ArtsFairfax announces the award of the prestigious 2020 Artist Grants, with visual artist Sarah Hardesty from Falls Church being one of the two recipients. The other was writer Diane Zinna from Springfield.
The highly competitive individual Artist Grants recognize the exceptional work of Fairfax County artists across a range of disciplines including visual arts, creative writing, theatre, dance performance and choreography, film and new media. Each $5,000 award is both a high honor and an investment in artists at critical stages in their creative lives and careers.
“We know that Fairfax County’s creative sector of arts producers and entrepreneurs are incubators of talent,” said Linda S. Sullivan, president & CEO of ArtsFairfax. “The goal of the ArtsFairfax Artist Grants is to raise the profile of outstanding artists by shining a light on their accomplishments while supporting their growth as artists.”
Hardesty uses drawing, painting, installations and sculptures to present experiences that connect with people’s core feelings through the physical landscapes of their lives.
“My work incorporates textures, patterns, and other elements to create a visual platform to align what is happening to the earth with what is happening with personal experience,” Hardesty said.
Hardesty has been exhibited and received awards and residencies across the United States. Hardesty’s Artist Grant recognizes her breadth of visual arts mastery and her over 50 successful solo and group exhibitions, nine awards and residencies and 11 grant awards. She has been awarded residencies at the MacDowell Colony, the Wassaic Project, the Carriage House at Islip Art Museum, Santa Fe Art Institute and the Vermont Studio Center. Hardesty is also an Assistant Professor of Art at Marymount University.
