Juana Valdés Named to Mellon and Ford Foundations' Second Cohort of Latinx Artist Fellows

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Juana Valdés, associate professor in the UMass Amherst Department of Art, is a recipient of the 2022 Latinx Artist Fellowship.

The Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation announced the newest cohort of the Latinx Artist Fellowship—a multi-year initiative administered by the US Latinx Art Forum (USLAF) in collaboration with the New York Foundation for the Arts.

In its second year, the fellowship recognizes 15 of the most compelling Latinx visual artists working in the United States today and aims to address a systemic lack of support, visibility and patronage of Latinx visual artists—individuals of Latin American or Caribbean descent, born or living in the United States.

Since 2015, USLAF has championed the vitality of Latinx artists, who have historically lacked visibility and received little of the philanthropic or institutional support necessary to secure their place in the story of American art.

Launched in 2021, the Latinx Artist Fellowship awards $50,000 each to a multigenerational cohort of 15 Latinx visual artists each year for an initial commitment of five years. This unrestricted award is the first significant prize of its kind and celebrates the plurality and diversity of Latinx artists and aesthetics.