SHEARWATER FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES HOLOGRAPHY GRANTS FOR 1995

 FT. LAUDERDALE FLORIDA, DECEMBER 12, 1995 -- The Shearwater Foundation announced today that it has awarded a total of $135,500 in grants for its Holography Program this year.

The Foundations's nine year old Holography Program provides funding to institutions and associations that contribute to the understanding and appreciation of art holography world-wide. The foundation also recognizes individual creative excellence within the field with an annual Holography Award. This year the award is shared by three artists; Claudette Abrams of Canada; Eduardo Kac of Brazil (now working in Kentucky, USA); and Shu-Min Lin of Taiwan (now working in New York, USA). Each of these artists will receive a $10,000 prize.

The International Symposium for Art in Holography received a two-year $50,000 grant for a conference which will take place in Europe in 1996. An international advisory committee is working with Dr. Andrew Pepper. Director of the Symposium. to bring together artists, critics and commentators for the several day event. Dr. Pepper is the editor and publisher of "The Creative Holography Index.

A two-year grant of $35,000 was awarded to Urs Fries of Basel, Switzerland, to produce an Information System on the World Wide Web which will include the history, technology and applications of holography. It will feature a complete collection of data on artists, artwork and art criticism from the past three decades. Fries is co-founder of the multi-media server at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Germany and Conservator for the holography collection of the Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe.

The MIT Museum of Cambridge, Mass, received a grant of $20,000 towards their travelling exhibit "Generations in Holography: Expanding a Collection". The exhibition will focus on the first generation of holographic artists, juxtaposing their early work from the museum's collection with more recent pieces on loan from artists and collectors.

Rene Paul Barilleaux, Chief Curator at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson Mississippi, USA is a guest curator. "Generations in Holography: Expanding a Collection" is scheduled to open in late 1996 or early 1997. After a six month run at the MIT Museum, the show will travel to university art galleries, museums, regional art centers and alternative spaces for two years. The MIT Museum plans to purchase several new works from the exhibition for their permanent collection.

Holographic artist Sharon McCormack of White Salmon, Washington, USA received a grant of $10,000 towards the travelling exhibition "Sharing the Magic" Tribal Holograms of the Warm Springs People." The exhibition of fifteen holographic movies records tribal members of the Warm Springs Reservation in central Oregon in their native dress. The exhibition will travel to science and art museums as well as American Indian cultural centers in the pacific northwest. McCormack has created holographic moving portraits of many famous sports and music personalities, notably Michael Jordan and Prince.

Holographic artist Sally Weber of Los Angeles, California, USA and videographer and holographic artist Al Razutis of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada received a grant for $6,500 to add computerized graphics, music and narration to their 60 minute video "West Coat Artists in Light " This documentary showcases 10 California based holographic artists and their work. Initial funding for the production was provided by the Shearwater Foundation in 1994. The current grant will enable Weber and Razutis to complete a broadcast quality video.

"L.A.S.E.R. NEWS", a San Francisco based publication, received a grant of $5,000 to expand their coverage and membership program. "L.A.S.E.R. NEWS" is published by the Laser Arts Society for Education and Research and is a world wide forum for holographers and laser users.

This year the Shearwater Foundation developed an artists-in-residence program designed to give accomplished holographic artists access to high quality production facilities. The 1995 program awards a $4,000 grant to Holographics North or Burlington, Vermont, USA, and H'Ologrammi of Lyon, France. The grant will provide a paid residency to an artist in each company's facility. In addition to free studio time, the artists will receive film, chemicals, lab assistance and a stipend of $500 for travel and per diem expenses. Applications for these AlR grants will be received by each facility and reviewed by a selection panel composed of John Perry, Director of Holographics North; Francois Mazzero of H'Ologrammi; Ramon Benito of Madrid, Spain; Margaret Benyon of Dorset, England John Kaufman of Pt. Reyes, California, USA; Ana Maria Nicholson of Long Island City, New York, USA and Dr. Andrew Pepper of Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. Both Holographics North and H'Ologrammi are large plate facilities that have worked for many years with artists as well as commercial clients.