Public and artists can discuss works and swap ideas
DES MOINES – Performance artist Akwi Nji of Cedar Rapids and photographer Stephanie Brunia of Oxford will join the rest of Iowa’s newest Artist Fellows in Coralville this month to share their work and discuss ideas as part of the Iowa Arts Council’s 2016-2017 Meet the Artist series.
Nji (pronounced ENN-jee) and Brunia, along with multimedia artist Brent Holland of Des Moines, writer and poet Jennifer Knox of Nevada and visual artist Yun Shin of Orange City, will meet the public and cross-pollinate their ideas with local artists and art enthusiasts 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Coralville Center for Performing Arts, 1301 Fifth St. in Coralville. The event is free and open to the public.
The Iowa Arts Council created the multi-discipline Iowa Artist Fellowship Program in 2014 to support professional, active Iowa artists who are at a pivotal point in their careers, and who demonstrate exceptional creativity and capacity to contribute to excellence and innovation in Iowa arts.
In addition to traveling the state to connect with Iowans, each Artist Fellow receives a $10,000 grant to facilitate new work and a year’s worth of professional development opportunities with local, state and national experts. Iowa’s five new Artist Fellows were chosen from a pool of 68 applicants, an increase from the 40 artists who applied for the program in 2015.
The remaining 2016-2017 Meet the Artist schedule follows:
- 2-4 p.m. March 25 at the Dubuque Museum of Art
- 2-4 p.m. April 8 at the Sioux City Art Center
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its three divisions – the Iowa Arts Council, Produce Iowa - State Office of Media Production and the State Historical Society of Iowa – empower Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places and points of pride that define our state. The department’s work enables Iowa to be recognized as a state that fosters creativity and serves as a catalyst for innovation where the stories of Iowa are preserved and communicated to connect past, present and future generations.