Art for Money

Locals among those receiving NJ arts grants

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Last Updated Tuesday February 19, 2008, EST 10:15 PM

BY EVELYN SHIH

Three North Jersey residents were among the 30 artists recognized with 2008 Artist Fellowships by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

"My wife was more excited than I was," said winner Michael Dal Cerro of Lyndhurst, who received $12,000 for his work in prints. Other North Jersey winners include Dajhia Ingram of Fair Lawn ($6,800) and Claire Porter of Teaneck ($7,500), both for choreography.

(Left: "Convergence 2006," by Michael Dal Cerro. Woodblock print.)

"It means I can work less at my day job and more at my passion," said Dal Cerro, a 54-year-old printmaker who works part time for a trade show decorating company creating window displays. "I try to make art my full time job."

The trio received a portion of $225,000 in prize money handed out by the agency. Each year, the fellowships are awarded in different art categories.

This year's artists were chosen from a field of more than 350 entrants for potential in choreography, design, media, music composition, new genres in visual arts, painting and works on paper. Next year, the Council will award artists in the areas of crafts, interdisciplinary performance, photography, poetry, playwriting, prose and sculpture.

Dal Cerro, whose wife Patricia Dahlman is also an artist, isn't a Jersey native. But he says the Garden State has been a good home for them since they moved here in 1999.

"New Jersey's actually very supportive of its artists," he said, noting that his wife has gotten grants from other institutions in the past.

The Artist Fellowship program is administered in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in Baltimore. The cash award - which can be used towards purchasing supplies, attending a residency or renting studio space - can be secondary to the honor of the prize for many artists.

"It's the recognition that the award gives you," said Dal Cerro. "...It gives me more hits on Google, which is always good. It means I'm easier to find."