Two artists with connections to the College of Charleston have been awarded Individual Artist Fellowships by the South Carolina Arts Commission Board. Alumnus Jonathan Brilliant ’02 is the Visual Arts Fellow and music professor Lee-Chin Siow is the Music Performance Fellow.
The S.C. Arts Commission board approves fellowships based on recommendations made by out-of-state review panelists, who select fellows based solely on a review of anonymous work samples. Each artist receives $5,000. The other fellows chosen are Russell Biles (Craft) and Mark Kilstofte (Music Composition).
Jonathan Brilliant ‘02 has served as a visiting artist and artist-in-residence for numerous communities, schools and universities, including the Ox-Bow School of Art, the Penland School of Crafts, Redux Contemporary Art Center, University of Oklahoma, University of Memphis, and recently for the East/West Project in Berlin, Germany. In 2007, Brilliant was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation fellowship to attend the Vermont Studio Center. In 2009 he received the juror’s award at the National Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition and was named a South Carolina Arts Commission Visual Arts Fellow alternate. Brilliant creates compositional elements by weaving, welding and stacking various mediums, including such re-purposed coffee shop items as stirrers, lids and cups. From May 2009 through December 2010 he conducted his “Have Sticks Will Travel World Tour,” a series of site-specific installations in 13 galleries on two continents. In September 2010, Brilliant was named the winner of the Columbia Design League’s inaugural “Play With Your City” public art competition. In addition to site-specific installations, Brilliant works with drawing, sculpture and photography and lectures at universities across the country.
Lee-Chin Siow is director of strings and assistant professor of violin at the College of Charleston. She studied violin performance at Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes College of Music and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In 1994, she won gold medals in the Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition and the Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition for Strings. She has performed in 20 countries on five continents, from Carnegie Hall to Japan’s Osaka Symphony Hall, and has performed on numerous national and international television and radio broadcasts. Music critics have used such words as “flawless” and “spellbinding” to describe her performances. Siow’s CD, “Songs My Father Taught Me,” topped HMV’s classical music charts and was picked for Fanfare Magazine’s 2009 Want List. A Singapore native, Siow remains active with the arts in her home country, winning the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award in 1996 and representing Singapore in the Embassy Series Concerts in 2001. Recently, she was the featured soloist with the China Radio-Film Symphony Orchestra in a concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore. In 2006, Siow co-founded and currently co-directs the Charleston Music Fest, a chamber series that brings in world-class musicians throughout the year.
“The arts, and all the benefits they bring, depend on capable artists, who are central to the creative industries in our state,” said S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May. “The fellowships offer resources that artists can use to advance their careers. We’re fortunate to have funds to award thanks to a generous contribution from the South Carolina Arts Foundation.”
The visual arts and craft panelists were: Rene Barilleaux, chief curator/curator of art after 1945, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio; Lia Rose Newman, director of programs and exhibitions, Artspace, Inc, Raleigh, N.C.; and Miguel Gomez-Ibanez, president, North Bennet Street School, Boston. Music composition and performance panelists were: Dr. Robert Tanner, music composition and theory, Morehouse College, Atlanta; Dr. Sharon G. Willis, music department chair, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta; Dr. Hyunjung “Rachel” Chung, assistant professor of theory and piano performance, Spelman College, Atlanta.
The South Carolina Arts Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting the education and arts development programs of the S.C. Arts Commission, funded three of the four fellowships awarded this year. Individual artists working in poetry, prose, dance performance and dance choreography can apply for the 2012-2013 fellowship awards. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1.
