MEDIA RELEASE
Contact: Sarah Warren, Argent Financial Group, Inc.
swarren@argentfinancial.com | 318.251.5812

Ruston Artist Raluca Iancu was the recipient of Argent’s 2019 Hambidge Center Fellowship
RUSTON, Louisiana, March 2, 2020 – Argent Financial Group, a leading independent fiduciary wealth management firm, announced today that it will sponsor a second fellowship for the Hambidge Creative Residency Program. Applications are now open for the 2020 fall session.
The Argent Financial Distinguished Fellowship provides a $700 stipend and a two-week creative residency at the Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia. Ruston residents who work in the visual arts, writing, ceramics, dance, music or culinary arts are eligible and encouraged to apply.
“I am pleased that Argent Financial recognizes the importance of nurturing creative individuals in the Ruston community, and I am delighted that we are able to offer this exciting opportunity for a second year,” said Jamie Badoud, Hambidge Center executive director. “Raluca Iancu, the 2019 Argent Financial Distinguished Fellowship recipient, fully embraced her experience at Hambidge. We look forward to watching how Raluca impacts the Ruston community and getting to know the next recipient this fall.”
“At Argent, we truly value the arts and view creativity as an integral component of the human experience. We are pleased that many clients share these values,” said Kyle McDonald, Argent Financial Group CEO. “We are glad to support a residency that motivates local artists to cultivate their unique talents, encourage different perspectives, and develop critical thinking skills and new ways to interpret the world around us.”
The deadline for applications is April 15. For more information and to apply, visit the Hambidge Center website at www.hambidge.org.
About Hambidge Center
For more than 85 years, the Hambidge Center has been nurturing creative talents within the arts and sciences at its 600-acre creative sanctuary in the Blue Ridge Mountains, providing the space and time needed for visionary works to be conceived and developed. Nine individuals are in residence at any given time — each has private accommodations and studio space, and shares communal dinners prepared by the Hambidge chef. The public is invited to the Center on Saturdays for a series of programs that include artist talks, nature hikes, gristmill visits, weaving demonstrations, gallery openings and other special events.
About Argent Financial Group
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2020, Argent Financial Group (AFG) is a leading independent fiduciary wealth management firm. Responsible for more than $27 billion in client assets, AFG provides individuals, families, institutions and businesses with a broad range of wealth management services including trust administration and related services, investment management, family office services, retirement plan and charitable organization administration, mineral (oil and gas) management, and financial, retirement and estate planning. The company was also recently named for the second year in a row to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. AFG is the only financial services company in Louisiana to make the prestigious list. For more information, visit www.argentcares.com.
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