PARK CITY, UTAH – Anna Tsouhlarakis, who is of Navajo and Greek descent, was recently selected for an artist fellowship by the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, which is based in Portland, Ore. The honor was announced at the beginning of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Liz Hill, who handles public relations for the festival, said Tsouhlarakis was one of 13 native artists picked for the honor, which comes with a $10,000 financial component.

“For the fifth year, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation awarded its distinguished National Artist Fellowships to a new group of talented, recognizable and promising artists,” Hill said. “Thirteen awardees were selected from a national open call of American Indian, Alaska and Native Hawaiian artists applicants who were meticulously reviewed by a panel of arts experts.”

Hill noted that those who received awards came from Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Michigan, among other states. The Navajo-born Tsouhlarakis is from Standing Rock, NM, and is a 1999 graduate of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She graduated with a master’s degree in studio art and Native American Studies  from Yale University in New Haven, Conn., in 2002.

The NACF gives monetary awards that assists with support in order to provide native artists opportunities to explore and experiment with new creative projects to further develop their artistic careers. To date, NACF has supported more than 150 artists and organizations in more than 24 states and native communities nationwide, Hill said.

A sculpture, and now a Washington, D.C., resident, Tsouhlarakis said she was pleased to receive the honor. She said she considers Standing Rock “home,” saying she returns to the small Navajo Nation community between Coyote Canyon and Crownpoint as much as possible. She said she intends to broaden her professional horizons and expand on the work she’s already done.