Lexus grants 3 emerging Puerto Rican artists $9K each
From left: Winners Julio Amill-Martínez, Tari Beroszi and Omar Velázquez.
The Lexus Grants for Artists Program bestowed a total of $27,000 in grants split equally among Puerto Rican artists Julio E. Amill-Martínez, Tari Beroszi and Omar Velázquez-Román to support their emerging careers.
The program, now in its 10th year, has granted more than $200,000 to 30 local artists since its inception.
“For us this represents a path during which we’ve had direct hand in the training and preparation of many emerging artists and we owe it all to [artist] Rafael Tufiño, who pointed out the existing need to provide financial assistance to the artistic class,” said Mario Dávila, president of Lexus in Puerto Rico, during a ceremony held Wednesday at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art in Santurce.
This new generation of recipients joins the long list of artists who have turned professional through the support of this scholarship program. This year, 34 artists applied for the grants, of which three were chosen.
The winning proposals this year include various media, materials and forms, from audio-installation, handmade paper, photography, existing objects, LED lights, musical instruments and computer software. The winning artists have up to a year to complete the submitted proposals.
After that, each artist will have the opportunity to present their proposal at the Museum of Art for about month and a half or so, Lexus representatives said.
