The Idea Fund, a re-granting program administered through DiverseWorks Artspace, Aurora Picture Show and Project Row Houses, and funded through the Andy Warhol Foundation, announces their 2009 award recipients.  The following 10 artists or artist groups will receive up to $4,000 to create and showcase their new projects in the coming year: Kevin Curry, Mary Margaret Hansen, Kara Hearn, J. Hill, Ayanna Jolivet McCloud, Cody Ledvina and Brian Rod, Benjamin Mason, Zach Moser, Kelly Pike in collaboration with Sasha Dela and Kara Hearn, and Ariane Roesch in collaboration with Sasha Dela. Full descriptions of each project are listed below.

Of the more than 120 applications presented to The Idea Fund in December of 2008, these 10 projects were selected by Idea Fund panelists (Diane Barber – DiverseWorks; Long Chu – Writers in the Schools; Ashley Clemmer Hoffman – Project Row Houses; Mary LeClere – Glassell School of Art, MFAH; Mary Magsamen – Aurora Picture Show; Sixto Wagan – DiverseWorks) as projects that most exemplify unconventional artistic practices falling outside the traditional frameworks of support, one of the main requirements put forth by the Andy Warhol Foundation Initiative and the collaborating organizations.  Project applications ranged from an exhibition or exhibition series; a public art project; a one-time event or performance; the ongoing work of a collective, collaborative, or artist space; an online project or publication; an artist residency; or a series of screenings; and more. 

Houston’s Idea Fund is only the second one of its type, following a similar project in San Francisco launched two years ago with the support of the Warhol Foundation.  The Warhol Foundation has committed to a two-year program in Houston that will support over 20 projects by January 1, 2011.  

“The caliber of the projects submitted for this first year of The Idea Fund confirmed what we already knew: we have an extraordinary wealth of talent and creativity in Houston,” said Diane Barber, Idea Fund panelist and Co-Executive Director of DiverseWorks ArtSpace.  “The Idea Fund is structured to provide artists with quick access to substantial financial support for projects that might not otherwise have access to funding. DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show and Project Row Houses have always recognized the impact that projects of this nature have on the city’s arts ecology and we are confident that the range and ingenuity represented in the 10 projects selected for funding this year will help to make 2009 a year for artistic firsts in Houston. We’re eager to see the projects realized.”  

The award recipients and a description of their proposals are as follows: 

Kevin Curry: Curry is a nationally-exhibited artist who was raised overseas (Puerto Rico, South Africa, Australia) and exposed to multiple countries and cultures. His proposal, Housewarming, consists of an oversized quilt that will cover a house in Houston, metaphorically and physically embracing of the present by the past.   

Mary Margaret Hansen: A visual artist who favors photography, Hansen has had work shown at FotoFest and is a community leader serving as a board member and committee chairperson for American Leadership Forum. Her project titled Second Seating will be an installation creating fantasy dinner tables from a variety of products manufactured in or shipped from Houston’s East End.  

Kara Hearn: Hearn is an interdisciplinary artist who is currently in her second year as a Core Fellow at the Glassell School of Art at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She plans to create a 30-minute narrative video that is based on the dreams and nightmares adults have had about being in high school.  

J. Hill: A multidisciplinary artist, Hill participates in traditional gallery exhibits and community-based projects using various materials and strategies. Hill’s The Welcome Wagon will be a dynamic setting for collecting and distributing local culture consisting of a bicycle with a specially outfitted trailer reminiscent of a common cottage porch.  

Ayanna Jolivet McCloud: McCloud acts as an artist, curator and collaborator on a range of projects. Her exhibition, Screwed Anthologies, will be a disjointed mix of videos and sound art inspired by “chopped and screwed” music.  

Cody Ledvina and Brian Rod: Ledvina and Rod plan to use the funding to continue a project they started in March 2007, The Joanna, an experimental exhibition space created as an open platform for emerging artists and curators.  

Benjamin Mason: Benjamin Mason is a Houston-based artist who helped start Workshop Houston, a non-profit that offers creative, technical and academic resources to youth in the Third Ward. His project will be to create an art space within a King's Market stall aimed at bringing art into a more accessible and comfortable place. 

Zach Moser: Born and raised in the Bayou City, Moser plans to construct a series of small sailboats with students to be sailed and rowed throughout public waters in Houston.  

Kelly Pike, Sasha Dela and Kara Hearn: This collaborative of filmmakers will be applying the funds to launch the inaugural issue of The Buffet, a DVD publication sourcing Houston artists to create a portrait of where they find themselves now as Houstonians, artists, Americans, a community.  

Ariane Roesch and Sasha Dela: Acting as co-directors, this duo will use the funding for SKYDIVE, a collection of exhibition space, The Free School for the Arts and an online venue of writing and Web-based projects. 

For more details, please visit http://www.theideafund.org or contact Tracey Morton at tracey@diverseworks.org or 713-223-8346.*** Please note that if you submitted an application with only a mailing address (no contact phone number or e-mail), a letter will be sent to you soon. Panel feedback is not available for all proposals. Also all applications submitted with a self-addressed stamped envelope will be mailed back by the end of January.