| Anderson Gallery at Drake University to Receive $20,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts The Anderson Gallery at Drake University has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support a site-specific installation by artists Duane Slick and Martin Smick. Their exhibition will open to the public on October 27, 2023. This project is among 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2023 funding. “The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including Duane Slick and Martin Smick’s installation, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design.” “We are thrilled at the opportunity to bring these artists to Des Moines to create an installation,” said Anderson Gallery Manager Lilah Anderson. “We believe Duane Slick and Martin Smick’s work is beautiful and powerful and will provide a valuable space for contemplation and conversation on campus and in the wider community.” Duane Slick is an artist of Native American descent, the Meskwaki Nation of Iowa and the Ho-Chunk Nation of Nebraska. His acrylic paintings blend the subjects of oral and visual Native American traditions with a focus on trickster strategies and modernist/post-modernist painting histories. Martin Smick is an artist who has been living and working in Rhode Island since 2007 and has taught in the Painting Department at Rhode Island School of Design since 2013. Both artists have exhibited nationally and have collaborated on two previous exhibitions. As collaborators, Slick and Smick are conscious of their respective cultural identities and have been able to create exhibitions that engage in issues surrounding Native culture. The grant will fund their site-specific installation at the Anderson Gallery that will be open to the public from Oct 27-Dec 10, 2023. Mark your calendars for this exciting fall exhibition! For more information on other projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news. |
