Lumberyard Contemporary Performing Arts (formerly American Dance Institute) is pleased to announce that its Artistic Advisory Board has selected New York City-based choreographer and dancer Kathy Westwater, whose work The Brooklyn Rail has described as “at the limits of the human,” as the winner of the 2017 Solange MacArthur Award for New Choreography. The organization will provide Westwater with $10,000 in commissioning funds, fee-free fiscal sponsorship, strategic marketing and development support, and a presentation of the commissioned work in the 2018-19 season.
The annual Solange MacArthur Award reflects Lumberyard’s vital role in supporting the creation of new work by American performing artists. Lumberyard’s Artistic Advisory Board—including Brian Brooks, Jane Comfort, David Dorfman, Doug Elkins, Dan Hurlin, Jodi Melnick, David Neumann and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar—selects the winner following a closed nomination process. Previous recipients include Raja Feather Kelly (2016), Steven Reker (2015) and Chris Schlichting (2014).
Lumberyard Executive & Artistic Director Adrienne Willis said, “Lumberyard is dedicated to supporting artists as they challenge themselves, audiences and their art form, and the Solange MacArthur Award serves our core mission to enable performing artists to make the work they have imagined.”
Westwater said, “I am honored and grateful to receive this award, especially because it was recommended by a group of artists I admire and respect. The commitment that Lumberyard makes to the creation of new work is felt. This will enable me to realize a project I’ve imagined and I can't wait to begin. There are many who make what I do possible—dancers, colleagues, collaborators, family, teachers, students, arts workers and audience—and to them I am also deeply grateful.”
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