Jono Vaughan, Documentation of Project 42, performance by Anna Conner at the Henry Art Gallery,  2016.
Jono Vaughan, Documentation of Project 42, performance by Anna Conner at the Henry Art Gallery, 2016. JONATHAN VANDERWEIT

Seattle Art Museum has announced the recipient of the annual Betty Bowen Award, an unrestricted cash award of $15,000 for a regional Pacific Northwest artist. Chosen out of five finalists (listed here), the winner’s work will be featured in an installation at the Seattle Art Museum in April.

And the winner is Jono Vaughan, a visual artist whose work is rooted in gender and social identity.

Two special recognition award winners also each receive a $2,500 award. All the artists chosen are Seattle-based. More about them after the jump:

Jono Vaughan, the artist behind Project 42, a poignant multidisciplinary work commemorating 42 trans lives lost to violence. For Project 42, Vaughan created textiles for each individual based off of a Google Earth image of the location where they were murdered, which culminated in a series of performances collaborated with choreographers and other artists.

Deborah Lawrence, Eighty Words, 2014, paper and fabric collage, acrylic, varnish on canvas, 41.25 x 3 4.5 inches.
Deborah Lawrence, Eighty Words, 2014, paper and fabric collage, acrylic, varnish on canvas, 41.25 x 3 4.5 inches. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Deborah Faye Lawrence, a visual artist who brings a strong political, feminist and satirical slant to intricate collages made from print news and magazine ads, found images, and maps and flags.

Ko Kirk Yamahira, Untitled, 2017, acrylic, pencil, unweaved, deconstructed on canvas, 67 x 45.5 x 0.
Ko Kirk Yamahira, Untitled, 2017, acrylic, pencil, unweaved, deconstructed on canvas, 67" x 45.5" x 0". COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Ko Kirk Yamahira, an artist whose work lives somewhere between painting and sculpture, who shreds or “unweaves” the actual fabric in canvases to make new compositions.

There will be a ceremony and reception in November to present the award.