Thirty-nine Connecticut artists have been awarded grants through the Artist Fellowship Program, as announced March 22 by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of The Arts.

Five artists were been recognized for a $5,000 Artist Fellowship Excellence Award, 30 artists received a $3,000 Artist Fellowship Award, and four were been identified for a $1,000 Emerging Recognition Award.

Jim Allyn of Newtown was one of the artists awarded a $3,000 Artist Fellowship Award. He is one of eight people in the state selected for Performing Arts category.

The Artist Fellowship Program recognizes the artistic excellence of individual Connecticut artists in a variety of disciplines and allows these artists the opportunity to pursue new works of art and to achieve specific creative and career goals. The program is highly competitive. More than 235 applicants were received for the 2018 round, with applications reviewed by 48 professional panelists representing a wide array of artistic disciplines.

 Mr Allyn is a Newtown resident, musician, and instructor. Through Jim Allyn's Music Workshop, he has taught students of all ages and levels on a variety of instruments, including piano, guitar, voice, mandolin, bass, violin, and others, for decades.

He performs in solo, duo and group settings, often with Flagpole Radio Cafe Orchestra. He was the music director for Flagpole Radio Cafe, a popular series presented regularly at Edmond Town Hall for four seasons (2008-2012), and then occasionally for a few more years. It offered music by Jim Allyn & The Flagpole Radio Cafe Orchestra and radio style comedy sketches by Flagpole Shakespeare Repertory Theatre.