Announcing the 2025 Artist2Artist Fellows

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Art Matters is proud to announce the 2025 Artist2Artist Fellows! The Foundation awarded 160k in fellowships to 16 exceptional artists and collectives experimenting boldly in method and medium. They are:

angel shanel edwards | Philadelphia, PA
‍Anh Vo | New York, NY
‍B. Stacey Villalobos | Albuquerque, NM
‍Crackhead Barney | New York, NY
‍Dinah Young | Newbern, AL | 2025 Gai Gherardi Fellow
‍Kearra Amaya Gopee | New York, NY
‍Khari Johnson-Ricks | Newark, NJ
‍Kia LaBeija | New York, NY
‍Lalibela | Baltimore, MD
‍Lorena Rodríguez | Sacramento, CA
‍Mawu Ama Ma’at Gora | Philadelphia, PA
‍Minoo Emadi | Los Angeles, CA
‍NIC Kay | New York, NY
‍Niloufar Emamifar | New York, NY
‍Tafari Diop Robertson | Philadelphia, PA
‍T.D. Bailey (DaLyah Jones) | Houston, TX

Each year, Art Matters selects a group of artists to both receive a grant and designate a grant to another artist, culminating in the annual fellowship cohort. The artists selected to act as grant-makers are chosen by a panel of other artists.

Panelist Rashida Bumbray reflects, “This experience was very edifying for me. The program still carries forward that investment in artists who are doing something radical. That language gets used a lot, but now that it’s not in vogue in the same way, what’s still standing? Art Matters is still here because it wasn’t just following a trend.”

For Director Abbey Williams, this cohort represents the values that have grounded the Foundation from the very beginning. She remarks, “In times that feel eerily similar to the era when Art Matters began, these artists embody the bold and transgressive ethos of their predecessors. While the cohort was shaped from within, we are proud that our mission continues to resonate with their thinking."

2025 also marks the first year of the Gai Gherardi Fellowship, recognizing an artist working with a unique vision in honor of the visionary eyewear creator who served over thirty years on the Board of Art Matters before her passing earlier this spring.

Since 1985, Art Matters has recognized over 2,000 artists breaking ground aesthetically and socially. We are honored to welcome the 2025 Fellows into this long lineage and vibrant community of artists.