https://www.ellis-beauregardfoundation.org/fellowship/
Every year the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation offers a $50,000.00 cash award plus a solo exhibition with our partner institution The Center for Maine Contemporary Art to an artist living and working in the United States. We are enormously pleased to announce that the 2025 Visual Arts Fellowship Award has been granted to Marie Watt. Marie Watt (she/her, b. 1967, Seattle, WA) is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Nation of Indians, and also has German-Scot ancestry. Her interdisciplinary work draws from history, biography, Haudenosaunee protofeminism, and Indigenous teachings; in it, she explores the intersection of history, community, and storytelling. Through collaborative actions, she instigates multigenerational and cross disciplinary conversations that might create a lens and conversation for understanding connectedness to place, one another, and the universe.
Watt holds an MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University; she also has degrees from Willamette University and the Institute of American Indian Arts; and in 2016 she was awarded an Doctor Honoris Causa from Willamette University. She has attended residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Vermont Studio Center; and has received fellowships from Anonymous Was a Woman, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Harpo Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, and the Native Arts and Culture Foundation, among others. Watt served two terms on the board of VoCA (Voices in Contemporary Art) from 2017–2023. She serves on the Native Advisory Committee at the Portland Art Museum, where she also became a member of the Board of Trustees in 2020. She is a fan of Crow’s Shadow, an Indigenous-founded printmaking institute located on the homelands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla; as well as Portland Community College.
Selected collections include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, the Crystal Bridges Museum, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and National Museum of American Art, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Denver Art Museum, and the Portland Art Museum. She is represented by PDX Contemporary Art in Portland, OR; Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, CA; and Marc Straus Gallery in New York, NY.
Upon notification of the award, Watt responded:
When I received the amazing news that I was to be the recipient of the 2024 Ellis-Beauregard Artist Fellowship it took me a few long seconds to process what I had heard. I had applied over six months previous and put it out of my mind, thinking it was a long shot. This is an incredible, rare, generous award that artists need and deserve. I am honored by the opportunity to have my work seen by this amazing, globally-minded, and community-engaged jury. I am humbled and thrilled, shocked and elated, by this recognition. I also look forward to the opportunity to have a solo exhibition at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. I love that this institution began with a group of community-engaged, scrappy, spirited artists and art champions. The fact that two artists, Joan Marie Beauregard and John David Ellis, created this artist foundation understanding the ways it could benefit the lives of artists, arts organizations, and the community is also incredibly inspiring. Similar to the spirit of this award, I believe that art and life are deeply connected and that this legacy calls back to our ancestors and forward to future generations. The dance of being an artist is sometimes difficult, but I’ve been doing it long enough that I find trust in the process. The money I will receive as part of this award
will help me with so many things— new work, paying bills, and sustaining my studio. Even more important than the money, however, is feeling the support of my peers. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
Ellen Golden, President of the Board of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation added, One of the ways that the Ellis Beauregard Foundation (EBF) realizes its mission is through its fellowship in the visual arts. The Board and staff of EBF appreciate the challenges that so many artists face regardless of where they are in their careers and are grateful to be able to provide meaningful support to such accomplished and talented artists like this year’s fellow Marie Watt.
What the jurors said:
Marie Watt’s work really stood out from the applicants for her ambitious work that investigates materials along with her ability to both pull from and create community while making work that creates a contemplative narrative with a rich history. I am thrilled that the jury agreed on this artist! Tara Donovan, artist.
I was so impressed with the entire pool of applicants but Marie Watt was a clear stand out. The work comes from the heart but is also rigorous in its meaning, making, and engagement with community, I kept returning to the works to peel back all the layers they hold. Denise Markonish, Chief Curator MassMoca.
Marie Watt is a vibrant voice in contemporary art, speaking to vital issues in an engaging and welcoming way. I am certain that her work will resonate with the Maine community, sparking dialogue and inspiration. The jury was unanimous in our enthusiasm for this important artist and honored to be able to celebrate her brilliance with this important award. Daniel Palmer, chief curator at the SCAD Museum of Art.
Through her powerful use of textiles and collaborative practices, Marie Watt weaves together histories and narratives that resonate across cultures and generations. Her art not only transforms materials but also builds bridges between people, making her a vital and deserving candidate for the Ellis Beauregard Award. Daisy Desrossiers.
