South Arts, an organization committed to advancing southern vitality through the arts, recently announced recipients of its state fellowship for this year.
The fellowships were available to visual artists across nine states. Nine people were selected to receive a total of $80,000 in awards and be dis- played in a touring exhibition.

Among those selected for a grant was MARCUS DUNN who lives and works in Fayetteville. His artistic medium is painting.

“Referencing from early images of Native American boarding schools across North America, I make paintings that explore cultural assimilation to reconstruct a historical narrative. As one part of a long history of removing, conforming or killing indigenous people in the U.S., these boarding schools were meant to assimilate Native American children into white society through means of oppression and annihilation of their culture,” he said in a statement. “I research these stories through found archival photographs from the Library of Congress and other Internet sources, reinterpreted in paintings of loose, direct layers of brushwork. The method of documentation used to create the visual record of cultural removal is reframed in the paintings. My work ranges from small to large scale to make a montage of acrylic paintings that radiate the spirit of the individual subjects. I'm interested in making the work in a fast, provisional, manner that explores the complexity of the boarding school stories, reflecting memory and its impact on the present.”
“The 2022 State Fellows are a testament to the robust creativity across our region,” said Susie Surkamer, president and CEO of South Arts. “Each State Fellow speaks to what it means to be an artist who lives, works, and creates in the South. Through their work, we are exploring themes vital to our regional understanding, including climate change, cultural assimilation, self-identity, and police violence. South Arts is grateful to celebrate their vision with these awards.”