COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council), in partnership with the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA), is pleased to announce that applications are open for the 2021 Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship.
Launched in 2020 along with a separate residency, the fellowship celebrates the legacy of Columbus artist Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson by recognizing the exemplary work of a Columbus-based African-American visual artist. In 2021 both programs are made possible with the financial support of Loann Crane.
The Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship provides an unrestricted $15,000 grant to an African-American professional visual artist residing in Franklin County. The 90-day fellowship includes community outreach activities (facilitated by Arts Council staff) and the opportunity for a public presentation and/or exhibition. The application deadline is June 15, 2021.
“Despite a tumultuous year last year, we’re excited to continue honoring Aminah’s legacy by supporting the next generation of African-American artists,” said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Arts Council. “Knowing how much she cared about mentoring new artists, I think she would approve of how we are using the gift she has given to our community.”
“Receiving the Aminah Robinson Fellowship was such a huge honor and major milestone in my art career,” said Don “DonCee” Colter, recipient of the 2020 fellowship. “The fellowship afforded me the opportunity to create and reconnect with the community without the worries of any financial strain. More importantly, I was able to carry on the legacy of an artist I admire and respect, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of Loann Crane, the Arts Council, Columbus Museum of Art and the Shepard Community.”
Robinson was born in 1940 in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Poindexter Village, a new federally funded apartment community. From an early age, she absorbed the stories of her elders about historic Columbus neighborhoods and about the family’s ancestral roots in Africa.
Throughout her life, she documented these stories in her art and journals, in order to pass them on to future generations. Her work is grounded in the African concept of Sankofa—the importance of understanding the past in order to move forward. Robinson’s diverse body of work is about building bridges and making connections between the past and present, America and Africa, and the physical world and the world of spirits.
When she was 17, she moved with her family to the Shepard neighborhood on the near east side of the city. She eventually purchased her own home in that same neighborhood and lived there the rest of her life. When she died in 2015, Robinson left her estate, including her house, to the Columbus Museum of Art.
The application deadline for the 2021 Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship is June 15, 2021.
Applications will be juried by a committee that includes representatives from the Shepard and Poindexter neighborhoods where Robinson lived, CMA, the Arts Council and an artist or arts educator familiar with Robinson’s work and history.
For complete guidelines and to apply, go to: gcac.org/grants-services/individual-artist-fellowships.
Mission of the Columbus Museum of Art: To create great experiences with great art for everyone. www.columbusmuseum.org
Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org
The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners and the Ohio Arts Council.
For translations of this release and other pages, please see the dropdown menu at the top right corner of gcac.org.
# # #
CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
