Frederick & Frances Sommer Foundation
The Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation is a non-profit charitable trust
with 501(c)3 tax status established in 1993 by Frederick and Frances Sommer with a
mission statement to support aesthetic pursuits related to the environment and
quality of life.
Original Trustees:
Frederick Sommer, 1993-1999
Frances Sommer, 1993-1999
Stephen Aldrich, 1993-2002
Walton Mendelson, 1993-2002
Naomi Lyons, 1993-
Current Trustees:
Naomi Lyons, Amy Jaspers (2002), Jeremy Cox (2002)
The Foundation is located in Prescott, Arizona and holds Frederick Sommer's
personal library, a collection of artwork, maintains this website and reviews
reproduction requests.
The cabin where Fred and Frances resided for 61-years is currently connected
to a fellowship program at Prescott College. This collaboration with Prescott
College established in 2000 provides housing in the Sommer cabin during a
student's senior year of enrollment. The Sommer cabin includes a spacious studio
and a B/W darkroom. This Fellowship is intended to lend the environmental
support the chosen student needs for concentration and creativity, "We are
environment making towards ourselves," Frederick Sommer. The Fellowship is
awarded through an application process managed by Arts and Letters faculty of
Prescott College with the final award choice made by the Trustees of the Sommer
Foundation. The Fellow is selected on the merit of the student's creative
writing skill, academic accomplishments and their artistic seriousness. All
Resident Degree Program students in the Arts & Letters Program are eligible to
apply during their junior year. The Fellowship is non-discriminatory toward the
various disciplines of study within the Arts & Letters Program : performers,
writers, studio artists, photographers, sculptors, art educators and/or
historians are encouraged to apply.
Prescott College and the
Sommer Fellowship 2017-18 download the Fellowship App PDF
Recipients:
2016-2017 Gelisa Senteno
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2015-2016 Emilyann Dearborn
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2014-2015 Amber 'Cricket' Harrington
Interdisciplinary Arts and Letters
2013-2014 Yarrow Corymb
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Arts
2012-2013 Zoe Mason
Creative Writing and Latin American Studies
2011-2012 Laura Hitt
Creative Writing and Literature
2010-2011 Allison Field Bell
Creative Writing and Literature
2009-2010 Jessica Roth
Arts & Letters / Environmental Studies
2008-2009 Travis Patterson
Photography and Education
2007-2008 Lydia Paar
Cultural studies / Writing & Literature program
2006-2007 Iris Cushing
Studio Arts and Writing
2005-2006 Megan Flaherty
Photography
2004-2005 Sam Reed
Writing & Literature
PDF page 20 & 21
from Transitions (Fall, 2004), a Prescott College publication where Sam and Maximillian
both write about their experience with the fellowship.
2003-2004 Maximillian Wahlberg
Photography and Environmental Studies
emphasis in Environmental Education
2002-2003 John Nicholas (Niko) Raterman
Education and Studio Arts
with a concentration in Painting
2001-2002 Aidan Clowes & Courtney Ortel
A shared award, Photographic Studies
Prescott College press release for 2002
"Transitions" newsletter PDF, pg. 10-11
The Foundation is not currently accepting grant applications.
Previous grants, loans and support have been made to:
2010-2013 additional outside grants were not solicited
2009 loan to exhibition at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ
2008 loan to exhibition at Hollins University, Virginia
2007
2006 loan to exhibitions at Phippen Museum; Smithsonian SITES
2005 several exhibitions associated with Sommer's centennial
2004
2003
The Center for Creative Photography - A Sekonic L-508 light-meter to aid in
reproduction work and installation shots.
2002
Yavapai College : For the month of October in 2002, a 45-piece exhibition of
photographs, drawings and collage were on display at the Yavapai College Art
Gallery. This was the first solo-exhibition of Sommer's artwork in Prescott. The
Sommer Foundation funded and co-curated the show in addition to providing 15
gallery talks during the 30-day exhibit. Yavapai College is our community
college and serves the needs of all age groups seeking an education in northern
Arizona. Attending the talks were photography and art classes from Sedona,
Tempe, Tucson, Camp Verde along with Prescott College, Yavapai College and the
Prescott Unified School District.
Public parks : In the Mountain Club, where the Sommers lived for 64-years,
there is a tree-lined playground. Because of recent attention to fire danger in
the surrounding Ponderosa forest on the south side of Prescott, these trees,
towering over the power lines were threatened with removal. The Sommer
Foundation in collaboration with the Mountain Club Homeowner's Association
Board, worked with Arizona Public Service (APS), Qwest and CableOne to bury the
lines, saving the park's trees. Over $21,000 was raised and $24,000 of volunteer
equipment and labor were donated through contributions and grants from the
Yavapai College Leadership Center, the Arizona State Parks and Recreation
Department, the Arizona Community Fund, Al Minor Construction and the Frederick
& Frances Sommer Foundation.
2001
Center for Creative Photography : the Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation made
an additional gift, making the total contribution endowment level in the name of
Frederick and Frances Sommer.
The Center for Creative Photography : The Frederick and Frances Sommer
Foundation purchased a Better Light digital capture system to support access to
and preservation of the Center's growing collection of photographs and archive
materials.
Year 2000 and older -
Center for Creative Photography
Lively Foundation.
PBS, Channel 8, Phoenix.
Page updated March 2015
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