After a successful run in the tech world, engineer and entrepreneur Andrew Conru, founder of the namesake Conru Foundation, is leaning in to one of his personal passions — art — with the launch of the Seattle Prize Masters Fellowship. Announced recently through the Conru Art Foundation, the one-year program, according to a press release, is meant to “cultivate early-career artists dedicated to classical, representational painting.”

“As an amateur artist myself, and a passionate connoisseur of 19th-century art, I founded the Conru Art Foundation with the mission to celebrate Seattle’s vibrant art community and champion classical representational painting — a tradition that I deeply value and believe remains profoundly meaningful today,” Conru says.” I am concerned that artists are subject to too much commercial pressure, and as a result art has become over-commercialized. Our goal is to encourage a shift from art produced primarily to cater to market interest, to art created specifically to inspire, heal, and resonate deeply with the public.”

When first announced, the Seattle Prize award included a $50,000 annual stipend, free studio space in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square (Conru is currently renovating a building at 311 Occidental, where he plans to open the Occidental Fine Arts Center), and expert mentorship. Inspired by models like the Prix de Rome and traditional salons, Conru hopes the space will evolve into a thriving hub where artists can meet to discuss, debate, and collaborate over shared visions of Seattle as a world-class city that supports its creative class.

“Our model isn’t a conventional art school but an artistic incubator,” he notes, adding that “all artworks produced during the fellowship will remain accessible to the public through the foundation, fully aligning artists’ efforts with creating work that deeply inspires and heals.”

More than 170 artists from 19 countries applied to the fellowship. The foundation has plans to support 10 in its inaugural cohort, which will be announced later this year. Although the basic elements — stipends, studio space, and mentorship — remain the same, Conru says that the “scope has broadened since we announced the Seattle Prize back in January,” but couldn’t share more information until details were finalized.

In addition to housing the Seattle Prize winners, the Conru Foundation envisions the 311 Occidental building as an integral part of the larger Seattle art scene, “providing free classical art instruction to the broader community, enabling anyone interested to learn fundamental drawing and painting skills.” There will also be art shows and other public-facing programming.

Occidental building.

Photo courtesy of Conru Foundation.

“We hope to foster a cooperative and collaborative community emphasizing mutual growth rather than competition,” Conru says. “This collective approach encourages artists to exchange ideas, offer feedback, and inspire each other, resulting in work that’s deeply resonant and universally enriching.”