Posted on September 9, 2012

Mellon Foundation Awards $3.3 Million Challenge Grant for Princeton Arts Program

Princeton University has announced a $3.3 million challenge grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of a new Fellows in the Creative and Performing Arts program.

The program will bring innovative early- to mid-career artists to the Princeton campus to create, exhibit, and perform their work; teach undergraduates; and participate in seminars and conferences. Fellows also will serve as intermediaries between Princeton faculty and students and bring fresh perspectives to the programs of the Lewis Center for the Arts and the Department of Music.

The challenge grant has been matched by an anonymous Princeton alumnus, enabling the university to create four endowed fellowships over five years. The program also will be supported through a $101 million gift from alumnus Peter B. Lewis that established the Lewis Center in 2007. The grant from Mellon will be counted toward Princeton's five-year capital campaign, which concluded on June 30 after raising $1.88 billion.

"These fellowships will enrich the entire Princeton community by bringing to campus emerging artists who have begun to be recognized in their fields for their achievements and their potential for growth," said Lewis Center chair Michael Cadden. "As artists, they will benefit from a vibrant intellectual and artistic environment, creating exciting new work that will allow them to take the next step in their various professions. As teachers, they'll serve as role models for students contemplating a career in the arts and for others with a curiosity about what might be involved in making such a choice."