Knox Alumna Receives NYC Art Fellowship

by Elise Goitia '18

Katie Bell '08 has been selected for the New York Foundation for the Arts Artists' Fellowship for her work as a professional artist in New York. The fellowship program awards $7,000 cash grants in 15 different disciplines for individual artists' unrestricted use.

Bell is one of the 95 artists awarded this fellowship, which funds the artists' creative vision.

"The grant is a great recognition of my work in the state of New York as well as an honor from my peers," said Bell. "I feel really honored to have received one."

An accomplished painter and sculptor, Bell has received numerous honors in the past, such as the 2011 St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award. She was also named one of the "8 Great Brooklyn Artists under 30" in 2013. In 2014, she was selected to Knox Magazine's "18 Under 37."

"Knox gave me many tools to figure out what I was interested in and encouraged an explorative approach across many subjects," she said. "I am grateful for my time at Knox not only in the Art Department, but the many other courses I took throughout different disciplines."

"The Richter Memorial Scholarship and my Post-Bac through the Art Department really solidified my interest in art," added Bell. "The faculty in the art department challenged and pushed me in ways I could have never gotten to on my own."

With the grant, Bell plans on finding a studio space and preparing for an upcoming solo project in Miami, Florida, at Locust Projects, a non-profit exhibition space dedicated to new artists displaying their work.

Bell also teaches at Drew University in the art department as coordinator for the New York Semester on Contemporary Art, introducing senior art majors to the contemporary art of New York City.

"Being a professional artist involves so much more than making art in the studio," she said. "I have basically become the owner of a small business, and there are so many sides to creating your career that goes along with your work. My time at Knox prepared me for this multi-task approach to living."