The Chicago-based national arts funding organization United States Artists (USA) announced its 2025 Fellows on Thursday, Jan. 30, selecting 50 artists/collectives from 10 creative disciplines (Architecture & Design, Craft, Dance, Film, Media, Music, Theater & Performance, Traditional Arts, Visual Art, and Writing).
The new cohort includes CalArtians Gala Porras-Kim (Art MFA 09), Sadie Barnette (Art BFA 06), and Rea Tajiri (Art BFA 80, MFA 82). Herb Alpert Award artists Miya Masaoka (Music, 2004), Christopher Harris (Film/Video, 2023), and Makini (Dance, 2023) were also among the fellows who will each receive $50,000 unrestricted cash awards, as well as access to a variety of professional services and resources.
The USA Fellows are selected on the merits of artistic vision, varied perspectives within their fields, and the potential for the award to make an impact on their art practices and lives. Artists are nominated to apply annually by a rotating committee of US-based arts professionals, with applications then reviewed by discipline-specific panels. USA Fellows can be in the early or late stages in their careers (or anywhere in between), but they should demonstrate their ability to affect the cultural landscape. This year’s 50 fellows were selected from a pool of approximately 500 applicants.
“As we approach our 20th anniversary, the USA Fellowship takes an increasingly significant role in how we view the arts funding landscape,” noted Ed Henry, United States Artists Board Chair, in the USA press release. “In addition to being an exceptional group of artists and practitioners, this year’s cohort of Fellows manifest the many ways in which USA, and the broader art world, consider the support of artists—at all stages of their career, in all areas of their lives, and during all moments in our shared cultural history.”
