The Phillips Collection, DC Public Library, and The Nicholson Project Announce Inaugural Collaborative Arts Resource District Fellows
Fellowship advances and fosters DC artists’ careers and local contemporary art community
WASHINGTON, DC—The Phillips Collection, DC Public Library, and The Nicholson Project announce the inaugural cohort of Collaborative Arts Resource District (CARD) Fellows. Washington, DC-based artists Tina Villadolid, Anne C. Smith, and Paloma Vianey will participate in a cross-organizational, collaborative 12-week program, piloted to create sustainable arts careers and bolster the local contemporary art community. Representing the diverse scope of artists practicing in the Washington, DC, region, the fellows receive tangible support to advance their craft through workshops, consultations, and studio visits and exhibit at one of the partnering organizations’ spaces, accompanied by a commissioned writing about their work. The fellowship runs until December 15.
In addition to tailored professional development and promotional support of their artwork, the fellows have each been awarded a $5,000 stipend, access to archives and art collections, and networking opportunities with art and cultural leaders in the Washington metropolitan area. By leveraging assets across the three institutions, the CARD Fellowship provides a valuable experience, helping artists meet their career goals and engage with new audiences.
The first class of fellows was selected for their innovative and impactful concepts and practice; artistic skills and craftsmanship; and demonstration of both a desire and a clear indication of how the fellowship will benefit the growth of their artistic practice. Spanning painting, etching, sculpture, silkscreen printmaking, social practice, art activations, and large-scale public installations, the artists’ practices ask audiences to consider art’s role in relationship-building and co-creating communities.
“The Phillips Collection strives to be a place for community engagement, cultivating accessible touch points that bridge the gaps between artists and audiences. By encouraging participation and collaboration, we welcome local artists to showcase their craft and audiences to witness the artists’ depth of talent,” says Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock. “We’re proud to partner with the DC Public Library and The Nicholson Project as we collectively support these artists and build a more inclusive arts community in Washington.”
“The CARD Fellowship was established to elevate artists’ capacity for continued contribution to the city’s vibrant contemporary art scene and the community at large,” says The Phillips Collection’s Senior Director for Programming and Community Engagement Nehemiah Dixon III. “The fellows represent a tri-institutional effort for artists to engage with accessible community resources available to help them further their artistic practices.”
“The Library isn’t just about books; it’s a catalyst for DC’s artistic growth,” says Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director of DC Public Library. “The CARD Fellowship is a commitment to DC artists, beginning with this impressive pilot cohort. In teaming up with The Phillips Collection and The Nicholson Project, we’re saying the future of art in DC starts here and we are taking a bold step towards fostering a more dynamic, impactful arts community.”
“The Nicholson Project was founded with a deep commitment to providing artists with the time, space, and support they need to create and to further their practice. The CARD Fellowship is a perfect extension of this ethos, and we are honored to support and work with this inaugural cohort,” says Allison Nance, Managing Director of The Nicholson Project. “Tina, Anne, and Paloma represent the rich talent and diversity DC’s contemporary art scene has to offer, and I look forward to seeing how they use this fellowship to stretch and grow in their practice, how they will support and challenge one another as fellow artists, and in turn how this fellowship will contribute to bolstering the DC-region’s artistic community.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Paloma Vianey
Paloma Vianey is an interdisciplinary artist from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, who currently lives and works in Washington, DC. She earned a BA in art history from The University of Texas at El Paso and an MFA from Cornell University. She has received grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (2020, 2021, 2023) and the National Fund of the Arts in Mexico (2020). Vianey received a scholarship from the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior (2018), was awarded the Municipal Youth Award in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico (2019), and the John Hartell Graduate Award at Cornell University (2021).
