Diedrick Brackens becomes 2018 B/EA recipient!
Watch the documentary featuring Joanne and Lillian - their artwork and insights - with excerpts of recordings from 1993.


Joanne Brandford and Lillian Elliott 1993 (YouTube)
Click the image to view the documentary

Donate to the Brandford/Elliott Award

Please contribute online through the Textile Society of America's website donation page.

In 2016 B/EA was formally turned over to the Textile Society of America and became a TSA award.

TSA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

The Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art

...was established to honor the lives and work of the late and beloved fiber artists Joanne Segal Brandford and Lillian Elliott. Extraordinary textile artists and scholars who were long-time friends, they died within a few days of one another in April 1994.

The award, formerly known as the Lillian Elliott Award, became a well known honor in a very short time, perhaps because there are no other awards specifically designated for emerging artists working with fiber, and because the need is so great.

In 2016 the Brandford/Elliott Award was formally turned over to the Textile Society of America and became a TSA award. The 2018 award will be presented by the Brandford/Elliott Award (B/EA) Board at the Textile Society of America Biennial Symposium in Vancouver, BC, during the TSA Awards Banquet Dinner (September 22, 2018).

The Award Process

Every other year members of the B/EA Board choose three anonymous nominators – professionals active in the field of art in the fiber medium – from different geographic regions. Each nominator recommends three artists who are invited to apply. The B/EA Board reviews the applications and the award is given to a promising artist whose work reflects a willingness to take creative risks.

Current members of the B/EA Board are Pat Hickman, Frances Dorsey, Jill D'Alessandro, Vita Plume, Roxane Shaughnessy, and Olivia Valentine. Past board members include Sandra Harner, Susan Sternlieb, Barbara Goldberg, Cathy Weller and Mary Dusenbury.

In 2016 the B/EA board made the decision to reveal all past nominators; they are listed below in alphabetical (rather than chronological) order.

The Awardees

Diedrick Brackens 2018 Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art (B/EA) Recipient: Diedrick Brackens

Joanne Arnett 2016 Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art (B/EA) Recipient: Joanne Arnett

Andrea Donnelly 2014 Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art (B/EA) Recipient: Andrea Donnelly

Olivia Valentine 2012 B/EA Recipient: Olivia Valentine

In 2012 the official name of the award was revised to The Brandford/Elliott Award for Excellence in Fiber Art. It was formerly the Lillian Elliott Award.

Sharon Kallis - Boat 2010 Lillian Elliott Award (LEA) Recipient: Sharon Kallis

Stephen Beal - Ritten 2008 LEA Recipient: Stephen Beal

Andrea Vander Kooij 2006 LEA Recipient: Andrea Vander Kooij

Elana Herzog - Untitled 2004 LEA Recipient: Elana Herzog

Soonran Youn - Untitled 2002 LEA Recipient: Soonran Youn

Sonya Clark - Untitled 2000 LEA Recipient: Sonya Clark

Since 2000, the award has been granted biennially rather than annually.

Tomoko Ishida - Untitled 1998 LEA Recipient: Tomoko Ishida

Kyoung Ae Cho - Untitled 1997 LEA Recipient: Kyoung Ae Cho

Marcie Miller Gross - Untitled 1996 LEA Recipient: Marcie Miller Gross

Frances Dorsey - Untitled 1995 LEA Recipient: Frances Dorsey


Past Nominators

Suzanne Baizerman, Dorothy Gill Barnes, James Bassler, Gaza Bowen, Dorothy Caldwell, Stefano Catalani, Sonya Clark, Joan Dreyer, Mary Dusenbury, Andy Gilats, Ann Hamilton, Karen Hampton, Oliver Herring, Shelia Hicks, Stuart Kestenbaum, Nancy Koenigsberg, Bruce Hoffman, Janet Koplos, Kiyomi Iwata, Susan Martin Maffei, Patricia Malarcher, Marci Rae McDade, Aaron McIntosh, Matilda McQuaid, John McQueen, Michael Olszewski, Sunita Patterson, Laurel Reuter, Lawrence Rinder, Linda Ross, Jane Sauer, Ruth Scheuing, Warren Seelig, Jessica Silverman, Sherri Smith, Lotus Stack, Kenneth Trapp, Claire Verstegen, Anne Wilson, Gayle Wimmer, Bhakti Ziek, and Emily Zilber.

 


In honor of Lillian and Joanne