Foundation awards $81,500 to RI artist-educators

Sixteen Rhode Island artist-educators have been awarded a total of $81,500 from the Antonio Cirino Memorial Fund at The Rhode Island Foundation. The fellowships are awarded to artists pursuing graduate degrees to teach the arts.

Antonio Cirino was a prominent Rhode Island artist, author, and instructor for whom more than 90 years of dedication to the arts was not enough: upon his death, his estate established the $800,000 Cirino Fund at the Foundation to offer fellowships for would-be art teachers. Born on March, 23, 1889 in Serino, Italy, Cirino came to the United States when he was two years old. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design and later joined the faculty in 1912 where he taught for nearly 40 years. He also taught at Columbia, Illinois State, and Indiana Universities. He was a prolific oil painter and was honored by the Salmangundi Club of New York City, the Rockport (MA) Art Association, and the Providence Art Club. His impressionistic work of New England landscapes is exhibited in public, private and national collections and galleries.

First-time Cirino Award winners include:

• Richard Anatone, Lincoln, toward a doctor of arts at Ball State University, Muncie, IN;
• Kathleen Dubois, Manville, toward a master of arts in teaching at Rhode Island College;
• Mary Kudlak, West Kingston, toward a master of fine arts at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY;
• Anne Lagace, Pawtucket, toward a masters of music at the University of Rhode Island;
• Jared Maynard, West Warwick, toward a master of arts at the University of Rhode Island;
• John McCaughey, Providence, toward a master of fine arts at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH;
• Rachel Panitch, Pawtucket, toward a master of music at New England Conservatory, Boston, MA;
• Bryan Quick, Providence, towards a master of fine arts at Columbia University, New York, NY;
• Morgan Santos, Providence, toward a master of music at the University of Rhode Island; and
• Linsey Wallace, Warwick, toward a master of fine arts at San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA.

Renewals of Cirino Awards were granted to the following:

• Brian Birch, Warwick, toward a master of fine arts in film at Columbia University, New York, NY;
• Amanda Brown, Narragansett, toward a master of fine arts in sculpture at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA;
• Kristina Hook, Portsmouth, toward a master of art in teaching in art education at Rhode Island College;
• Amanda Pugliesi, Pawtucket, towards a master of art in art education at Rhode Island College;
• Troy Quinn, North Providence, toward a doctor of musical arts in choral music at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; and
• Moriah Ramos, Providence, toward a master of music in performance at Longy School of Music, Cambridge, MA.

Applicants for Cirino fellowships must be Rhode Island residents/artists who need financial assistance to acquire education toward a masters or doctorate in order to pursue a teaching career in the arts. Applicants may be degree candidates in one or more aspects of the arts and in one or more of the arts disciplines.

The next application deadline for Antonio Cirino Memorial Fund fellowships will be in spring 2012; a full list of scholarships offered through The Rhode Island Foundation is available in Scholarships.