Two Chicagoans Win the 2012 Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant

By Alicia Eler, CAR Visual Arts Researcher

It’s almost Christmas in Chicago, and for members of the visual art community this means only two things: More-hipster-than-thou ugly Christmas sweater parties, and cash from Uncle Warhol for arts writing projects.

On December 3, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced winners of the 2012 Arts Writers Grant. Artist/Writer Meg Onli of Bad at Sports fame, and Daniel Quiles, a professor in the Art History, Theory & Criticism Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, represented Chicago among the 21 winners. Now both Onli and Quiles can write about art their leisure—for a little while, at least.

Since 2006, the Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant program awards cash to applicants who propose arts writing projects it deems “rigorous, passionate, eloquent, and precise,” according to the prize’s website. The winning projects aim to create a broader audience for arts writing while maintaining integrity within the field of visual art. Past Chicago-based recipients include Lori Waxman for her project 60 Wrd/Min Art Critic (2008–ongoing), a hybrid art criticism experiment and performance art piece that reverses the role of artist and critic, and art journalist Jeff Huebner’s article-turned-book about William Walker’s mural project.

For the 2012 cycle, the Warhol Foundation provided $623,500 in sums ranging from $8,000 to $50,000 to the winners. The four writing categories included articles, blogs, books and short-form writing, and ranged from academic studies to DIY blogs. Quiles won for an academic article, and Onli for an art blog concept that’s already in-progress.

Read the full story on Chicago Artists’ Resource: http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/articles/warhol-foundation-awards-meg-onli-and-daniel-quiles?discipline=Visual