Rachel Niffenegger and Michael Zapata Recognized by the Meier Foundation

Alum Rachel Niffenegger (BFA 2008) and Academic Advisor Michael Zapata were announced as two of the four 2023 Art Achievement Award recipients by the Meier Foundation. Niffenegger, acclaimed for her experimental portraiture, and Zapata, a widely-recognized fiction writer, are among the small cohort of selected artists to receive a cumulative $160,000 in grants and awards intended to support canon-bending Chicago-based artists in mid-career.

The Meier Foundation, a non-profit established by Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier (BFA 1955), prides itself in its unconventional approach to selecting its award recipients from a pool of local talent spotlighted by anonymous nominators.