Music is Community, Protection, and Staying True to Herself Christine S. Escobar sits down with Angel Bat Dawid who chats process, upcoming projects, and why she is part of a Great Black Music lineage.

Angel Bat Dawid (USA Fellow, Music 2025) is interviewed by Christine S. Escobar at @icareifyoulisten.bsky.social. They talk about Mozart, systemic injustice in the music scene, showing up for community and how much Chicago rules. 💜
icareifyoulisten.com/2025/03/for-...

Seed & Bloom Detroit: Nurturing Growth and Transformation in Detroit's Creative Ecosystem - Gilbert Family Foundation One year after launching this innovative initiative, we reflect on the impact, lessons learned, and the path forward for Detroit’s BIPOC artists and their communities. When the Gilbert Family Foundati...

Thank you to our partners, the Gilbert Family Foundation and @unitedstatesartists.org, for the incredibly successful first year of the Seed and Bloom: Detroit initiative, supporting under-resourced artists in their neighborhoods. Learn more about the artists' impact and the program's future goals:

Blackhorse Lowe: Creating a New Cinematic Mutant — United States Artists Blackhorse Lowe discusses psychedelic storytelling, Native filmmaking, and evolving styles

“Poverty porn, historical traumas, and corny stories is what most audiences expect from a Native media. My goal is to shake off all those played out narratives and make a new cinematic mutant.” Blackhorse Lowe in conversation with Shivani Soumaya at USA.
www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

Rea Tajiri: Tending to Ghosts — United States Artists Rea Tajiri on how ancestors and in-between spaces inspire her filmmaking practice

Rea Tajiri (USA 2025 Fellow, Film), is tending to ghosts. We talk about identity, aesthetics, and the bardo.

www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

Roberto Carlos Lange and Kristi Sword: Star Scores Star Scores is both a performance and immersive sculptural installation by Roberto Carlos Lange (also known as Helado Negro) and visual artist Kristi Sword. The piece features a live ensemble performa...

We're so excited for Roberto Carlos Lange @heladonegro.bsky.social (USA Fellow 2019) & Kristi Sword's "Star Scores" opening @icaboston.bsky.social on Friday!
USA got to preview this mesmerizing work during Miami Art Week and are still floating in its wonder. 🫧🫧🫧
www.icaboston.org/events/rober...

Liz Phillips: Closer to Synthesis — United States Artists Liz Phillips on art, sound, music and life in synthesis with people and nature.

Liz Phillips is a 2025 USA Music Fellow, though it's safer to describer her as multi-disciplinary. We spoke with her about friendship, synthesis, electronics, the inexorable sounds of nature and aging with your medium.
www.unitedstatesartists.org/perspectives...

Congrats to Finnegan Shannon, whose work was a touchstone for Crip Authorship: Disability as Method (edited with Rebecca Sanchez, avail. open access)
nyupress.org/978147981936...

Meet our Architecture & Design Fellows of 2025!
Borderless Studio
Paola Aguirre Serrano (she/her), Dennis Milam (he/him)
San Antonio, TX and Chicago, IL

Finnegan Shannon (they/them)
Brooklyn, NY

Jerome W Haferd (he/him)
Harlem, NY

Leah Wulfman (they/them)
Salt Lake City, UT

💜🖤Meet the 2025 Fellows 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦

Rashaad Newsome and Caroline Kent among 50 recipients of 2025 USA Fellowship. The 2025 United States Artists (USA) Fellowship awards $50,000 of unrestricted funds to 50 artists from across 21 states.

"The 2025 cohort is a diverse list, including four Native Hawaiian and 12 Indigenous artists and collectives. The group includes artists at various stages of their careers, from seasoned professionals over the ages of 50 to young emerging talents in their twenties."

www.artsy.net/article/arts...

Meet our visual arts fellows in this @artreview.bsky.social write up!

artreview.com/united-state...

We got to add some Sonnenzimmer sprinkle (motion+sound) to some graphics for USA's 2025 Fellowship announcement. Learn about these artists! It will brighten your day and make your heart full.

For more about the 2025 cohort go to www.unitedstatesartists.org or follow @unitedstatesartists.org

🦭🦅🖤🫶🏽✨ with particular joy to share this honor with artists @itsgala.bsky.social and Bojan Louis whose work and friendship and vision have sustained me for many years!

💜 We feel infinitely bigger for doing this together. Thank you and congratulations and we can't wait for what's next!🖤

Collage of faces of the 2025 USA Fellows with logo and slogan--Aritsts. All ways. Always.--in the middle. Fellows are: Angel Bat Dawid Angie Cruz Anjali Srinivasan Anna Martine Whitehead Aspen Golann Aysha Upchurch Bojan Louis Borderless Studio Caroline Kent Cesar Viveros Christopher Harris Dalani Tanahy David Harper Clemons Deesha Philyaw dots Ephraim Asili Finnegan Shannon Gala Porras-Kim Geoff Sobelle Jerome W Haferd Joan Naviyuk Kane Jocelyne Prince Kahlil Robert Irving Karyn Olivier kekahi wahi Leah Wulfman Leilehua Lanzilotti Liz Phillips Makini Matthew Salesses Miya Masaoka Myles de Bastion Nami Yamamoto Nichole Canuso Raquel Gutiérrez Rashaad Newsome Rea Tajiri Rhiana Yazzie Rodrigo Reyes Rudi Goblen Sadie Barnette Sarah Rosalena Shayok Misha Chowdhury Sherrill Roland Tall Paul Theresa Secord Trajal Harrell Tzu-Ju Chen X

Say hello to our 2025 USA Fellows!
www.unitedstatesartists.org

In 2025, USA enters its 20th year of commitment to durable, sustainable support to artists and creative practitioners in All Stages, in All Ways, Always. 50 exceptional artists and collectives working in ten disciplines in twenty-one US states, spanning the most nascent to mature stages of careers.

What a news week...We received a panicked call about USA Artists being eliminated in the federal funding freeze. Rest assured, while we have a most "government cheese" sounding name, that we are in fact an independent organization. Our hearts go out to everyone on this news cycle-roller coaster!