What Is USA Fellows?

Every year, 50 USA Fellowship grants of $50,000 each are awarded to outstanding performing, visual, media, and literary artists. In the last six years, we have invested $15,000,000 in America’s finest artists.

Meet the USA Fellows

Our selection process

Photo credit Kathy de la Torre

Blacksmith and sculptor Tom Joyce uses traditional forging techniques in contemporary ways. He left high school in 1974 to apprentice with blacksmith Peter Wells and to dedicate himself to his craft. Joyce’s works range from smaller sculptural pieces to larger architectural elements, including lighting fixtures and gates. For his Rio Grande Gates (1998), which included a blacksmithing mentorship program for students, he worked with community members in Albuquerque to salvage iron refuse from the river to use as material for the final project. Joyce won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2003.    

Stack, 2009; photo credit the artist