Long Beach, CA, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Long Beach City College (LBCC) Visual & Media Arts Co-Department Head and Professor of Drawing and Painting, Carolyn Castaño, has been awarded the highly prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for 2025, which marks the program’s 100th anniversary year. She was recognized in the field of Fine Arts for her prior exceptional achievements as well as her future promise.
“This recognition is a powerful reminder of the caliber of faculty we are fortunate to have at Long Beach City College,” said Uduak-Joe Ntuk, LBCC Board of Trustees President. “Professor Castaño’s selection as a Guggenheim Fellow reflects the high level of talent, dedication, and scholarly excellence within our teaching ranks. Her achievements demonstrate what’s possible at a community college and shine a national spotlight on the incredible work at LBCC.”
“It’s not often that a community college faculty member receives this kind of national recognition, and that’s exactly why Professor Castaño’s Guggenheim Fellowship is so meaningful for our students,” said Dr. Mike Muñoz, LBCC Superintendent-President. “Her achievement sends a powerful message that excellence knows no boundaries — and that students at Long Beach City College are learning from some of the most talented, visionary educators in the country.”
First awarded in 1925, Guggenheim Fellowships offer support to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form. Each Fellow receives a monetary stipend up to $90,000 to pursue independent work at the highest level under the freest possible conditions. This 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows includes 198 distinguished individuals working across 53 disciplines, chosen through a rigorous application and peer review process from a pool of nearly 3,500 applicants. Professor Castaño was one of just 32 recipients awarded in Fine Arts.
“I'm very honored to have received the 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship Award and thrilled to be in the company of my thoughtful and talented colleagues in the arts,” said Professor Castaño. “I'm looking forward to bringing the fruits of my research and the subsequent work to my Long Beach City College students, who continue to inspire me to stretch as an artist and a teacher.”
Professor Castaño is a Colombian-American visual artist based in Los Angeles whose practice focuses on painting, drawing, video, and mixed-media installations with themes and images originating in Latin and South America. Her work, exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally, uses eco-feminist frameworks in painting, installation, video, and artist books to explore the landscape, migration, female and family identities in works that juxtapose drawing, photography, and performance with patterns found in textiles, design, and geometric abstraction. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master’s in Fine Arts from the UCLA School of Art and Architecture. She became a full-time instructor for LBCC in 2015.
In addition to this fellowship, Professor Castaño is also the recipient of the 2013 Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in Painting and Drawing, the 2011 California Community Foundation Getty Fellow Mid-Career Grant, and the 2011 C.O.L.A.-City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship.
To learn more about the Guggenheim Foundation and to see the full list of 2025 Fellows, please visit www.gf.org.
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About Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College consists of two campuses with an enrollment of more than 35,000 students each semester. The education program’s primary purpose is to prepare students for transfer to baccalaureate-granting institutions, entry into work or career development, and to support businesses in economic development. Long Beach City College serves the cities of Avalon, Lakewood, Long Beach, and Signal Hill. Long Beach City College promotes equitable student learning and achievement, academic excellence, and workforce development by delivering high-quality educational programs and support services to our diverse communities. Visit www.LBCC.edu for more information on Long Beach City College.
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Stacey Toda Long Beach City College 5629384004 stoda@lbcc.edu