In 2018, Vianey realized a large-scale public art installation (22 x 70 ft) on the Americas-Cordova International Bridge along the US-Mexico border. From 2021 to 2022 she was an Artist-in-Residence at the Antonio Gala Foundation in Cordoba, Spain. Vianey has exhibited her work at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, the Antonio Gala Foundation, Amos Eno Gallery, Jack Hanley Gallery, the Mexican Consulate at El Paso Texas, El Paso Museum of Art, The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, and the Archeology and History Museum of El Chamizal. She currently teaches painting and drawing at George Mason University and was recently selected to participate in the 2024 Border Biennial hosted by the El Paso Museum of Art.
Tina Villadolid
Tina Villadolid is a second-generation Filipina American New Yorker. She graduated from Amherst College in 1983 with a BA in fine arts, then moved to New England where she became a mom, was a small-scale pig farmer, and fronted a rock band. Moving to Santa Barbara, California, the band had a hard landing. Villadolid transitioned into being the local art museum’s outreach teacher, bringing the museum into the neighborhood guerrilla style. Twenty-three years later, she was teaching the children of former students. This generational work with the marginalized population of a wealthy community threw into question her own life’s relationships to predominantly white spaces and institutions. Villadolid returned to school wanting to unlearn ideologies of systemic power hierarchies, knowing that real change must begin with her own practice. She is a 2023 graduate of the MFA in Social Practice program at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, George Washington University.
Anne C. Smith
Anne C. Smith is a visual artist in Washington, DC, as well as a Silkscreen Associate and instructor at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and a member of the Artist Advisory Committee at IA&A at Hillyer. She learned silkscreen printing from her mentor, Master Printmaker Lou Stovall, for whom she worked as a studio assistant and later interviewed for the catalog to his exhibition at the Kreeger Museum in 2022. She holds an MFA in printmaking from George Mason University and in 2016 served as master printmaker on a large-scale silkscreen book with the school’s Navigation Press. She has previously taught drawing at institutions such as the National Gallery of Art in DC and Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University in Virginia. She has participated in artist residencies with Artist Mother Studio at Washington Project for the Arts; Kala Art Institute, California; and the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Virginia. Her work is in the collections of the US State Department, Capitol One, and INOVA Hospital, and she is represented by Adah Rose Gallery in Kensington, Maryland.
PARTNERS
The CARD Fellowship is co-organized by The Phillips Collection, District of Columbia Public Library, and The Nicholson Project.
QUESTIONS
Please visit www.phillipscollection.org/card-fellowship or contact card@phillipscollection.org. For press inquiries, please contact Lauryn Cantrell, lcantrell@phillipscollection.org.
ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, was founded in 1921. The museum houses one of the world’s most celebrated Impressionist and American modern art collections and continues to grow its collection with important contemporary voices. Its distinctive building combines extensive new galleries with the former home of its founder, Duncan Phillips. The Phillips’s impact spreads nationally and internationally through its diverse and experimental special exhibitions and events, including its award-winning education programs for educators, students, and adults; renowned Phillips Music series; and dynamic art and wellness and Phillips after 5 events. The museum contributes to global dialogues with events like Conversations with Artists and Artists of Conscience. The Phillips Collection values its community partnership with THEARC—the museum’s satellite campus in Southeast DC. The Phillips Collection is a private, non-governmental museum, supported primarily by donations.
ABOUT DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC LIBRARY
The District of Columbia Public Library is a vibrant center of activity for residents and visitors in the nation’s capital. The library provides environments that invite reading, learning and community discussion and equips people to learn all their lives, to embrace diversity and to build a thriving city. They are proud to be a recognized force in the community for engaging the mind, expanding opportunities and elevating the quality of life.
ABOUT THE NICHOLSON PROJECT
The Nicholson Project is an artist residency program and neighborhood garden in Washington, DC’s Ward 7 Fairlawn neighborhood. Their mission is to support, provide opportunities, engage, and amplify artists and creatives from their community and the local artist community—particularly artists of color and those from Ward 7 and 8—while engaging their neighbors through community-based programming. Their vision is to serve as a cultural hub and community anchor celebrating Ward 7’s authentic identity while infusing new vibrancy into Southeast DC. They hope to inspire others to use similar non-traditional arts and community-centered projects as a pathway toward stronger, more vibrant communities.