Artist, educator and Cal State Fullerton alum Ann Phong ’95 (MFA, art) was recently awarded the Lakers 2024 “In the Paint” grant — named for the basketball term that refers to the painted area on the court where players score points or display their best efforts. The initiative spotlights stories and artwork from local artists of color who are creating throughout Los Angeles. Phong is one of 10 artists selected to receive this year’s $10,000 grant. Each awarded artist will also create three original works for an exhibition to be held in Los Angeles in 2025.
As unofficial cultural ambassadors for the city, the Lakers are deeply embedded in Los Angeles culture. On the “In the Paint” website, the organization draws comparisons between artistic and athletic expression, stating “We are all in the business of expression. It’s the approach a player takes to the basket. The color palette an artist handpicks. The bridge a musician writes. The line an actor delivers. Expression is powerful…”
Phong’s own powerful connection to Southern California began in the 1980s when she arrived from Vietnam. Phong later attended Cal State Fullerton, where she studied drawing and painting with faculty members Tom Holste, Kyung Sun Cho and Jade Jewett. She credits her time at the university with much of her success as an artist.
“I had an art studio to create in, to be myself in and to pursue my dream of becoming an artist. By the time I graduated, I had created more than 40 artworks and shown in solo exhibitions,” said Phong.
Phong is currently a faculty member in the Department of Art at Cal Poly Pomona, where she teaches drawing and painting. Since graduating from CSUF’s MFA program in 1995, Phong has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions.
In spring 2022, CSUF’s Nicolas & Lee Begovich Gallery presented a solo exhibition of Phong’s work entitled “Ann Phong: Re-Evaluating Normal,” where memories of her own migration and the social and environmental impacts of COVID-19 were rendered in bright hues on canvases thick with textured paint and embedded found objects.