Tiff Massey Receives United States Artist Fellowship

Bitch Don’t Touch My Hair!!, 2019. Neon, dimensions 60 × 60 inches.

Cranbrook Academy of Art is pleased to announce that Tiff Massey (Metalsmithing ‘11) was named a 2021 United States Artist Fellow. USA Fellowships are annual $50,000 unrestricted awards recognizing the most compelling artists working and living in the United States, in all disciplines, at every stage of their career. 

Each year, individual artists and collaboratives are anonymously nominated to apply by a geographically diverse and rotating group of artists, scholars, critics, producers, curators, and other arts professionals. Applications are reviewed by discipline-specific panels who select the finalists, which are then approved by the United States Artists Board of Trustees. 

 Massey becomes the fourteenth Academy graduate to receive a United States Artist Fellowship since the program was launched in 2006. 

Her work, inspired by African standards of economic vitality, includes both large-scale and wearable sculptures, music, and performance. She counts the iconic material culture of 1980s hip-hop as a major influence in her jewelry. Massey uses contemporary observances of class and race through the lens of an African Diaspora, combined with inspiration drawn from her experience in Detroit.

To see the full list of award winners, visit the United States Artists website.