Meet our 2025 grantees!
Julia Lougheed
I am a clarinetist whose speciality is performing music by living composers. My solo project, “Silent G,” combines clarinet playing with electronic sounds to create new art that pushes the boundaries of classical music. This grant will fund production of my second studio album, titled “belong.”
While listening to a podcast a few months ago, I heard a phrase that stuck with me: “….we spend lifetimes trying to fit in, when really all we ever needed to do was to belong.” This phrase summarizes my artistic journey, as I have ultimately found “belonging” while pursuing my unique “Silent G” project. This album features music that tells the story of my quest for belonging — music about finding your identity, processing grief that comes with rejection, dancing your heart out, honoring your parents, and showing up for your community. This album will feature solo music as well as collaborations with members of my chosen family, and showcases music written by some very close friends.
Producing this deeply personal album will not only be an incredibly fulfilling act of self-expression, but will also allow me to share innovative clarinet sounds with the rest of the world. I hope listeners feel inspired to try something new — either in their artistic or personal lives–and feel some sense that they are not alone in this human quest to belong.
Felicia Penza
I am a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and graphic designer based in Phoenix, Arizona. My work spans visual art, storytelling, and community-centered creative projects, often exploring themes of family, belonging, and resilience.
With the support of the AZ Women of the Arts grant, I am producing my children’s book, I Will Always Choose You. The book centers on two siblings navigating the absence of a biological parent and the complex emotions that follow, offering reassurance through love, chosen family, and community support. Written for children and caregivers alike, the project aims to create space for honest conversations around nontraditional families while affirming that love is not defined by structure, but by consistency and care.
This grant will support the illustration, design, and production of the book, as well as related community programming. Through this work, I hope to provide a meaningful resource for families who do not often see their experiences reflected in children’s literature, while continuing my commitment to storytelling that honors emotional truth and representation.
Meet our 2024 grantees!
Chloe Ferrari
I will be creating a fine art mosaic that can be either installed in a public space such as a restaurant, school, hotel or shown in a gallery to bring awareness to just a couple of the beautiful and endangered species here in Arizona; the saguaro cactus and gila monster.
My mission for this project is to create a mosaic that is not only beautiful but educational as well. I feel very passionate about habitat loss, global warming, and the preservation of our natural world and much of my artwork expresses these interests.
This mosaic will be composed of 3/8″ ceramic tiles and stained glass pieces on a wood panel about 44”x21” in dimension. At the completion of this project I will donate 10% of the profit to Southwest wildlife conservation center, with the ultimate goal being to partner with them at one of their events to auction off this piece.
Shirley Wagner
I am a contemporary sculptor/public artist from Tucson, Arizona. My public work revolves around the human form and its ability to express meaningful gesture.
With my project “Future Tense,” I will challenge the way in which my public figures traditionally occupy space.To accomplish this, I will suspend my figures from a monumental steel ten foot structure.
As my figures move through space, their relationship to each other will also change. Within this scenario, I will consider culturally relevant art for public spaces that examines our urban environment and our ability as humans to express ourselves.
Meet our 2023 (inaugural) grantees!
Monica X. Castillo
My art installation will bring awareness and education surrounding the physical transformation women go through during breast cancer, undergoing a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. I’ll use a series of six to eight 3D porcelain panels.
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his project comes from personal experience. I had a hard time processing having my breasts removed and the idea of creating molds was presented to me as a way to memorialize this time in my life, a visual journal if you will. The process provided me a way to move through feelings such as fear, sadness and anxiety.
Over the years I have taken out the molds and visited them with a broken heart. This year while cleaning out closets, I visited them again. This time, my visit was not of heart break, but of inspiration. Using the ceramic skills I’ve developed over the last few years, I will be able to tell a visual story of what a breast cancer patient endures.
Carolyn Waters Broe
I want to inspire a love of classical music in both young and adult audiences by empowering music lovers with true stories from my book about fifty famous male and female composers.
My “Fifty Famous Composers” project is designed as a multi-media event including a live music concert with storytelling and a PowerPoint presentation. Music has the power to soothe the soul. It brings people together and enriches their lives. I have spent my life dedicated to performing live classical music.
To get the word out about these amazing composers, especially the women composers, I will assemble a live concert with a video recording, which will be available on YouTube.