A prestigious national grant will help a Grand Valley visual and media arts faculty member expand his research and artistic practice with glass.
United States Artists announced in January that Norwood Viviano, associate professor of sculpture and foundations and area coordinator for sculpture, is one of 50 recipients of its 2026 USA Fellowship, a highly competitive award that supports artists across disciplines .
“The United States Artists is an organization that really wants you to use this opportunity to support your career in a way that helps it move forward,” Viviano said. “It’s highly competitive because you have to be nominated to even apply.”
The $50,000 award will enable Viviano to make infrastructure improvements to his home studio, he said.
“(The grant) will allow me to continue my art practice for a long time,” Viviano said.
This marks the fifth time he has been nominated for the fellowship.
“It has been such a pleasure working with Norwood as he pursues Fulbright fellowships and other opportunities for creative work and collaboration with artist colleagues,” said Brenda Tooley, associate director for the Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement. “I am thrilled that he has received this much-deserved recognition.”
Currently on sabbatical through the spring, Viviano will travel in April to the Australian National University in Canberra to continue his research and studio work. One of his ongoing projects, he said, uses 3D modeling and glasswork to explore and visualize the long-term effects of climate change on urban environments .
“A lot of my artwork focuses on data visualization or turning raw data into visualized information. So over the course of the last 15 years, I've created several projects where I've looked at demographic information and turned it into 3D models,” said Viviano, who teaches a course in 3D modeling and printing.
Initially, Viviano was a finalist for a Fulbright Scholar award, but when funding for the program ended, he pursued other options. Although he applied for a Fulbright Specialist award, the Australian National University ultimately chose to directly fund his six-week residency.
“The primary reason I was interested in having the Fulbright experience at the Australian National University was to really dig into and talk to specialists and figure out what their mitigation strategies are for the effects of climate change,” Viviano said.
In 2024, Viviano received the Delphi Award from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee , honoring artists “who demonstrate distinction, creativity, and exceptional artistry in their work, and who are predicted by experts in the field to someday join that pantheon of artists who have reached the pinnacle of sculptural arts and design.”
