Grants

The Astraea Lesbian Visual Arts Fund promotes the work of contemporary lesbian visual artists. Grants are awarded to artists working in an array of media including sculpture, painting, prints, mixed media and works on paper.

The winners of the 2005 Astraea Lesbian Visual Arts Fund Awards are Sara Gordon, of Mill Valley, California and Sally Packard, of Denton, Texas.

The two awards of $2500 each were determined by a distinguished panel of artists and art professionals via a rigorous selection process. This year's panel was composed of Lula Mae Blockton, Tania Kravath, Loretta Mears, Amanda X Pelham, and Linda Stein.

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Sara Gordon

Sara Gordon lives in Mill Valley, California. She has exhibited her work in numerous galleries throughout the region and on the East Coast including the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, the Marin Art & Garden Center and the Ceres Gallery in New York City. Her work has also been published in the Fiberarts Design Book 7 in Spring 2004.

"I create life sized figures of women; each one is inspired by a lesbian woman from my own community. I am interested in telling the stories of real women's lives. The female forms that I create do not portray the current cultural definition of female beauty and desirability. Instead they are middle-aged, large women who are comfortable in their translucent skin.

I am honored to have been chosen to receive the Astraea Visual Arts Fund award. I am grateful to have my work acknowledged in this way. With these funds, I will continue telling our stories and sharing our beauty."

Click on an image to view gallery.

Sally Packard

Sally Packard has lived and worked in Denton, Texas since 1999 where she is currently an associate professor at the School of Visual Arts at the University of North Texas. Her sculpture and installations have been exhibited throughout the United States as well as in England, Poland and in 2006, Sweden.

"Identity and transformation are central themes in my sculpture. Embedded in the current work is the idea of shedding and donning a new skin. Necessarily women often ?wear' a multitude of skins/identities during their lifetime sometimes in an effort to understand themselves and their function in society. For me, lesbian identity is, in part, an expression of honesty and self-acceptance.

In my sculptures I use textiles typically associated with exoticizing the female form. Here cloth functions as a medium which symbolizes the politics of gender/cultural identity, class, and the systems of consumption which underlie America's patriarchal society wherein the female form is ?decorated' to reflect the male gaze. The forms are intentionally awkward and vulnerable, but oddly humorous and sometimes joyous in their reference to aspects of the female body."

Honorable Mentions:

Certificates of recognitions were awarded to Callie Danae Hirsch, of Brooklyn, NY and Sydnéi Smith Jordan, of Gardena, CA.

Lula Mae Blocton graduated cum laude from Indiana University with an MFA, and earned a BFA from the University of Michigan. She is the first generation in her family to attend college, the second born of seven children. Her paintings and drawings are in the collections of the Connecticut State University System, Albright Knox Museum, Prudential Life Insurance Company, The Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, Larry Aldrich, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art and many private international collectors. Her work has been published in: Lesbian Art: A Contemporary History, African American Woman Artists: A Critical Assessment, The Best of Colored Pencil 5, 3 and 2, Creative Inspirations, Gumbo Ya Ya: Anthology of Contemporary African-American Women Artists. Lula Mae has traveled around the world to teach and study artwork, most recently to experience the art and architecture of the Mayans, on the Yucatan Peninsula. www.blocton.com

Tania Kravath is a sculptor working in bronze and clay. Her work is shown in NYC at Ceres Gallery. She maintains studios in Manhattan and in West Hurley, NY. Her work encompasses themes of family relationships, immigration and community. She currently teaches at Sugar Maples Center for the Arts.

Loretta Mears is a natural healer, nutritionist, chiropractor and a 19-year New Yorker. She loves art, artists, and especially lesbian artists. She has been an Astraea Lesbian Visual Arts committee member for 5 years.

Amanda X Pelham is a visual artist working in painting, digital media and video. Her work has been exhibited in New York as well as in broadcast media (TV). Her studio is in Brooklyn. She's extremely pleased to have been a member of the Astraea Lesbian Visual Arts committee for over a year.

Linda Stein is a painter, sculptor, curator, lecturer and writer who has exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. She has been reviewed as one of the Badgirls, addressing the issues of power and vulnerability with an emphasis on gender equality. Stein is on the Board of Directors for The House for Elder Artists, the HLF Quarterly Magazine and The Veteran Feminists of America. She was awarded the outdoor sculpture commission for the entrance to the East Hampton Airport, and has been curator of exhibitions and acquisitions of the Shirley Fitterman Gallery and the Triplex Gallery, both at The Borough of Manhattan Community College, as well as Art Acres, a 110 acre campus with sculpture garden in Boca Raton. Stein's most recent solo installation has been at New York University's Broadway Windows in Manhattan, which was featured on NY Cable TV Channel 34 and LTV Cable in East Hampton. Her studio is located at: 100 Reade Street New York, NY 10013 p.212.964.6007. www.LindaStein.com

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works for social, racial and economic justice in the U.S. and internationally. Our grantmaking and philanthropic advocacy programs help lesbians and allied communities challenge oppression and claim their human rights.