12 Moments in Art We Celebrated in 2019 at FAC

This year, the Fresno Arts Council (FAC) saw an explosion of growth in our popular monthly public art experience, ArtHop, throughout the Fresno Metropolitan area, and we also proudly announced this year's six Horizon Awards honorees with featured special guest, Vijay Gupta, winner of the 2018 MacArthur Genius Grant--who was also recently announced on the 2019 TIME Next 100 List.

Read on to discover more FAC milestones from 2019.

"Albert Einstein" (2018) featured at the Arts In Corrections gallery show in July 2019 at Fresno City Hall.

photo: Lisa Lee Herrick (Fresno Arts Council)

1

Dixie Salazar's painting, "Harvest, Summer 2018," was awarded Best In Show at the 2019 Arts Alive in Agriculture Showcase at City Hall on April 4, 2019.

2

Fresno City College professor Marisol Baca was appointed City of Fresno Poet Laureate (2019-2021) by the Mayor and was sworn in on May 2, 2019, at City Hall.

3

FAC congratulated Julian Ramos, former Program Manager, in his new role at Fresno State in the Division of Continuing & Global Education in April 2019.

4

FAC grew with the addition of two new staff members in June 2019: Carlos Aparicio, Program Manager; and Lisa Herrick, Media Specialist.

5

FAC received a $24,578 Reentry Through The Arts (RTA) Grant from the California Arts Council to support the arts in the Fresno County Jail 2019-2020 program.

The Men's Choir in the Arts In Corrections program.

photo: Peter Mertz (Arts In Corrections)

6

July ArtHop kicked-off with the Arts In Corrections gallery show at Fresno City Hall featuring 65 works of art created during the 2018-2019 program.

7

The Crosswalks Painting Project was completed July 2019 with financial support from the California Arts Council & the Office of Councilmember Esmeralda Soria.

8

Elisa Flores joined FAC staff as Administrative Assistant and ArtHop Coordinator; she was promoted to the position in October 2019.

9

Fresno-based graphic designer & Fresno State alumnus, Carlos Lujan, won the 2020 ArtHop Logo Design Contest and the $500 cash prize in October 2019.

10

Vijay Gupta, 2018 MacArthur Genius Grant winner, performed live at the 34th Annual Horizon Awards on October 24, 2019, at Tower Theatre and six award honorees were celebrated by the arts community.

11

FAC sponsored the 2019 Fresno Film Festival Shorts Program at Tower Theatre on November 10, 2019.

12

Former City of Fresno Poet Laureate S. Bryan Medina (2017-2019) opened student training sessions for the regional Poetry Out Loud 2020 competition in November 2019.

Arts Alive in Agriculture 2019 "Best In Show" award winner: "Harvest, Summer 2018" by Dixie Salazar.

image: courtesy of the artist