Morgan Frank, Sam Jaffee and Zack (“Beverly Fre$h”) Ostrowski recognized for innovation, past achievements, and community contributions
Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier today released the names of their 16th Arts Achievement Awards. Their Foundation recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope.
This year, the Foundation is giving out three awards to Chicago area artists in several genres, a total of $120,000 in awards. The 2021 awardees are poet Morgan Frank, fabric artist Sam Jaffee, performance and visual artist Beverly Fresh (Zach Ostrowski).
Rebecca Morgan Frank is the author of four collections of poems, most recently Oh You Robot Saints! (2021). Called a “poet of the exacting and harrowing,” her poetry and prose have appeared such places as The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and Los Angeles Review of Books, Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, and elsewhere. Morgan’s poems are sought out for frequent musical settings in art song and modern music with composers such as Eric Malmquist, Aaron Stepp, and Mara Gibson. Helen says, “Morgan’s poetry presents compelling visions and intriguing premises.” For more information, see https://rebeccamorganfrank.com/
Samantha Jaffee is a Chicago-based fabric artist. Characterized by wacky, toxic color and overstuffed, mutating forms, Sam Jaffe’s recent work explores labor, folk and domestic art traditions, ornamentation, collecting behaviors, femininity, and the grotesque fallibility of the human body. All art materials are recycled, reused, repurposed, dead-stock, vintage, or otherwise sustainably sourced. Sam received her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design in 2005 and her MFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. Helen adds, “Sam’s masterful realization of textiles capture the eye and tease the senses.” For more information, see https://thesamjaffee.com
Beverly Fresh (Zach Ostrowski) is a contemporary artist and musician from the rural Midwest. He examines cultural structures through a variety of media, including drawing, graphic design, installation, video, music, parody and performance. He has a BFA in Graphic Design/Interactive Media from the College for Creative Studies and an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He is an Associate Professor of Graphic Art at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. Tim says, “Beverly Fresh uses his insightful and imaginative vision over many different media to comment on our American culture.” For more information, see https://www.beverlyfresh.com/WHUT
About the Meier Achievement Award
The 2021 Meier Achievement Award recognizes past work of mid-career arts professionals with checks for $40,000. Since its inception, the Foundation has presented 53 Chicago-area artists with awards. There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements. This follows Tim Meier’s directive, “No strings.” For more information, see www.meierfoundation.org.
Past Recipients:
Krista Franklin, writer and visual artist
Terisa Griffin, singer
Candace Hunter, collage, painting, installations, and performance artist
Corrinne Imberski, dance performer
Ayesha Jaco, educator and coreographer
Angel Pagan, multi-media artist
Jim Lasko, founding Artistic Director, Redmoon Theatre
James Bohnen, cofounder & former Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre
Meade Palidofsky, founder & Artistic Director, StoryCatchers Theatre
Patti McKenny, poet, librettist/lyricist, Founder, Chicago Music Theatre Works
John Eskola, tenor, cabaret artist
Mark Messing, composer, founder of Mucca Pazzo gypsy marching band
PJ Powers, founder & Artistic Director, TimeLine Theatre
Michael Patrick Thornton, founder & Artistic Director, Gift Theater
Homer Hans Bryant, Director, Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center
Elizabeth Doyle, composer, cabaret artist
Hallie Gordon, director, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults
James Ginsburg, classical musical producer, Cedille Records
Terry Karpowicz, sculptor
Miroslaw Rogala, multi-media artist
Molly Shanahan, choreographer, Mad Shak company
Wesley Kimler, painter
Jeff Kowalkowski, new music composer
Nick Sandys, Artistic Director, Remy Bumppo Theatre
Mindy Rose Schwartz, sculptor
Bernard Williams, painter/sculptor
Jack Zimmerman, storyteller
Sean Graney, playwright
Rob Mazurek, electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, and visual artist
Julia Miller, sound artist, guitarist, and composer
Simone Muench, poet
Chris Newman, sculptor
Donald Noon, sculptor
Damon Locks, visual artist and musician
James Morrow, dancer and choreographer
Dan Ramirez, painter
Eric Stephenson, sculptor
Stephen Burns, artistic director and conductor, Fulcrum Point
Stacy Garrop, composer
Ayako Kato, dancer and choreographer
Tim Anderson, painter
Chris Bradley, sculptor
Chloe Jensen, choreographer and artistic director, Aerial Dance Chicago
Jill King, sculptor
Renee Baker, composer
Eric Lindsey, sculptor,
Scott Stack, painter
Elsa Munoz, painter
Mike Reed, drummer/impresario
Olea Nova, painter/composer