James Bockelman, associate professor of art at Concordia University, Nebraska, was named as one of the two 2007 Individual Artist Fellowships Merit Award winners by the Nebraska Arts Council. Honored for his painting and drawing, Bockelman received $2000 and will be part of an exhibition at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha in the fall of this year.
"The award is a wonderful affirmation of my current studio direction," said Bockelman. "It also coincides nicely with the sabbatical exhibition at Concordia making for a kind of closure."
The Nebraska Arts Council recognized the exemplary efforts of 14 artists this year in various media, awarding a total of $20,000 in fellowships. The panel of judges included Liliane Francuz, art curator at the Wyoming State Museum and printmaker; Marius Lehene, assistant professor of drawing at Colorado State University and painter; and Paul F. Morris, professional studio artist in ceramics and art instructor at Front Range Community College, Aims Community College, and the University of Northern Colorado.