Recipient for the 2009-2010 Academic Year - Cindy Root 

The 2009-2010 EASMET SACI Scholarship recipient is Cindy Root, a San Francisco resident who has been admitted to SACI’s Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program to pursue a Painting major.  She is currently working towards a BFA degree in Painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she additionally tutors art students in writing and critique preparation and presentation. She works primarily as a large-scale figure painter whose subject is the human body.  Her cumulative GPA at the San Francisco Art Institute is 3.94. She had previously been a Fine Arts major at Sacramento City College, where her GPA was 4.00. Cindy writes, "SACI will offer me the global perspective, studio experience, faculty, and academic curriculum that will facilitate exploration, experimentation, and opportunity to explore a career in art education." (Right: Defrocked by Cindy Root, acrylic on canvas, collage, oil pastel, crayon, 7 x 8 feet)

In 2004, Dr. Elizabeth A. Sackler created a scholarship through The Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Education Trust for female students wishing to study abroad at Studio Art Centers International. The Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust sponsors museum exhibitions and supports opportunities for women artists, and this particular scholarship is designed for a female student who exhibits exceptional artistic excellence in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography or art conservation and intends to pursue a career in one of these fields. The scholarship arises from Dr. Sackler’s commitment to supporting women who would otherwise never have access to the kind of educational and cultural experience SACI offers.

For many years, Dr. Elizabeth Sackler has been a key figure in arts education. She has served on the National Advisory Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts as well as on the Board of the Brooklyn Museum. She is President and CEO of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation and the founding president of the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. As President of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, Dr. Sackler is responsible for the gift of Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party to the Brooklyn Museum, where it is permanently installed in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.

Through the year-long experience at SACI, the recipient of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust SACI Scholarship will have an opportunity to grow artistically, educationally, and personally in ways that will benefit her for a lifetime. “There is little that compares with the inspiration gained from a culture of great art, history, joy, and ease of love and life,” says Dr. Sackler. “I am thrilled, really, that The Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust is providing this annual scholarship to emerging women artists for SACI’s important program in Florence, Italy. There are very few things I can imagine being a more desirable opportunity. 

Eligibility and Award
The Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust SACI Scholarship is awarded to a female student attending in both the Fall and Spring terms who exhibits exceptional artistic excellence in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, or art conservation; intends to pursue a career in one of these fields; and demonstrates financial need.  This scholarship is awarded to one student each academic year.  The amount of the scholarship is variable; normally it reduces the recipient’s tuition by up to $7,500 each semester. The Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust SACI Scholarship is for women who would otherwise never have access to the kind of educational and cultural experience SACI offers. Applicants must provide complete financial aid information as indicated in the Financial Aid Application instructions on the SACI website.

Selection: SACI’s Scholarship Committee will evaluate eligible scholarship applications. In selecting the scholarship recipient, a number of factors will be taken into account, including quality of submitted portfolio, demonstrated financial need, academic achievement, and recommendations.

Deadline for Application
Completed application and supporting materials for scholarship applicants must be received at SACI’s New York City office by March 15. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. Scholarship recipients will be notified by May 1.

Recipient Roles and Responsibilites
While at SACI, it is expected that the recipient will perform at a high academic level and will interact responsibly and creatively within the Florentine community. To retain the scholarship in the Spring term, the recipient must maintain an overall 3.0 grade point average in course work undertaken in the Fall term at SACI.