United States Artists, a national grantmaking and artists' advocacy organization, has announced the recipients of the 2011 USA Fellowships.

Chosen from a pool of more than three hundred applicants, this year's fellows number fifty-two and include artists from the visual, performing, and literary arts. Forty-eight individuals and two collaborations will each receive unrestricted grants of $50,000 through the program, which since 2006 has awarded $15 million to more than three hundred artists nationwide.

Hailing from nineteen states and Puerto Rico and ranging in age from 31 to 78, the 2011 USA Fellows include architectural designer Jenny Sabin; New York City-based filmmaker Kelly Reichardt; photographer of rural Appalachia Mike Smith; glass artist Beth Lipman; Miami-based playwright Annie Baker; painter and theater artist Roger Shimomura; documentary filmmaker (Hoop Dreams) Steve James; and New York City-based composer and experimental performer Sxip Shirey.

"This year's [fellows] truly represent the excellence of artists working in America, whether creating groundbreaking new work or imparting their wisdom to the next generation," said USA executive director Katharine DeShaw. "With the success of the USA Fellows program and the launch of USA Projects as a new channel for public engagement with individual artists, USA is committed to supporting artists and enabling them to continue their extraordinary work."

For a complete list of this year's USA Fellows, visit the USA Web site.