EMERGING ARTIST FELLOWSHIP: FELLOW ALUMNI
The Emerging Artist Fellowship program is focused on amplifying the work of talented and dedicated local artists, connecting them with mentors, tangible resources, and community to help them advance in their practice and careers. For complete overviews on our previous fellows, please visit the following links:
2025 Fellows: William PK Carter, Ana Maria Farina, Bridget Vasquez
2024 Fellows: Matthew Gilbert, Nicole Hixon, Zeinab Manesh
2023 Fellows: Rachel Olivia Berg, Shani Richards, Michelle Corporan
2022 Fellows: Kammy Daydream, Myra Grice, Fernanda Mello, Neen Rivera, Angelís Wong
▶ 2025 Fellows
William PK Carter
https://williampkcarter.com/
@baeslleaf
William PK Carter is a quilter and puppet artist based in Central Valley, New York. She bridges the puppet and fine art worlds by fabricating wondrous creatures that exist at the intersection of queerness and blackness. Following in the footsteps of Black American and Caribbean quilters, Carter’s work serves as a documentation of the current state of our world and provides her own insight into traversing it. She tells stories of finding community- of longing for love- of performing identity- of metamorphosis- of internalized shame- and of being a spectacle. Her work communicates these vulnerable and intense themes by presenting them as beautiful universal truths. Carter believes that human beings are larger and more abstract than their bodies appear to be, and her work gives physicality to that unseen extensivity. Creating works of fantasy allows the audience to relate to other worldly characters, encouraging them to identify with creatures that don't physically resemble themselves.
Ana Maria Farina
https://www.anamafarina.com/
@anamafarina
Ana Maria Farina is a Brazilian artist now based in the Hudson Valley, New York. Using a tufting gun along with needles and hooks, she conjures vibrant objects of comfort in wool that inhabit a mystical pictorial space between abstraction and representation, where painting, sculpture, and textile meet. She is attracted by the creature-like, mythological parts of being human and the untamed primordial wilderness we are taught to suppress. Each piece is a tactile exploration of the hidden, the intangible, and the mythic, inviting viewers to connect with both the familiar and the mysterious. Through texture, form, and color, she brings forth a world that is at once comforting and unfamiliar, where the lines between the physical and psychological are softly blurred.
Bridget Vasquez
https://batstonguearts.com/
@batstongue
Bridget Vasquez is a multidisciplinary artist based in Newburgh, NY, whose practice centers on acrylic painting while extending into printmaking, sculpture, wearable art, and scenic design. Vasquez brings a material curiosity and visual intensity to her work, navigating themes of transformation, girlhood, and diaspora through richly textured surfaces, saturated palettes, and symbolic forms. Influenced by folklore, medieval iconography, and organic structures, Vasquez constructs visual narratives that feel both ancient and immediate. Her compositions frequently feature imposing vessels, layered textures, and evocative shapes, offering a tactile exploration of identity and cultural memory.
▶ 2024 Fellows
Matthew Gilbert
https://www.matthewgilbert.xyz/
@matthew.0_o
https://www.matthewgilbert.xyz/
@matthew.0_o
Matthew Gilbert is a fiber artist and sculptor based in Newburgh, New York. Drawing inspiration from medieval architecture and rural American landscapes, their work depicts stories of isolation with a dark sense of humor.
Their hand-punched rugs and painted sculptures depict an abandoned world that explores the isolation of living as a nonbinary queer person in a small city. Using highways as a metaphor for Christian imperialism in America, Matthew’s fiber works combine medieval architecture with rural iconography. By placing modern symbols within Gothic wreckage, they collapse the timeline of human history, arguing that we as a species are a mere blip in the lifespan of Earth. Long after we make this planet uninhabitable for our species, nature will continue to evolve and adapt. Matthew’s three dimensional forms confront power dynamics in intimate relationships and self-isolation. Drawing inspiration from the sets of German expressionist films, these sculptures project the feeling of loneliness onto architectural forms.
