Announcing the 2026 Lydia McCain Artist Fellows
Erie Arts and Culture is proud to announce its 2026 Lydia McCain Artist Fellows.
Erie Arts and Culture is committed to investing in the artists living and working in Erie County through the annual Artist Fellowship program.
The McCain Fellowship grant awards are unrestricted. Funds are flexible, and can be used for any part of the artist's creative process, including professional development, purchasing equipment or tools, and support for basic needs.
The Fellowship supports one artist in each career level: Emerging, Mid-Career, and Established. This year, EAC accepted applications from Literary and Performing Artists. We are pleased to present our 2026 Lydia McCain Artist Fellows, and invite you to celebrate with us at our January 13th Creative Crowd.
Emerging Artist Fellow - Tess Carletta
Tessa Sayre (she/her) is an independent author based in the heart of North East, Pennsylvania. Her published works feature diverse characters in magical worlds, with an emphasis on queer joy and the quest to understand the human condition. After writing casually for over fifteen years, Sayre published her debut novel, Kit & Basie in 2023. Praised for its cozy whimsy, Kit & Basie is a gentle study on love and the meaning of home. It has been nominated for 9 indie publishing awards.
Tess writes, "A good book is one you can escape into. A great book is one that, when you return from that escape, you see the real world through a lens that is wider, wiser, and kinder... [My] published and in-progress works are a call to action to chase wholeheartedly after a meaningful existence."
Click here to learn more!
Mid-Career Artist Fellow - Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal
Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal (they/them) writes queer, working-class stories, essays, and poems. Winner of the Plaza Short Story Prize, their creative work can be found in Story, Third Coast, The Masters Review, Fairy Tale Review, Hole in the Head Review, F(r)iction, South Carolina Review, and elsewhere. Other writing appears in The Rumpus, Barrelhouse, New Ohio Review, and additional journals.
They are the recipient of a MASS MoCA Fellowship and Residency, the Carlisle Family Scholarship from Community of Writers, a Scholarship from the Vermont Studio Center Residency, and an Emerging Artist Fellowship from Partners for the Arts. In addition, their work has been supported by a Sundress Residency, a Twisted Run Residency, and the Tin House Winter Workshop.
Clayton writes about their practice, "I became a writer out of necessity... it was literature that saved me and showed me hope for the future. There was no other space for me outside of books, and I... felt a need to etch my name into the world."
They are currently querying a short story collection titled "Soft Goodbyes Through Broken Veils". The collection is a group of loosely linked short stories that explore what it means to be an artist coming from the working class.
Click here to learn more!
Established Artist Fellow - Preach Freedom
Ronald “Preach Freedom” Williams is a musician, composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator whose career spans global stages, classrooms, and community movements. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Preach has spent decades using music as a powerful tool for connection, resistance, and healing.
A founding member of acclaimed groups such as One World Tribe, Preach Freedom and Connect, and the Buffalo Afrobeat Orchestra, Preach Freedom blends soul, Afrobeat, hip-hop, reggae, and funk to create music that is deeply human. His compositions speak to the collective struggle for justice, the beauty of our differences, and the core belief that music is a tool that brings people together. His band One World Tribe was awarded 1st Prize in the Renaissance Artists and Writers Association's 2016 Songs for Social Change Competition for the track “We Are One,” featuring Grammy-winner Terrance Simien.
Beyond the stage, Preach Freedom has impacted thousands of students through long-term teaching and artist residencies across the United States, particularly in underserved communities. His classroom is a space where rhythm, language, geography, and math intersect, and where students are empowered to express themselves and break stereotypes through cultural exchange.
As a performer and actor, Preach has appeared in productions with Buffalo’s Ujima Theatre Company and the Erie Playhouse, among others, earning multiple ARTIE Award nominations for his work with Ujima.
Preach's ethos is evident throughout his entire career. He shared, "My entire practice can be summarized as 'each one, teach one'. With One World Tribe, we didn’t write for major labels, we wrote to impact our communities... 'We Are One' wasn’t just a song; it was a call: Think globally, act locally.
Music is both a mirror and a movement. It’s how I see the world, and it’s the legacy I leave. Preach Freedom is more than my name; it’s my call to action."
