The Cintas Foundation's board of directors will announce the winner during an Award Ceremony on May 20th at 7pm, located at the Marcy Building, 3852 North Miami Ave., in the Design District.

The award carries a $15,000 cash prize which is used by the winner to further his or her creative development. The only one of its kind in the nation, the Cintas Foundation Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists including playwright Maria Irene Fornes and poet and essayist Lourdes Blanco.

"Congratulations to the four finalists, said Cintas Foundation president Hortensia E. Sampedro. "We had an exceptionally competitive field of applicants this year, and appreciate the skill this outstanding panel of judges brought to the task."

The 2008 jury for the Music Composition fellowship award included Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist; Cristina García, novelist and Guggenheim Fellow; and Lillian Manzor, professor of literature at University of Miami.

Established in 1963, the Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who are currently residing outside of Cuba. The foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. A complete history and listings of the fellows may found in the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org 

The Selection Program is administered by The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University and the Cintas Foundation. For more information, please visit www.cintasfoundation.org  or www.frostartmuseum.org 

The CINTAS Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who are currently residing outside of Cuba.

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Kitty Dumas
Phone: 305-348-3892
kdumas@fiu.edu Website:
http://www.cintasfoundation.org
http://www.frostartmuseum.org