SC Arts Commission Names
Prof. Kingkade 2007-2008 Individual Artist Fellow

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The South Carolina Arts Commission Board of Commissioners has approved the agency's 2007-2008 Individual Artist Fellowship Awards. Beginning this year, each Fellow receives $5,000 in recognition of their superior artistic merit. Alternates have also been named in each category. This year's Fellows and alternates are:

Crafts
Fellows: Jamie Davis, Pickens County; John Benjamin Gilliam, Greenville County; Alternates: James D. Connell, York County; Philip C. Hutgren, Kershaw County

Visual Arts
Fellows: Elizabeth Melton, York County; Herb Parker, Charleston County; Alternates: Aldwyth, Beaufort County; Marcelo Novo, Lexington County

Media Production
Fellow: Laura Kissel, Richland County; Alternate: Bradley Turner Jayne, Charleston County

Screenwriting
Fellow: Howard Kingkade, Richland County (USC Lancaster Faculty Member); Alternate: Gordon Nolan Owens, Greenville County

Howard Kingkade, Richland County, is originally from Hammond, Ind., Howard Kingkade received his bachelor's degree in theatre at Indiana University, and his Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre at the University of South Carolina. He currently teaches English, theatre and speech at the University of South Carolina Lancaster. Kingkade has won and placed in numerous screenwriting and playwriting competitions including Fade In Magazine and the American Gem Competition. Most recently, Kingkade sold his short screenplay Hole in the Paper Sky to Iron Ocean Films in Los Angeles, owned by actress Jessica Biel. The Premier is scheduled for sometime this summer in LA.

Fellows and alternates are selected through a competitive, anonymous application process. Out-of-state review panelists make recommendations for selections based solely on a review of work samples. The panel's recommendations are approved by the board of the SC Arts Commission. The biographies for each of the 2007-2008 Fellows are listed on page two and are followed by this year's Fellowship panelists.

Individual artists working in prose, poetry, music performance or music composition are invited to apply for the 2008-2009 Fellowships. The deadline to apply is Oct. 1. For more information about the SC Arts Commission Fellowship program, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/grants/artists or call (803) 734-8696.

About SCAC: The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission focuses on increasing public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.