Photo by Liz Levy
The CherryArts Emerging Artist program will help five new, emerging artists prepare for and participate in the festival. Each selected emerging artist—defined as an artist near the beginning of their career—will receive $5,000 in unrestricted funds to pursue any investment that supports their work. Discover more about this year’s juried artists and their unique creative practices.
Jenna Annunziato is a visual artist exploring our relationship to impermanence through discarded objects. Born in the Hudson Valley in New York, she completed her BFA in Painting and Drawing from SUNY New Paltz, NY in 2019. She has shown work nationally, most notable exhibitions include Hudson Valley New Folk at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, in NY, solo exhibition Forest of the Forgotten at Bell Projects in Denver, CO, and Soho House After Party at the Aspen Art Fair. She has completed a few residencies including a 4 month long residence at Breck Create in Breckenridge and Another Gallery Residency in Denver. She continues to explore her practice in Denver, Colorado.
Linda Bishara (b. Newark, NJ) is a ceramic sculptor based in Morrison, Colorado. She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Criminal Justice and a minor in Fine Arts and then went on to attain her Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School.
Linda seeks to captivate and transport her audience, inviting them into a realm where the ordinary dissolves into a chaotic fever dream. Her intention is to offer an escape from the heaviness of everyday life, only to plunge viewers into a delightful frenzy of unexpected wonders, surpassing their initial expectations. Drawing deeply from her experiences as a second-generation immigrant and an only child, Linda finds solace in her boundless imagination, weaving themes of mental escapism, loss, & humanity’s search for meaning through her cast of imaginary characters. Linda is influenced by carnival aesthetics, vintage toys, and anime. While rooted in traditional hand-building techniques, her process is imbued with a spirit of improvisation, allowing room for spontaneity and discovery, both for herself and her audience, as her works unveil unexpected secrets along the way.
Izzy Li Kostrzewa is an artist working primarily with textiles from deconstructed historic garments. Born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, they later moved to New York City, where they earned a BFA from Parsons School of Design in 2023. Their work has been exhibited at Sotheby’s with YoungArts (2019), the Paris Olympics (2024), and the Taipei Cultural Center in NYC (2024).
Kostrzewa was a Young Designer in Residence at Materials for the Arts in 2024. They were a Redress Design Awards Finalist in 2021 (Hong Kong), and are a recipient of the CFDA Re:Generation Innovation Award (2022). They have spoken at the Global Fashion Summit Boston (2024) and at the United Nations (2025).
Kostrzewa is the founder of the zero-waste fashion project Isaboko, and is currently a Converse All-Star and a climate fellow with The DO School.
Born in Seoul, I have lived across Japan, New Zealand, England, and the United States, shaping a perspective rooted in cultural fusion and artistic exploration.
My academic path—Fine Arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fashion Photography in London, and an MFA in Painting from SCAD Atlanta—fuses these disciplines into a dynamic mixed-media practice.
I create works that merge painting and photography, exploring texture, emotion, fashion, and narrative, while conveying a sense of growth and vitality. My Korean heritage and multicultural upbringing inspire me to weave diverse cultural influences with psychological insight, crafting art that bridges divides, celebrates acceptance, and invites reflection on our interwoven lives.
Almira Winans is a Denver-based oil painter and art educator whose work explores light, memory, and the emotional presence of nature. Born in Kazakhstan, she discovered art as a child, using drawing to navigate challenges and express herself before learning English. After her adoption and relocation to the United States, art remained a universal language, allowing her to communicate, connect, and find community.
Almira earned a BFA in Graphic Design from La Tech University, but her oil painting practice is primarily self-taught, developed through independent study, travel, and sustained studio work. Her early work included portraits, landscapes, and commissioned pet portraits; her current practice focuses on large-scale florals inspired by travel and carefully arranged still lifes. Using light, color, and form, she captures the fleeting beauty of flowers and the passage of time, evoking memory, reflection, and emotion. Her work has been exhibited in multiple Denver-area galleries, and she continues to develop her practice with the goal of pursuing an MFA while building a strong presence in the broader art community.
Eunjoo Kang
Ceramics
Mead, CO
Rachel Meyers Hefferan
Fiber
Fennville, MI
Kristen St. Clair
Ceramics
Denver, CO
Benjamin Stanford
Painting
Denver, CO
Tricia Waddell
Fiber
Denver, CO
Annie Anderson
Painting
Portland, ME
Adam Anglin
Painting
Denver, CO
Giulio D’Amore
Sculpture
Denver, CO
Emilia Ealom
Ceramics
Denver, CO
Phoebe Hatch
Mixed Media
Boulder, CO
