Release date: October 16, 2007
Kennesaw State receives third NEA grant
Contact: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Assistant Director of Public Relations
770-499-3417 or cbrown@kennesaw.edu
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"Gone with the Macho" |
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"Construction in Blue and White" |
KENNESAW, Ga.—The Department of Visual Arts at Kennesaw State University was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. This grant is the third NEA award to be received by the College of the Arts and the second NEA grant to be awarded to the visual arts department. This grant is being used to support two major art exhibitions on campus as well as several art education initiatives.
The grant has been principally spent on the exhibitions of “AfroCuba: Works on Paper, 1968-2003” and “A Measured Response: Charles Allen Wright.” In addition to financing these exhibitions on campus, the award was used to bring renowned art historian Judith Bettelheim, Ph. D., curator of the “AfroCuba” exhibit, to KSU for a lecture and reception. The award also made it possible for Wright to spend a weeklong residency at KSU this month, during which he installed several of his sculptures and interacted with students and the community. Wright is a South Carolina sculptor and painter who creates large scale, public artwork as well as smaller, 3D and 2D pieces.
“We are very honored and appreciative of the NEA grant,” said Museum Director and Curator Will Hipps. “The grant affords artists the opportunity to share their expertise by showing slides and presenting lecture discussions to students, and the community.”
Museum Associate Mary Elizabeth Watson, along with Hipps and Museum Professional Kirstie Tepper, played a large role in procuring the NEA grant. “We’re always thrilled when visual arts are acknowledged,” said Watson. “With the grant, we can offer these exhibitions along with informative artist receptions and supplemental materials at no cost to the public, which helps KSU reach out to the community and make art available to a wider audience.”
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A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive‚ residential institution with a growing student population approaching 20‚000 from 132 countries. The third largest state university in Georgia‚ Kennesaw State offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degrees‚ including a new Doctorate of Education in Leadership.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved full national accreditation for all of its arts programs.