WASHINGTON — The United States Mint today announced the newly selected participants in its expanded Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) to enrich and invigorate the design of coins and medals.
A call for artists was issued August 1, 2006, seeking up to 10 Associate Designers who are professional visual artists, and up to six Student Designers who are undergraduate and graduate level artists, to supplement the pool of “Master Designers” currently under contract in the four–year old program. Applications responding to the call for Associate Designers were accepted from August 7 to September 15, 2006, and applications responding to the call for Student Designers were accepted from September 15 to October 16, 2006.
The new Associate Designers are Lyndall Bass of New Mexico, Barbara Fox of New York, Anatole Honczarenko of New York, David Malan of Utah, Donna Weaver of Indiana, David Westwood of California and Mary Beth Zeitz of New Jersey. The new Student Designers are Margaret Lauren Henry of New York, Laura Klopp of Florida, Mark Kuettner of Wisconsin and Joshua Wahila of New York.
The Master Designers retained under contract are Justin Kunz of California, Richard Masters of Wisconsin, Neal Garland Taylor of Oklahoma, Joel Iskowitz of New York, Susan G. Gamble of Virginia, Thomas Scott Cleveland of Texas and Stephen Clark of Idaho.
“I want to congratulate and welcome our new Associates and Student Designers to the program and thank our Master Designers for their contributions to U.S. coinage,” said United States Mint Director Edmund C. Moy. “We look forward to sharing their creative energy with the Nation in the coming years.”
The newly selected artists will attend a three–day orientation symposium at the United States Mint at Philadelphia, February 21 through 23, hosted by the United States Mint’s design staff there. In addition, the Student Designers will participate in a summer internship with the United States Mint Sculptor–Engravers at the United States Mint at Philadelphia.
AIP artists have submitted successful designs for high–profile programs such as the Westward Journey Nickel Series™, the 50 State Quarters Program, the American Eagle Platinum Coin Program, the Presidential $1 Coin Program, the First Spouse Gold Coin Program, and other commemorative coin and medal programs.
Although the United States Mint has used outside artists before, the AIP was specifically designed to develop and train a pool of talented outside artists ready to work with the United States Mint’s staff of Sculptor–Engravers to create new coin and medal designs. United States Mint Sculptor–Engravers will continue to model the designs submitted by the AIP artists. The Sculptor–Engravers also submit designs under the program.
For purposes of the AIP, Master Designers are those who have proven themselves as valuable AIP artists for at least two years; Associate Designers are professional artists who are new to the program (with successful Associate Designers eligible for direct promotion to the Master Designer level); and Student Designers are those enrolled in undergraduate or graduate level visual arts programs (with successful Student Designers eligible for direct promotion to the Associate Designer level).
Under the program’s new provisions, each Master Designer submitting designs will receive $1,500; Associate Designers will receive $1,000; and Student Designers will receive $500. Each will receive an additional $2,000 per design selected. They will be invited to create and submit at least one design candidate annually for a coin or medal program.
Created by Congress in 1792, the United States Mint is the manufacturer of legal tender coinage for the United States. The United States Mint also produces commemorative coins and Congressional medals honoring individuals and events of special meaning to the American people and bullion coins from a variety of precious metals.