Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Studies Academic Excellence

MSU art professor Lisa Mesa-Gaido receives Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship

14 September 2022

The Kentucky Arts Council (KAC) recently selected Morehead State University Professor of Art Lisa Mesa-Gaido to receive the KAC Al Smith Individual Art Fellowship for 2022-23. She was one of five artists in Kentucky to receive a fellowship valued at $7,500.

The Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship recognizes the creative excellence of high-quality artwork created by professional, established Kentucky artists. Its purpose is to support these artists in their creative endeavors and careers while growing the Kentucky visual arts community.

The fellowship program uses a "blind jury" process, and selection is based on the quality of work samples submitted by artists. Mesa-Gaido was selected to receive a competitive Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship ($7,500) for 2022-23.

Mesa-Gaido said in 1996, the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship played an essential role at the start of her career, and she is grateful for the support she has received from the KAC for the last three decades.

"The Kentucky Arts Council's support and the resources they make available to artists are a reason I chose to stay in Kentucky," she said. "Being awarded another Al Smith Fellowship 26 years later is really meaningful to me at this stage of my career for many reasons, including how competitive it is and due to the recognition of my work by professionals in the field. The work currently on display in the Golding-Yang Art Gallery, which is part of the annual Faculty Exhibition, was created during the summer as part of this Kentucky Arts Council Fellowship."

Mesa-Gaido will present her work at the Global Appalachia Symposium hosted by the IKT (the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art) Kentucky Congress. It takes place from 1:30-5:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Speed Art Museum at 2035 S. 3rd St., in Louisville.

For more information about programs in Art and Design and the Golding-Yang Art Gallery, please email arde@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2766.