Congratulations to Jamal Thorne (MFA '12), who has just been named a 2012 MFA Grant Program recipient by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Created in 1997 to assist painters and sculptors who are receiving their MFA degrees, these grants aim to further the recipients' artistic careers and to aid, upon graduation, in the transition from academic to professional studio work.

The grants are given in recognition of artistic quality to artists chosen from a body of candidates put forth by nominators from the academic art community across the United States. The nominated candidates' images were viewed for grant consideration through an anonymous process by a jury panel that convened in late April at the facilities of the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Each of this year's 15 recipients will receive an MFA Grant in the amount of $15,000.

Veronique d'Entremont, University of California, Los Angeles
Yukiyo Kawano, Vermont College of Fine Arts
Weston Lambert, Tulane University
Alisha McCurdy, Stony Brook University
Grace Mikell, Tulane University
Chris Musina, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Laini Nemett, Maryland Institute College of Art
Jose Antonio Ojeda, Stony Brook University
Jack Pavlik, Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Shaun Roberts, University of Washington
Rowan Smith, California Institute of the Arts
Cynthia Stepp, University of Delaware
Jared Theis, University of California, Davis
Jamal Thorne, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Eddie Villanueva, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Image: Jamal Thorne, Joy, Joy, Ye, and Fela. 2012. Charcoal and pastel on paper. 42x25 inches.