Since 2019, Arts and Humanities Bainbridge has offered local artists the opportunity to receive individual art grants up to $1,000. On Nov. 13, AHB announced the 2025 recipients at a reception at Bainbridge Arts & Crafts.

AHB president Glynnis Cowdery said artists are able to use the grants for a wide variety of art endeavors and have one year to use them. Either the art or the artist also has to have a direct connection to Bainbridge Island, but otherwise, artists are free to pursue their artistic visions, she said.

“The artist grant program is great because it builds support for these artists. We try to support emerging artists, or artists that are at a point in their practice where they just want to do something new and they need the funds to do that,” she said. “I love the way that several of the artists now, instead of it just being about their individual practice, are making it more about doing something for the community.”

As part of the grant application process, applicants are asked how their project impacts the community, with more community-oriented projects ranking higher. The types of art can range from ceramics to weavers, and movies, Cowdery said. “We do want to have an impact beyond just the artists themselves, and it seems like a lot of them are getting more creative in terms of either holding a workshop for the community, or thinking about plans and how they could exhibit their art.”

2025 recipients:

Sarah Bantle is the volunteer fiber Studio lead at BARN (Bainbridge Artisan Research Network), and will use her grant to work on a handwoven project each month for a total of 12.

Maya Cunningham will focus her work on a young adult book series titled “The Adventures of Sophie Aura.” Cunningham dedicated the series to teachers who inspired her, and showcases learning to love across differences during politically polarized times.

Donna Lee Dowdney is a mixed-media and fabric artist, and plans to learn to create 3-D objects using a silhouette cutter. She also plans to take printmaking art classes at BARN.

Mark Johnson, an islander with a background in architecture and construction management, plans to create a piece with vintage tools. Johnson plans to pay tribute to his grandfather’s generation and the tools they used.

Melody Maleitzke is a BI-based artist who plans to use Washi Tape, a Japanese decorative paper, to create a community tapestry called “Washi Wonder: A Community Tapestry.”

Mary Lou Sanelli, a 2021 grant recipient who previously worked with metal artist Rob Satterwhite, created the literary creative sign outside of Town & Country in downtown Winslow. She plans to create another literary-creative sign to commemorate the Winslow Heron Rookery (a nesting site for Great Blue Herons) on Lovell Avenue.

Peter C. Sprung previously worked on a project called “Artists Forment.” He plans to expand the project with a focus on engagement with young people and their parents, providing an artistic residency with an artist talk accessible to the public, and an art exhibition for young people, which uses “artcycling” from beach events.

Alisa Steck aims to use the grant to photograph 24 waterfalls within the Olympic Peninsula waterfall trail. She has completed seven of 24 waterfalls, which aim to showcase the beauty of waterfalls through a gallery exhibition.

Laurel Wilson has three projects currently underway, including a large-scale ceramic work based on the goddess/muses (Greek mythology). She also has a collection of 13 large vase-like vessels, which could stand on their own and are envisioned as one piece. Wilson is also working on a series of 30-40 Venus Pots, as well as a series of tube-like forms which are raku-fired. Once complete, the series will have 72 of them.

Gayle Bard, a BI-based artist, whose art is featured as part of the permanent collection at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, plans to use the grant to complete five paintings. She started her art career in her 50s and aims to show perseverance.

AHB also recently launched the Mike and Nancy Lewars Memorial Fund, two island residents who were actively involved in the community and supporters of the arts. This fund will provide individual art grants to further creativity and sustain the vibrant culture that Mike and Nancy helped build, Cowdery said. Donations will be used to fund individual artist grants, per AHB.

The “Bainbridge Postcard Mural” in downtown Winslow, completed by 2024 grant recipient Molly Brahmer, incorporated community feedback about BI symbols into the finished mural. Cowdery said the mural will likely remain as a long-term fixture of downtown as long as it holds up to the elements.

“Some people might think it’s kind of a touristy thing, it’s not really, because it was the community that talked about what are the iconic symbols of Bainbridge. Everything from pickleball to Frog Rock to the Japanese Exclusion Memorial. So it really had the community behind it,” she said.

Danis Morgan, a 2024 grant recipient, and Ann Smart, former AHB executive director, showcase local art.