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Professor Chee Named a 2021 USA Fellow

Associate Professor Chee was named a 2021 fellow by United States Artists (USA).

  • Alexander Chee's face is in the center of this image, with his name in a green font in the foreground and "sixty bold artists shaping today" written vertically on the right side of his face

    Associate Professor Alexander Chee is the author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, Queen of the Night, and Edinburgh.

  • a pink image with the names of the eight winners of the USA 2021 Writing Fellowships

United States Artists (USA) announced its 2021 USA Fellows--among them English and Creative Writing Professor Alexander Chee. This year, sixty artists across ten creative disciplines will receive unrestricted $50,000 cash awards. The award honors their creative accomplishments and supports their ongoing artistic and professional development. The 2021 USA Fellows class is the largest in the organization's 15-year history. USA Fellowships are awarded to artists at all stages of their careers and from all areas of the country through a rigorous nomination and panel selection process. Fellowships are given in the following disciplines: Architecture & Design, Craft, Dance, Film, Media, Music, Theater & Performance, Traditional Arts, Visual Art, and Writing.

Past awardees include painter and visual artist Howardena Pindell (2020), documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (2010), writer Teju Cole (2015), potter Roberto Lugo (2016), multimedia artist Paul Chan (2007), dancer and choreographer Alice Sheppard (2019), fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte (2009), filmmaker Barry Jenkins (2012), master Mardi Gras suitmaker Darryl Montana (2014), poet Claudia Rankine (2016), and multidisciplinary artist Martha Rosler (2008).

"We are grateful for every artist whose artmaking, music, writing, and more is helping us to navigate and cope through this harrowing time in our country," said USA President & CEO Deana Haggag. "The 2021 USA Fellows are a testament to the power of art in shaping the world around us and navigating its complexities. Artists do so much for our communities, and we are grateful to be able to support these sixty incredible practitioners and welcome them into the United States Artists Fellowship."

The USA Fellowship is the organization's flagship program and is central to its mission of believing in artists and their essential role in society. In many ways, 2020 has shown the resilience and necessity of that mission, and the organization. As a founding partner of Artist Relief, United States Artists helped to distribute over $20 million in direct funding to nearly 4,000 artists in need. United States Artists also administered the Ford Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Disability Futures initiative and is working on similar funds that are planned to be announced this year, as the organization works to deepen and diversify its cultural impact. "Artists are at the core of their communities, and as the difficulties of the past year have demonstrated, it is more important than ever that we continue to support individual artists," said Ed Henry, USA Board Chair. "And as we continue to meet the challenges 2021 will bring, it is also clear that USA must remain nimble and responsive to the needs of the field, which is why we are honored to be able to support the largest cohort in our history with sixty artists this year."