We would like to congratulate our two award winners of the 2023 John Kurtich Scholarship Foundation. We had an incredible number of applications, a big thank you to everyone who applied:
Rebecca Keller: Her work has always been deeply multi-disciplinary, utilizing a variety of media and conceptual approaches--including site-specific installation, sculptures that incorporate unusual materials, glass vessels, found objects, recycled /or ephemeral ingredients and text-based work in addition to more traditional media. Much of her best-known work falls under the umbrella title of “Excavating History” : wide ranging projects that explore the connections between people, place and history, often using unusual materials suggested by the cultural legacies of a place. These projects have taken place in multiple venues in the U.S and Europe.
Myrna Pronchuk: She is interested in investigating hegemony. Throughout the past 2 years of the pandemic, the confrontation of struggles of health and well-being has caused an imbalance with uncertainty and questioning of power on many fronts: from political, environmental to social norms. She desires to create work that the viewer will mindfully contemplate the necessity of balance within all that we are and all that we do .
Supporting Ukrainian Artists
The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts was approached by two artists from Ukraine that wanted to escape the country due to the war. JKSF kindly offered to donate one scholarship to the two artists to allow them to live and work in Skopelos until they can decide what they will do with their future. They have both said they will not be able to return to the Ukraine and have left their family behind. The scholarship fund is happy to be able to do their part to support these people during this horrific crisis.
Mariia Zahurska: My dream was to get to Greece and get acquainted with the local culture in order to introduce and adapt it to creativity with the help of graphics and ceramics, this is my goal. I can no longer do ceramics in my country, and this is very important for me as an artist.
Sergey Savchenko: I want to make big mural, when the main topic is Ukraine now, when the Russian demonstrate aggression not only to my country, but to the whole world... Also i want to make an exhibition with canvases what I want to make in time of residence program. Also for me it's a chance to make some help for me and my country as an artist .