Fifty-four artists across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have been awarded 2026 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowships, the agency announced July 13. The fellowships, which provide unrestricted funding to support artists' individual practice, total $560,000 for the three-county area known as Region 7.
Nineteen of the recipients are based in Riverside County, including Andrea Lopez, who received an Established Artist Fellowship. Lopez is known locally for her mural "Hija del Maíz," or "Daughter of Corn."
The fellows were chosen from 328 artists who applied across the region. Awards fall into three tiers: Emerging Artist Fellows receive $5,000, Established Artist Fellows receive $10,000, and Legacy Artist Fellows receive $50,000.
Peer review panels made up of artists, arts administrators, arts educators and arts funders from the three counties selected the fellows. The application period ran from April 2 to May 15, and free technical assistance was offered to applicants during that time. Review panels finished their selections by June 19.
The Riverside Arts Council, the county's nonprofit arts council, coordinated local outreach as part of the Region 7 consortium alongside Arts Orange County and Arts Connection in San Bernardino County.
Riverside County's 2026 fellows include Legacy Artist Fellow Loriann Hernandez; Established Artist Fellows Allyson Allen, Patrick Barwinski, Maryam Crogman, Cherie Hill, Andrea Lopez, Alejandro Mirandé, Juan Navarro and Carlos Puma; and Emerging Artist Fellows Matthew Balane, James Coats, Denise Cortes, Caroline Espinoza, Lenore Hamel, Wendi Johnson, Isabella Madrigal, Sophia Madrigal, Sarah Wilson and STUDIO X.
