Art Students Win $15,000 Windgate Fellowships
Two University of Oregon art students are among only ten selected nationwide for a prestigious $15,000 Windgate Fellowship, one of the largest awards offered nationally to art students. UO was also the only school with more than one winner.
Art majors Alida Bevirt (left), in UO’s metalsmithing and jewelry program, and Zoe Sargent (right), in the fibers program, were selected from 94 applications across 70 universities for the annual award from the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, based at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
Applicants – all graduating seniors – submitted artwork and a narrative describing how the fellowship would fund and enhance their career. Bevirt proposed a research trip through Spain and Italy along with continued study and experimentation. Sargent’s application noted the fellowship would allow her to attend the 2011 Surface Design Association conference in Minneapolis and a two-week class at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. With the remaining funds, she plans to create and outfit an arts studio.
“This whole application process was completely surreal,” says Bevirt. “It’s pretty incredible to receive this kind of opportunity, and now I’m excited to see where it will take me.”
Bevirt’s metalsmithing and jewelry work focus on abstracted body parts and animal motifs, from curved-spine vertebrae to gloved hands. Each piece is intricately crafted and uses a variety of techniques and disciplines to achieve a balance of precious metals with alternative materials such as wax, porcelain, fur and fiber.
Sargent’s work with fibers illustrates interactive pieces that viewers can intermingle with. From pin-cushion rings to floor-length textile works, Sargent’s work represents a wide array of unconventionality with fibers. One of her pieces, a screenprinted molasses wallpaper dusted in cane sugar, let viewers taste her artwork as they please.
“It was a little like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” laughs Sargent. “My work is a little eclectic and it’s an honor to be chosen as a recipient of the Windgate Fellowship.”
Since 2006, the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design has awarded ten graduating seniors each year with a $15,000 Windgate Fellowship from a pool of 70 universities across the United States. Based on academic merit and potential of the applicants’ work, the fellowship allows exemplary art students to hone their skills. A total of four students from the University of Oregon have received the fellowship, with Bevirt being the third from the metals department.