Richmond artist Christy Chan was named one of 12 Eureka Fellows in the Fleishhacker Foundation’s 2026-2028 cycle, receiving a $40,000 unrestricted grant, according to the Foundation. She joins NIAD Art Center artist Marlon Mullen in being named a fellow this year.
The Fleishhacker Fellowship distributes awards in groups of four annually, following a competitive nomination and application process. In January 2025, more than 100 Bay Area arts organizations were invited to nominate artists. Nearly 160 nominations were submitted, leading to more than 130 applications. A national jury that included Dr. Rhea L. Combs (Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery), Rosario Güiraldes (Walker Art Center), and Paul C. Ha (MIT List Visual Arts Center) conducted the final review.
Chan is described as an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans video, installation, performance, narrative film, object design, and community-based public art.
“Her work critically examines the everyday power structures that uphold white supremacy in the United States, often drawing from her upbringing in the rural South,” the Foundation states.
Chan is the artist behind the much much-discussed Inside Out project in 2019. The City of Richmond-funded project digitally displayed short phrases submitted by city residents onto the Richmond Civic Center tower. The project drew controversy after Richmond officials barred statements explicitly criticizing President Trump. Chan responded, in part, by covering the messages with thick red bars, symbolizing the “omission of perspectives.”
