The Artaxis Board of Directors and Fellowship Selection Committee is pleased to announce that Micah Lewis-Vǎn Sweezie and Paige Bennett will be our 9th Annual Artaxis Fellows. They will both attend a workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts this summer.
The Fellowship is intended to increase diversity, equity, and access across the field of the ceramic arts. The explicit goal of the Artaxis Fellowship program is to increase the visibility of unique perspectives across the field. This year, we offered two fellowships, each one worth up to $2,691, to fund a two-week summer workshop in ceramics at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. The fellowships will cover room, board, and tuition for a two-week workshop, and a $500 stipend.
We received 93 applications that were reviewed by the Artaxis Board of Directors, and juried by our Fellowship Selection Committee – Didem Mert, Donté K. Hayes, and George Rodriguez. These three prominent members of the field poured over the applications and deliberated to select just two recipients for the award.
A big THANK YOU goes out to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the Fellowship Selection Committee, to all of the applicants and congratulations to this year’s recipients, Micah and Paige!
Micah Lewis-Vǎn Sweezie
Meet 2025 Artaxis Fellow, Micah Lewis-Vǎn Sweezie. Micah is a ceramic artist from Kalamazoo, Michigan. They earned their BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago with a primary focus in ceramics and sculpture. Sweezie’s practice is influenced by dichotomous elements of culture and craft from their upbringing in both Vietnam and America. Join us in sending Micah a big congratulations and make sure and follow them on IG at @ceramicnoodles. Check out their website at micahsweezie.com.
Paige Bennett
Meet 2025 Artaxis Fellow, Paige Bennett. Paige is a sculptor and ceramic artist who is currently a BFA student at the Kansas City Art Institute. Vulnerability, people, and life’s everyday insecurities are concepts that heavily influence her work. She has always been fascinated with sculpting the human figure and continues to explore that through these concepts. Join us in sending Paige a big congratulations, and make sure to follow her on IG at @paigebscuplts.
Learn more about the Artaxis Fellowship at https://artaxis.org/fellowship/