2025 Artist Grant Recipients
Tara Pignoli • Arts & Humanities Teacher Grant, Lead Award Recipient
Project: International Women’s Day Poetry Reading - Celebrating Strength, Amplifying Voices, Inspiring Artistic Expression
Tara Pignoli, in her 30th year as a public high school teacher and 13th year at Telluride High School, is leading a grant-funded poetry project that will culminate in a reading and celebration for International Women’s Day. The project includes four poetry-writing workshops for students led by visiting poets, the purchase of new poetry collections for the Telluride Middle High School library, and the publication of a student anthology featuring original poems written over the past several years.
Tara is excited to provide students with expanded opportunities to write creatively, read widely, and share their work. The grant enables the celebration to grow from a single day into a multi-day, year-long experience, fostering student engagement and enriching the school’s literary culture for years to come.
Stephanie Malcolm • Arts & Humanities Teacher Grant, Lead Award Recipient
Project: Colorado History Performance Project
Stephanie Malcolm is a fourth-grade teacher at Norwood Public Schools, currently in her 15th year in elementary classrooms and her first year teaching Colorado History.
Stephanie’s grant-funded project, the Colorado History Performance Project, will guide students in researching and learning about Colorado history with support from local experts. Students will then write and perform a play to share their discoveries with the community, combining learning, creativity, and collaboration. The project emphasizes student agency while fostering connections to local community members, giving students hands-on experience in sharing their knowledge and stories.
Lisa Ross • Arts & Humanities Teacher Grant, Award Recipient
Project: Stained Glass Exploration
Lisa Ross, originally from South Texas, holds a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Texas, Austin. She has been teaching art for 10 years and is now in her third year at Nucla, Colorado, where she is deeply passionate about art education, equity, and providing opportunities for students in the arts.
Lisa’s grant-funded project will take her advanced art class of eight seniors to the Ah Haa Center for the Arts in Telluride for a two-day intensive workshop in stained glass art. Students will also receive individual stained glass kits to continue their projects back in the classroom. The project will culminate in an art show touring local libraries, showcasing the students’ creations. Winning this grant is a meaningful milestone for Lisa, allowing her to fulfill a long-held promise to her students while demonstrating that dedication and creativity can make ambitious goals possible.
Jennifer Rose • Arts & Humanities Teacher Grant, Award Recipient
Project: Letter Writing on Student Designed Art Cards
Jennifer Rose is a local watercolor artist and elementary teacher, inspired by the wild beauty of the San Juan Mountains. Her paintings, rooted in a background in batik, are known for their vibrant colors separated by delicate white lines, celebrating the landscapes that have grounded her.
Jennifer’s grant-funded project will engage Telluride Mountain School third and fourth graders in creating winter watercolor paintings, which will be printed into holiday greeting cards for a class Gratitude letter-writing project. With support from mindfulness teacher Kristin Milord, students have been exploring the neuroscience of gratitude. The grant will provide high-quality paints, palettes, brushes, and paper, enabling students to take a piece from concept to finished product. Jennifer sees this project as an opportunity to share her artistic passion while connecting meaningfully with her students’ humanities curriculum.
@SundayRoseWatercolors • SundayRoseWatercolors.com
Jacqui McCormick • Arts & Humanities Teacher Grant, Award Recipient
Project: Artists and Studios
Jacqui McCormick has spent her teaching career connecting students to the enriching world outside the classroom. She believes that interdisciplinary and experiential education best serves students today, and for the past 12 years in Telluride, she has pursued her passion for arts and education both personally and professionally—creating community art pieces and guiding students to contribute to the local arts landscape.
Jacqui’s grant-funded project will introduce students to working artists in the Telluride area, offering opportunities to explore diverse creative studios and connect with the local artist community. She is especially excited to pay artists fairly while inspiring students of all ages to discover their own identities as artists. The grant also supports Jacqui’s personal growth as an educator, helping her continually improve her teaching craft while providing students with meaningful, hands-on artistic experiences.
Tagen Kaestner • Arts & Humanities Teacher Grant, Honorable mention
Project: Abbey Road
Tagen Kaestner is a vocal educator in the Telluride community, working with students of all ages on voice and performance. Since moving to San Miguel County in 2017, she has combined her background in developmental psychology and music to support young musicians, including students in grades 7–10 at Telluride Middle and High School.
Tagen’s grant-funded project challenges students to recreate The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album in its entirety, the most ambitious performance of the school year. The bi-annual project brings together multiple music educators to develop students’ instrumental skills, vocal techniques, and sound engineering knowledge, while fostering collaboration as a band. The final performance will be shared with the Telluride community at the Palm Theatre on November 19th. The award ensures consistent, high-quality vocal instruction, giving students the tools and experience to grow as musicians and collaborators beyond this performance.
More Grant Recipient Details Coming Soon!
Jon Herreros de Tejada
David Holbrooke
Greta Neumann
Nicole Charre
Kelli Fox
Dominique Bruneau
Paul Distefano
Raíces Sin Fronteras
Kelsey Trottier
Kirk Drogsvold
Kristen Hughes
Ellen Metrick