Their hand-punched rugs and painted sculptures depict an abandoned world that explores the isolation of living as a nonbinary queer person in a small city. Using highways as a metaphor for Christian imperialism in America, Matthew’s fiber works combine medieval architecture with rural iconography. By placing modern symbols within Gothic wreckage, they collapse the timeline of human history, arguing that we as a species are a mere blip in the lifespan of Earth. Long after we make this planet uninhabitable for our species, nature will continue to evolve and adapt. Matthew’s three dimensional forms confront power dynamics in intimate relationships and self-isolation. Drawing inspiration from the sets of German expressionist films, these sculptures project the feeling of loneliness onto architectural forms.
Nicole Hixon
http://nicolehixonart.com/
@nicolehixonart
http://nicolehixonart.com/
@nicolehixonart
Nicole Hixon is a public artist who creates sculptures and installations inspired by her personal experiences as a city-born multiethnic artist, and who now lives in Orange County, New York.
Nicole’s artistic journey unfolds in colossal living monuments. Her sculptures are an exploration of the cultural tapestry that defines her identity- the rich narratives shared by Quela, her Puerto Rican grandmother and her experiences as an artist of mixed heritage and religions. Nicole encapsulates the essence of the tales passed down to her, a testament to the enduring power of storytelling within her multicultural lineage. She strives to foster relationships, community, and environmental stewardship through her art. Recognizing that each artistic medium she chooses has a source and a final destination, she consciously seeks out materials that have already had a previous use. Just as our ancestors used every remnant of a natural resource she hopes to do the same with items that would end up in landfill.
Nicole’s artistic journey unfolds in colossal living monuments. Her sculptures are an exploration of the cultural tapestry that defines her identity- the rich narratives shared by Quela, her Puerto Rican grandmother and her experiences as an artist of mixed heritage and religions. Nicole encapsulates the essence of the tales passed down to her, a testament to the enduring power of storytelling within her multicultural lineage. She strives to foster relationships, community, and environmental stewardship through her art. Recognizing that each artistic medium she chooses has a source and a final destination, she consciously seeks out materials that have already had a previous use. Just as our ancestors used every remnant of a natural resource she hopes to do the same with items that would end up in landfill.
Zeinab Manesh
@glassqueenz
@glassqueenz
Zeinab Manesh, is an Iranian American glass artist based in Beacon, NY who combines traditional Persian motifs with contemporary glass techniques, reflecting her cultural heritage.
As a glass artist, Zeinab is fascinated by the intricate blend of the ornament and tradition. Each artwork is not just a creative expression but also a testament to Persian culture's enduring beauty and glass' limitless potential. Growing up surrounded by Persian carpets' elaborate designs, Zeinab was captivated by their depth and symbolism. These age-old motifs hold stories of generations past, reflecting Iran's cultural tapestry. Inspired by this tradition, she embarked on a journey to reinterpret these patterns through glass's luminous transparency. Each piece begins with profound reverence for centuries-old designs, from medallions' symmetry to vine scrolls' lyrical arabesques. Yet, immersed in the alchemical process of glass casting, Zeinab embraces the medium's fluidity and spontaneity. Ultimately, she hopes her work serves as a cultural bridge, inviting viewers to discover Persian carpet motifs' enduring magic in a captivating new light.
As a glass artist, Zeinab is fascinated by the intricate blend of the ornament and tradition. Each artwork is not just a creative expression but also a testament to Persian culture's enduring beauty and glass' limitless potential. Growing up surrounded by Persian carpets' elaborate designs, Zeinab was captivated by their depth and symbolism. These age-old motifs hold stories of generations past, reflecting Iran's cultural tapestry. Inspired by this tradition, she embarked on a journey to reinterpret these patterns through glass's luminous transparency. Each piece begins with profound reverence for centuries-old designs, from medallions' symmetry to vine scrolls' lyrical arabesques. Yet, immersed in the alchemical process of glass casting, Zeinab embraces the medium's fluidity and spontaneity. Ultimately, she hopes her work serves as a cultural bridge, inviting viewers to discover Persian carpet motifs' enduring magic in a captivating new light.
▶ 2023 Fellows
Rachel Olivia Berg
https://www.livartfully.com/about
@livartfully
https://www.livartfully.com/about
@livartfully
Rachel Olivia Berg works in diverse media to create artworks that are rooted in the natural world and Lakota values. Duality and connection are common themes. Her paintings often include traditional Lakota symbols and abstracted landscapes that play with visual planes to invite viewers into an imagined space for reflection and gratitude. Her three dimensional works rely on repetition of natural form or found objects as a means to magnify the elemental qualities of the object so the viewer can contemplate the significance, purpose, and meaning of how those qualities relate to their own lives.
