Nicki Green Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
Deborah Jack Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Wendy Red Star
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Dianne Smith
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
The Nancy Graves Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists.
Established through a provision of the artist’s Last Will and Testament, the Foundation has supported the work and artistic development of individual artists since 2001. This year’s grantees include Nicki Green, Deborah Jack, Wendy Red Star, and Dianne Smith. Initially nominated by artists and arts professionals from across the country, a second panel of jurors selected four grantees to receive unrestricted funds to work in a technique, medium or discipline that is different from the one for which they are primarily recognized. Nicki Green is a trans disciplinary artist working primarily in clay. Green, who is based in San Francisco, CA, will use the grant funding to learn about pipe soldering, water pumps, and plumbing in order to integrate running water into sculptures. Deborah Jack is a photographer and video artist based in Jersey City, NJ and St. Maarten. Jack will use the grant to expand her lens based work on memory and ecology into a more tactile practice using beeswax, encaustic, and canvas. Wendy Red Star is an interdisciplinary artist working in photography, sculptures, video, fiber arts, and performance. Based in Portland, OR, Red Star plans to use the grant funds to undertake a sculpture and sound based project on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Dianne Smith is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist working with video installations. Smith will use grant funding to start projection mapping in order to create an immersive public art installation in Harlem.
Each artist will receive an award of $12,500.