Surdna Fellowship Recipient

Linda Stern Wins Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship

For Bronx High School for the Visual Arts

Bronx, New York, June 07, 2010 – Local visual arts teacher Linda Stern has been selected to receive a $5,500 Fellowship from the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program. Bronx High School for the Visual Arts, where Ms. Stern has taught for 6 years, also has been awarded a complementary grant of $1,500 to support post-fellowship activities in the school.

The Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program (SATF), a venture of the Surdna Foundation’s Thriving Cultures Program, recently announced Fellowship recipients for the tenth round of its national awards. Fifteen outstanding arts teachers, representing 14 specialized public arts high schools and arts-focused magnet and charter high schools from around the country, were selected from an initial pool of 67 applicants. The teachers excel in a broad spectrum of visual, performing, and literary arts.

Award recipients were evaluated by a peer review panel based on demonstrated excellence both as artists and teachers. All permanently assigned, full- and part-time arts faculty in eligible arts high schools were invited to submit applications.

Ms. Stern plans to use the money to immerse herself in the artist community at Split Rock Arts Program, MN, exploring digital textile design and photography techniques that will help develop a new body of work.

“I am honored to have been awarded this Fellowship. For me, art is about showing people how to view something in a way that differs from their own vision. Creating a new body of work is rejuvenating and I look forward to sharing the process with my students,” said Ms. Stern. “In these difficult financial times when funding for art supplies and partnerships are being cut in New York City public schools — I feel very fortunate that Surdna will provide my school with a grant so I can continue to create rich and meaningful art experiences for students in underserved areas of Bronx.”

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer these Fellowships to teachers of the arts. By focusing on their own creative work and interacting with professional artists and colleagues, these teachers are exposed to new ideas and practices that they can carry back to the classroom. After ten rounds of Fellowships—and close to 200 Fellows—we’ve witnessed the transformative effect of the Fellowship experience on both the individuals and the schools,” said Ellen B. Rudolph, Program Director for Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation.

About the Surdna Foundation

The Surdna Foundation, a national family foundation established in 1917, seeks to foster just and sustainable communities in the United States—communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by sustainable environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures.

One focus of the Surdna Foundation’s Thriving Cultures program is to strengthen the artistic abilities of teens while addressing the isolation and lack of opportunities for artistic advancement for young people from disadvantaged communities. Surdna hopes that these teens will contribute to the artistic fabric of the United States and to the evolution of new art forms. The goal of the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program is to support the artistic revitalization of their arts teachers. Surdna strives to help them increase their effectiveness as they guide and train young people for careers or advanced study.