The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, of Rockland, has awarded Nancy Andrews, of Mount Desert Island, its $25,000 award for a Maine artist working in the visual arts.  

Ian Alteveer, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Ellen Tani, an art historian, curator, and critic based in Washington, DC; and Danielle Jackson, a critic, researcher, arts, administrator and the co-founder and former co-director of the Bronx Documentary Center; were unanimous in their decision.

Ian Alteveer said, in an Ellis-Beauregard news release: "It was thrilling to review the work of so many talented Maine-based artists with such expansive and diverse practices. The work of Nancy Andrews made a deep impression on the jury. Her personal yet kaleidoscopic practice, across many media, centers narratives of trauma and discovery while inventing countless new possibilities for looking at the world.”

Ellen Tani adds, “Nancy's work offers a  kaleidoscopic perspective that takes us from the fantastical world of the curio shop and science fiction to the  lived, corporeal experiences of medical emergency, alterity and delirium. She probes the factual and fictional boundaries of the human and the animal realms with an elevated acumen for editing and animation style.” 

“When Donna McNeil and Tim Peterson called to tell me the good news, I was overwhelmed with emotion, totally choked up and couldn’t speak for a minute or two,” said Andrews. “To say I am thrilled, is an  understatement. After making art for 40 years, I sometimes wonder if it is time to hang up my spurs and only make art for me and my friends, but to have this kind of opportunity and encouragement is a game changer for me. I feel incredibly reinvigorated, and as soon as I got off the phone I started to invent installation ideas for the show next year at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. My films, drawings, sculptures and audio work has often been inspired by trauma and isolation, mixed with humor. These are themes that are probably resonating with folks these days. The fellowship provides the support, plus the means to get the work seen, which is so key. I want to encourage other artists to keep applying for grants and fellowships even if you get turned down, sometimes it takes many tries, and I feel incredibly fortunate to receive this wonderful fellowship.“  

“The Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation are enormously pleased to be able to support individual artists at this level,” said the news release. “Our strong partnership with the Center for Maine Contemporary Art enables us to not only provide economic support but share the work with community.”