{{short description|American artist (born 1970)}} {{Infobox person |name=Bill Shannon |image= |birth_date={{birth year and age|1970}} |birth_place= Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |known_for= Performance Art |occupation=Performer |website=[http://www.WhatisWhat.com whatiswhat.com] }} '''Bill Shannon''' (born 1970) is an American artist who resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shannon holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.<ref name="ffca">[http://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/grant_recipients/billshannon.html Bill Shannon]</ref> Born with a degenerative hip condition,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://middleburycampus.com/2002/04/10/bill-shannon-the-crutchmaster-break-dances-on-crutches/ |title=Bill Shannon, the 'CrutchMaster,' Break Dances on Crutches |publisher=The Middlebury Campus |author=Prouty, Kate |date=2002-04-10 }}</ref> he developed a way to express himself through dance and skateboarding on crutches.
==Performances== Performances and video work include: * Kaaitheater, Brussels * Performance Space 122, NYC * The Kitchen, NYC * Sydney Opera House Studio Theater, Australia * Walker Art Center, Minneapolis * danceAble, Florida Dance Festival and Tigertail, Miami<ref>http://www.tigertail.org/danceable01.html</ref> * Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, OR * Central Park SummerStage, NYC * Dance City, Newcastle, England * Contact Theater, Manchester, England * Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago * Arizona State University, Tempe * The Exit Festival, Cretiel, France * Amman International Festival of Independent Theater, Amman, Jordan * Holland Festival, Amsterdam * Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland * URB Festival, Helsinki * Melbourne Fringe Festival * Teatro de la Ciudad in Monterrey, Mexico * "Work It Out" music video by RJD2 (2007) * 'Life flows better' Visa advert, (2009)
In 2002, he completed a project with Cirque du Soleil choreographing parts of their production Varekai.<ref name="cirquedusoleil">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070907093521/http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/varekai/creators/shannon.htm Bill Shannon]</ref>
His visual and multimedia art have been exhibited in contemporary museums, galleries and fairs include: * ArtDC in Washington, DC (2007) * Kiasma * Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art in Finland (2005) * Tate in Liverpool, England (2003) * Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco (2005).
==Awards== * Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" in 2001 * John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003 * [https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/ Foundation for Contemporary Arts] Grants to Artists award (2000)<ref name="ffca"/> * Colbert Award for Excellence: The Downtown Arts Projects Emerging Arts Award * Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Interdisciplinary Arts Fellowship * Wynn Newhouse Award in 2010
==Grants== * National Endowment for the Arts * the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts * Jerome Foundation * New York Foundation for the Arts * New York State Council for the Arts * James E. Robison Foundation * Bossak-Heilbron Charitable Foundation * The Harkness Foundation for Dance * Arts International: The Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals.
==Competitions== * 2000: Mantis Battle (Solo Category) in NYC; placed second in ProAms Florida (Abstract Category) * 2002: ''Most Creative Street Dancer'' by the LA Urban Dance Festival.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.whatiswhat.com/ Official site] * [https://www.pghcitypaper.com/news-2/turning-the-tables-1335045/ Turning the Tables: Artist and performer Bill Shannon keeps audiences off balance] (Pittsburgh City Paper) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070618124417/http://www.speakoutnow.org/userdata_display.php?modin=50&uid=132 Boundaries Blurred: Hip Hop Dance and Disability] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070905145428/http://www.danceumbrella.com/BillShannon.htm Bill Shannon 'Crutchmaster' in his acclaimed work, Spatial Theory] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6RGyJirL3g Visa advert]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Bill}} Category:American male dancers Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Artists from Brooklyn
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