Shani Richards
https://www.shani-richards.com/
@shani.richards
https://www.shani-richards.com/
@shani.richards
Shani Richards is an activist craft laborer and metalsmith who creates objects that address issues of racism, sexism, and stereotypes to provoke the viewer into critical engagement. Ms. Richards labors to elevate materials that are deemed worthless and uses expensive materials to elevate people that America tries to erase.
Michelle Corporan
https://michellelcorporan.com/about/
@mc.imgs
https://michellelcorporan.com/about/
@mc.imgs
Michelle Corporan is a trained Sumi-e artist and creative designer based in Newburgh, New York. Michelle's artistic exploration revolves around the interplay of dark and light through multimedia, works on paper, and audiovisuals. She primarily utilizes rice paper and mural painting techniques, emphasizing negative space to evoke natural landscapes and transcendental elements.
▶ 2022 Fellows
Kammy Daydream
https://www.facebook.com/KammyDaydream/
@kammydaydream
Newburgh-born and raised, KAMMY DAYDREAM, brings his highly graphic, exuberant portraits showcasing a mastery of classic cartoon and pop art style. Peering through the prismatic facades, we come faced with a deeper sense of angst, a narrative of struggle and ability to overcome.
Myra Grice
Speaking to her history immersed as a child in the 80s Graffiti scene, Myra Grice’s large raw canvases of abstracted forms strike in a restricted palette of Black, Red & White. Her scavenge/salvage mentality reflected in the grainy static emanating from an old VCR screen atop a stand of crates.
Fernanda Mello
https://www.thevalleytaos.com/fernanda-mello
@fefamellow
Drawing from indigenous spiritual wisdom inspired from the Amazon of her native Brazil, Fernanda Mello weaves a poetic translation of the symbolic within the local, using found material tied to the Hudson River in her installations. Fluidly moving between sculpture and painting, she creates a pattern language of meditative and hypnotic forms that question our relationship to nature and place.
Neen Rivera
https://neen-sculpture.square.site/
@neensculpture
Boriquan artist Neen Rivera uses their work as a platform to navigate identity and bring awareness of social injustice. Their practice explores different mediums as expression of the myriad facets of their life—from glazed recipe bowls to full scale wire-sculptures, each work takes its own shape, its own symbology.
Angelís Wong
https://amwong128.wixsite.com/angeliswong
@a.wong.art
Angelís Wong’s line of garments embody her mixed-race background uniting both Asian and Latinx heritages. Each piece traces a lineage, defining an identity manifest as second skin. The clothing—its material, texture, form–not only representing and reclaiming history but also projecting forms for the future.
Return to the Fellowship Directory
A History of Our Sponsors
Emerging Artist Fellowship:
Safe Harbors' Ann Street Gallery programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and with funding from the Cowles Charitable Trust, Dominican Sisters of Hope, and the M&T Charitable Foundation. The Emerging Artist Fellowship is made possible with support from the TD Charitable Foundation.
Safe Harbors' Ann Street Gallery programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and with funding from the Cowles Charitable Trust, Dominican Sisters of Hope, and the M&T Charitable Foundation. The Emerging Artist Fellowship is made possible with support from the TD Charitable Foundation.
We are proud to partner with Newburgh Art Supply to offer discounts on art supplies to our 2025 Fellows.
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We thank our 2024 fellowship program supporters, mentors, partners, and participants, as well as our community of volunteers who help tend the gallery and assist with events.
The 2024 Emerging Artist Fellowship is supported, in part, by the TD Charitable Foundation. The 2024 Fellowship Exhibition is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.
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The 2024 Emerging Artist Fellowship is supported, in part, by the TD Charitable Foundation. The 2024 Fellowship Exhibition is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.
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We thank our 2023 fellowship program supporters, mentors, partners, and participants, as well as our community of volunteers who help tend the gallery and assist with events.
The 2023 Ann Street Gallery Emerging Artist Fellowship is generously supported, in part, by:
