Good 'N Plenty artist grants were awarded to Stefanie Francis and Ryan Avery over the weekend at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's semi-annual event. The grant was created last year to support "the projects of innovative art makers, wise-crackers and trailblazers based in Arizona."
Grant funding comes from ticket sales and a program at SMoCA's sister organization Scottsdale Public Art that matches those funds for the second-place winner. Because last Friday's event at SMoCA Lounge was sold out, each winner will receive approximately $1,200.
See Also: GOOD 'N PLENTY: Announcing SMoCA's Artist Grant Finalists of 2012
Earlier in the week, a panel of judges narrowed down submissions to a pool of six finalists: Ryan Avery, Stefanie Francis, Russ Kazmierczak, Mitch Miller, Ann Morton, and Erin Sotak.
Each finalist presented at Friday's event, which was catered by Essence Bakery and Cartel Coffee. The two winners were chosen by popular vote.
Second place went to Ryan Avery. With his project, Related Records, Avery hopes to document some of the more fleeting musical/art/performance acts in the downtown Phoenix scene. He already has plans to record long-time local act Treasure Mammal in the upcoming months and says he wants to start doing more with vinyl in the next year.
First place went to Stephanie Francis. Her project, The Happy Camper, is a series of Girl Scout-esque patches for the LGBT community. (There's an "I-survived-Mormonism" patch with an image of Mormon underwear, to give you an idea). Francis says she wants to use humor both as a means of overcoming adversity and celebrating shared experience.
Upon winning the grant, Francis announced that she would split her prize money with fellow finalist Ann Morton, whose project Flower Power is focused on empowering the homeless community in central Phoenix.
Keep an eye on the SMoCA Lounge website for the next Good 'N Plenty opportunity.
