United States Artists (USA), a national arts funding organization based in Chicago, has announced the recipients of its 2022 USA Fellows program.

The program awards unrestricted cash prizes of $50,000 in the disciplines of architecture and design, craft, dance, film, media, music, theater and performance, traditional arts, visual art, and writing. This year’s 63 recipients span various geographies and career stages and hail from 23 states and Puerto Rico.

This year’s cohort includes Germane Barnes (architect; Miami); Melissa Cody (textile artist; Long Beach, California); T. Ayo Alston (dancer, musician, and educator; Chicago); Elegance Bratton (writer and director; Baltimore) Andy Slater (media artist; Berwyn, Illinois); Qacung (Indigenous musician; Bethel, Alaska); Lars America Jan (director and artist; Los Angeles); Brett Ratliff (traditional Appalachian musician; Lexington, Kentucky); Jordan Weber (regenerative land sculptor; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Emmy Pérez (poet; McAllen, Texas).

“We are thrilled to award fellowships to sixty-three artists—the largest cohort in USA’s history—this year. Our work continues to illuminate the importance of elevating individual artists and cultural practitioners in communities across the country,” said USA board chair Ed Henry. “These 63 fellows are representative of the magnificent range of disciplines and diversity of our nation's artists. Native and Indigenous artists make up 20 percent of this year’s class, and the highest number of disabled artists–17 percent of the cohort–have received fellowships. The breadth and depth of talent and the commitment of artists to their communities is remarkable.”

For a complete list of fellows, see the USA website.

(Photo credits, clockwise from upper left: Nadia Kist; courtesy of Olu Oguibe; Branda, courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau; Alex Hodor-Lee; Paul Chouy; Toyo Miyatake Studios)