Each year, we invite our Young Artist Fellowship Awardees to return as advisors on selecting the next year’s Fellow Awardee(s). In 2025, our jury panel advisor was
@himeka_murai (2024 Fellow), who stated:' I want this fellowship to be intended not for those who have already won many awards, but for those who are working hard yet struggling to gain recognition. I hope this fellowship will serve as a significant support in helping the recipient pave the way for their artistic career. (like it did for me!) '
Last year, we were thrilled to award two fellowships: to visual artist Sayo Watanabe (
@needsaiii ) and to photographer Zenzali Lael (
@zergination_ ).
@zergination_ As a black queer photographer, I make images that celebrate and illuminate moments within marginalized communities. Through interviews, community building, and research, I document the lives and environments of vulnerable communities such as the unhoused, LGBTQ, and individuals subject to the force of gentrification. The imagery culminates in intimate portraits, detailed environment shots that portray their day-to-day, joy & anguish, and familial connections. Zen studied photography at Pratt Institute.
Zenzali Lael was born in Liberia, and then adopted by two women whom she calls "Mommy" and "Mama" and quickly learned the importance of fighting for what you believe in as she and her family fought for marriage equality.
@needsaiii : I am a multi-media artist who explores whether discarded objects can fulfill societal needs and disrupt what is deemed valuable. I remix waste as playful installations to unpack the illusion of value in this time of mass consumption, waste, and individualism to tell untold stories with the human traces left in “trash".
Sayo Watanabe is a Brooklyn based artist received a BFA from Parsons in 2020. They have shown in group shows in New York, New Jersey, and internationally in Japan and Korea. In 2025 they received the ChaNorth Young Artist Fellowship Award, HERALBONY Art Prize, NAAAP NY Project Grant, and more. They have been featured on Forbes, CFDA, WWD, and others.
