Artadia partners with Global Insurer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and the artist LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, Inc. for the two 2019 Chicago Artadia Awards. Both organizations have generously committed to supporting exceptional artists in Chicago, each with a named Award in the amount of $10,000 in unrestricted funds for the artist as well as access to the ongoing benefits of the Artadia Awards program.

The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Artadia Award is presented to Bethany Collins. “LeRoy Neiman was passionate about nurturing talent at every stage of an artist’s career. [The foundation] was drawn to Artadia’s Chicago awards because of their reputation for rigor in the selection process, and feel that our first year of support is going to a very worthy cause in Bethany Collins. There is no doubt LeRoy would have found much affinity between Bethany’s practice and his own, thanks to her impressive printmaking techniques and her vibrant engagement with current events. We congratulate her and look forward to the next additions to her already impressive oeuvre.”

The Liberty Specialty Markets Artadia Award is presented to Brendan Fernandes. Robert Pittinger, Senior Vice President - Fine Art & Specie at Liberty Mutual Insurance said: “We are delighted that Brendan Fernandes is the recipient of Liberty Specialty Markets Artadia Award in their 20th Anniversary year. We hope the award will help this internationally recognized exciting dance and visual artist to flourish, achieve career growth and build further recognition of his creative, inspiring works. As a leading fine art insurer, we’re dedicated to protecting single works of art and collections, but it’s also important to us that we support the art community. The Artadia program, which helps artists to flourish in their local communities and beyond, fits with our philanthropic culture and our commitment to supporting the arts in our communities around the world.”

In the first round of jurying, Ylinka Barotto, Assistant Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, New York; Ian Berry, Dayton Director of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY; Grace Deveney, Assistant Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago selected five Finalists: Bethany Collins, Assaf Evron, Brendan Fernandes, Caroline Kent, and Alice Tippit. Dr. Romi Crawford, Associate Professor of Visual and Critical Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, joined Deveney for the second round of evaluations. The jurors conducted studio visits with the five Finalists to determine the Awardees.