Orange County artists Paul Baerman and Christy Smith are among 18 recipients of the 2011-12 N.C. Arts Council Artists Fellowship Award in the categories of poetry, prose writers, songwriters, composers, playwrights and screenwriters.
Baerman attended the University of Virginia and Duke University. He writes about the loss of innocence and what we do to recover it, as well as about families and grief.
Smith is a Chapel Hill songwriter who strives for lyrical salience, reverence and playfulness. Her group The Tender Fruit’s debut album was named one of Shuffle Magazine’s top 20 local albums of 2010.
Both will receive a $10,000 fellowship to support creative development and the creation of new work.