MD Arts Council recognizes TU faculty as among the best in the state
TU's five faculty members were chosen from more than 348 applicants.
By Sedonia Martin on June 26, 2017
The Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), an agency of the Maryland Department of Commerce, recognized Towson University College of Fine Arts and Communication faculty members Diane Luchese, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Susan Leslie Mann, Naoko Maeshiba and Jim L. Condron with 2017 Individual Artist Awards (IAA).
The recipients were selected from more than 348 applicants.
“We are thrilled to recognize these outstanding artists for their contributions to the cultural fabric of our state,” said Julie Madden, MSAC interim executive director.
“As one of the state arts councils with the longest-running programs in the country to honor accomplishments of individual artists, we feel it is important to recognize their significant contributions to Maryland’s overall vitality.”
Awardees will be honored during a late June ceremony at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and will receive individual grants of $1,000, $3,000 or $6,000 in recognition of their outstanding achievement and in support of their continued artistic growth.
Condron, an adjunct II in the Department of Art, received $6,000. Luchese, a professor in the Department of Music, and Department of Theatre Arts associate professor Maeshiba each received an award of $3,000, while Fisher-Harrell —an associate professor in the Department of Dance—and Mann, a professor in the same department each received $1,000 awards.
The MSAC’s competitive IAA program is administered in partnership with Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and recognizes artists in 18 disciplines with awards presented every three years.
This year’s awardees represented the fields of classical music composition, classical music solo performance, dance choreography, dance solo performance, world music composition, world music solo performance, poetry, and sculpture and were chosen—based solely on artistic merit—by an out-of-state jury of discipline-specific experts.
The 2018 IAA program and application information can be found on MSAC’s website.
This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland and Strategic Plan Alignment.