Washington, D.C., July 8, 2020: The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment) announced today that a group of five outstanding artists from the United States have been selected to participate in the 2021 U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Program. The artists will travel to Japan during the 2021 calendar year to pursue their three to five-month residency. Since the program’s inception in 1978, more than 180 U.S. artists, representing a diverse range of disciplines, have been selected to travel to Japan for this residency.
The 2021 group of U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Program fellows includes:
Mark de Clive-Lowe – Composer – Los Angeles, CA
Dakota Gearhart – Filmmaker/Media Artist – Queens, NY
Yona Harvey – Writer – Pittsburgh, PA
Robert Hutchison – Architect – Seattle, WA
Lee Somers – Visual Artist – Montevallo, AL
“We are pleased to announce the 2021 U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Program fellows,” said Paige Cottingham-Streater, Executive Director of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. “The Commission is proud of its longstanding partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the extensive network of U.S. artists who have served as cultural ambassadors to Japan.
Since 1978, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with the International House of Japan (I-House) and the Government of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs have administered the U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Program. Each year five leading U.S.-based artists, representing all genres, are selected to spend three to five months in Japan. This program allows the artists to research and experience both the traditional and contemporary artistic milieu of Japan. Artists are free to live anywhere in Japan to pursue activities of greatest relevance to their creative process. Experience on this program results in outstanding new works after the fellowship has been completed. The program attracts applicants of the highest caliber and competition is vigorous.
About the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC)
The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) was established as an independent federal agency by the United States Congress in 1975 to bring visibility to the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship and strengthen mutual understanding between Japan and the United States. As a grant-making agency, JUSFC supports research, education, public affairs and exchange with Japan. For more information, please visit www.jusfc.gov
About the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment)
Established by the United States Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov