Ridgefield, CT (March 5, 2025) – The Maurice Sendak Foundation has named four illustrators as 2025 Sendak Fellows: Junjun Chen, Marianna Coppo, Rob Dunlavey, and Gracey Zhang.
The Sendak Fellowship, an artist residency and mentoring program, was established in 2009 by renowned artist and children’s book illustrator Maurice Sendak, alongside his longtime assistant and executive director of The Maurice Sendak Foundation, Lynn Caponera, and photographer, community activist, and Foundation board member Dona Ann McAdams.
During the four-week program, Fellows pursue a project of their choosing in the relative seclusion of a rural setting. They draw inspiration from one another, from visiting artists and professionals in the field, and from Sendak’s Ridgefield property, where they work in studios with access to his house and archives.
Maurice Sendak envisioned the Fellowship as a way to formalize what he had been doing informally throughout his career—mentoring and supporting promising illustrators. In his own words, the Fellowship’s goal is for Fellows to “create work that is not vapid, stupid, or sexy, but original. Work that excites and incites. Illustration is like dance; it should move like—and to—music.”
“We're so pleased to return the Fellowship to Maurice's home and archive in Ridgefield,” says Lynn Caponera. “He loved sharing his work and the work of other artists who inspired him. We continue this with the Fellowship. Although Maurice is no longer with us, the Fellows always come away feeling as though he is here, guiding them in what he feels makes a great picture book. Maurice would be delighted to have us welcome these four Fellows into his world.”
Read about the 2025 Sendak Fellows: https://www.sendakfoundation.org/sendak-fellowship
Learn more about the Maurice Sendak Foundation https://www.sendakfoundation.org/