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Senior Stars - Martinez, Robinson
Two Creative Seniors Win $500,000 MacArthur
Fellowships
Sept. 28, 2004, Chicago - Two 64-year-young seniors
are among 23 new MacArthur Fellows for 2004, honored for their creativity,
who will receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next
five years.
The MacArthur Fellows Program underscores the
importance of the creative individual in society. Fellows are selected
for their originality, creativity, and the potential to do more in the
future. Candidates are nominated, evaluated, and selected through a
rigorous and confidential process. No one may apply for the awards, nor
are any interviews conducted.
Recipients this year include:
Rueben Martinez, 64
 Owner
and Founder, Libreria Martinez Books and Art Gallery, Santa Ana,
California
Rueben Martinez has elevated bookselling from a
business to a campaign in support of underserved populations in
California and throughout America. His Santa Ana bookstore, Libreria
Martinez Books and Art Gallery, was originally a barbershop and is now
among the largest commercial sellers of Spanish-language books in the
country, serving as the cornerstone of cultural events and community
activities that promote the benefits of reading to Hispanic-Americans
and Spanish-speaking immigrants.
A co-founder of the Latino Book Festival (which now
tours nationally), Martinez motivates Spanish-speaking people to value
literature, to read for themselves, and to read to their children. The
record number of enthusiastic adults and children drawn to Libreria
Martinez makes the store a destination for leading bilingual and Latino
authors. Acclaimed by educators and librarians throughout the country,
Martinez’ unique brand of entrepreneurship and advocacy is an important
complement to institutional and program efforts to enrich and anchor the
lives of a large and growing population in America.
Rueben Martinez has been a professional barber and
entrepreneur for more than forty years. In 1993, he founded Libreria
Martinez Books and Art Gallery, a small business operating out of his
barbershop. By 1999, the bookstore had expanded and moved into its own
location, and, in 2001, he launched a second venue dedicated to
children’s literature. Martinez is a founding member of Santa Ana’s
Reading City Committee. In 1997, he helped develop the multi-city
Latino Book Festival.
Aminah Robinson, 64
 Folk
Artist, Columbus, Ohio
Aminah Robinson uses fabric, needlepoint, paint,
ink, charcoal, clay, and found objects to create signature works on
canvas and in three-dimensional construction.
Folk artist, storyteller, and visual historian,
Robinson celebrates and memorializes the neighborhood of her childhood –
Poindexter Village in Columbus, Ohio – and her journeys to and from her
home. In drawings, paintings, sculpture, puppetry, and music boxes, she
reflects on themes of family and ancestry, and on the grandeur of simple
objects and everyday tasks.
Her works are both freestanding monuments and
fractional components of an ongoing odyssey. Robinson is a master of
assemblage; her elegant collages are Homeric in content, quantity, and
scale (some canvases are 20 feet or larger) and many of her exhibited
pieces are works-in-progress, several years in the making. This
trademark body of work resonates deeply with audiences. Symphonic
Poem, for example, an exhibition of her work at the Columbus Museum
of Art, was noted for its unusually large and repeat attendance.
A recent commission for the National Underground
Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, is also expected to reach a
large audience. Robinson’s creations set her apart as a contemporary
American artist.
Aminah Robinson studied painting at the Columbus
College of Art and Design. While working as an artist from her home
studio throughout her life, she also worked for the Columbus Public
Library and, for 19 years, ran children’s programs in the Columbus Parks
and Recreation Department. Her work has been exhibited in solo and
group shows at museums and galleries around the country. In addition,
she has illustrated several books for children, including A School
for Pompey Walker (1995), A Street Called Home (1997), and
To Be a Drum (2000).
This week, each new recipient first learned of
being named a MacArthur Fellow during a phone call from the Foundation.
“The call can be life-changing, coming as it does out of the blue and
offering highly creative women and men the gift of time and the
unfettered opportunity to explore, create, and contribute,” said
Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation.
“Each year, for 24 years, the announcement of the
new MacArthur Fellows has been a singular opportunity to celebrate the
creative individual in our midst,” said Fanton. “The MacArthur Fellows
Program remains at the core of the Foundation’s efforts to recognize and
support individuals who inspire us. The new MacArthur Fellows illustrate
the Foundation’s conviction that talented individuals, free to follow
their insights and instincts, will make a difference in shaping the
future.”
The MacArthur Fellows Program places no restrictions on how recipients
may use the $500,000, and no reports are required. Just as there are no
restrictions on how the Fellows may use their awards, there are no
constraints on the kinds of creativity that are recognized.
Several hundred nominators assist the Foundation in identifying people
who should be considered for a MacArthur Fellowship. Nominators, who are
appointed each year and serve anonymously, are chosen from many fields
and challenged to identify people who demonstrate exceptional creativity
and promise. A 12-member Selection Committee, whose members also serve
anonymously, meets regularly to review files, narrow the list, and make
final recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Typically,
between 20 and 25 Fellows are selected each year.
The MacArthur Fellows Program was the first major grantmaking initiative
of the Foundation. The inaugural class of MacArthur Fellows was named in
1981. Including this year’s Fellows, 682 people, ranging in age from 18
to 82, have been named MacArthur Fellows since the inception of the
program.
About the Foundation
As one of the nation's largest private philanthropic foundations, the
MacArthur Foundation has awarded more than $3 billion in grants since it
began operations in 1978. Today it has assets of approximately $4
billion.
The Foundation makes grants through three other programs in addition to
the MacArthur Fellows Program. The
Program on Human and Community Development supports organizations
working primarily on national issues, including community development,
regional policy, housing, public education, juvenile justice, and mental
health policy. The
Program on Global Security and Sustainability supports organizations
engaged in international issues, including peace and security,
conservation and sustainable development, population and reproductive
health, and human rights. The
General Program supports public interest media and the production of
independent documentary films.
The Foundation is named for John D. MacArthur (1897-1978), who developed
and owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company and other businesses, as
well as considerable property in Florida and New York. His wife
Catherine (1909-1981) held positions in many of these companies and
served as a director of the Foundation.
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