10/27/2009 1:58:00 PM Artist-in-Residence programs announce their
selections for a new season
Staff Report Grand Canyon News
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Grand Canyon National Park's North and South Rim Artist-in-Residence programs are pleased to announce the artists selected for the October 2009 - September 2010 season.
The park's Artist-in-Residence program offers professional artists the opportunity to spend three weeks on either the North or South Rim of the Grand Canyon in housing provided by the National Park Service. Those three weeks are an opportunity for artists to enjoy quality uninterrupted time, pursuing their art while creating works that generate understanding and dialogue about the need to preserve the Grand Canyon.
This year, Grand Canyon's Artist-in-Residence program has been expanded to include not only artists who work in the time-honored tradition of representational landscape photography and painting, but to encourage the involvement of artists working in new mediums and of those whose art is in direct advocacy of the park's environmental, cultural and historical issues and concerns. In addition, the South Rim program has grown from a three-month to a year-round program.
Artists for both rims were chosen by a panel of five, including professional artists and park staff.
The artists selected for the 2009 - 2010 season on the South Rim are:
Susan Klein from Sarasota, Florida. Susan is a contemporary plein air landscape painter and will be in residence during October of 2009.
Randy Erwin from Springfield, Illinois. Randy is a western/cowboy singer and yodeler and will be in residence during November of 2009.
Kim Henkel from Keystone, South Dakota. Kim is a pinhole photographer and will be in residence during December of 2009.
Michael Miner from Studio City, California. Michael is a sliver gelatin landscape photographer and will be in residence during January of 2010.
Erica Stankwytch Bailey from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Erica is a jeweler/metal smith and will be residence during February of 2010.
Bridget Batch and Kevin Cooley from Brooklyn, New York. Bridget and Kevin produce narrative landscape photographs and performance videos (both solo and collaboratively) and will be in residence during March of 2010.
Dana Wildsmith from Bethlehem, Georgia. Dana is a nonfiction writer and will be in residence during April of 2010.
Leah Sobsey from Greensboro, North Carolina. Leah is a photographer/mixed-media artist and will be in residence during May of 2010.
David Alexander from Lake Country, British Columbia. David is a drawer/painter and will be in residence during June of 2010.
Andrew Demirjian from Palisades Park, New Jersey. Andrew produces media art and will be in residence during July of 2010.
Rick Kempa from Rock Springs, Wyoming. Rick is a writer and will be in residence during August of 2010.
Aaron Ximm from San Francisco, California. Aaron is a sound artist and will be in residence during September of 2010.
While the specific dates for the North Rim Artists-in-Residence will be set closer to the seasonal opening of the North Rim in 2010, the artists have already been selected. They are:
Paul Murray is from Santa Fe, New Mexico and is a pastel artist.
Patricia Latas Dum is from Tucson, Arizona and produces colored pencil drawings.
Karen Ahlgren is from Amalia, New Mexico and is a watercolor artist.
Terry Kramzar is from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Terry is a quilter who produces fiber landscapes.
Lyn Hart is from Tucson, Arizona and produces hand woven tapestries.
In exchange for the adventure of living and working at the Grand Canyon, each of these artists will be expected to provide three public outreach programs, presentations or performances of their choosing. In addition to these free programs, each artist will also donate to the park one work that was inspired by his or her residency here. The programs and the works produced by the artists are intended to inspire park visitors to become active participants in preservation and environmental and cultural advocacy.
To learn more about Grand Canyon National Park's Artist-in-Residence programs, please visit the park's web site at www.nps.gov/grca/supportyourpark/air.htm or call Rene Westbrook, South Rim Artist-in-Residence Program Coordinator at (928) 638-7090, or Robin Tellis, North Rim District Interpreter at (928) 638-7739.
