Artist Initiative

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$9,405
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Austin P. Swearengin
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
March 2015
End Date
February 2016
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Hennepin
Project Overview
Artist Initiative
Project Details
Swearengin will expand on his interest in designed environments and the relationship to identity. He will explore the use of poly-resins, polyurethane plastics, aluminum casting, countertop concrete, coal slag, and diamond dust in creating a new body of work for exhibition in Minneapolis
Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications
Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher; Wendy Dayton: Arts and community leader and philanthropist.; Sean Dowse, Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; David Glenn: Executive director of the Minnesota Project, ceramic artist; Ellen McInnis: Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Keya Ganguly: Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, and Studies in Cinema and Media Culture, University of Minnesota; Jessica Hirsch: Sculptor, woodworker, and artist-in-residence, Driftless Folkschool; Shana Kaplow: Painter and video artist, art professor, Saint Cloud State University; Bradley Kaspari: Visual artist, sculptor, and public artist, owner and director, Kaspari Design Services, Inc.; Cecilia Schiller: Visual artist utilizing carving and woodworking to create interactive sculptures; Karen Stout-Heller: Oil painter and collage artist; Caitlin Warner: Book artist, board member, Art Shanty Project, staff, Graywolf Press
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
Yes
Conflict of Interest Contact
Executive director Sue Gens (651) 215-1600
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2013, Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$9,405
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$9,405
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

The artist will present a new body of work at an exhibition that will be open to the public. The new body of work will be completed and exhibited in Minneapolis and will also be present on the artist's website. 2: The artist will have accumulated new knowledge of polyurethane plastics and different mold making strategies through material investigation. Finished works in new materials that retain the high level of craft which I expect from my work.

Measurable Outcome(s)

The new body of work was exhibited at a gallery called Detroit in Downtown Minneapolis, and now the documentation lives on my website which will be available permanently. The exhibition was an amazing success, and we had a great turnout for the opening, hundreds of people attended including children, and all and all I thought the exhibition gave a great overview of my proposed Arts Board project. 2: I have developed a new way of casting metals, that I can do from anywhere, without an extensive foundry situation, and I have begun experimenting with chemical processes such as electroplating and electromagnetism. I don't think it was insular as much as the public that determined my degree of success. I have had a huge response to the work I am making now, and because of this grant I now have an upcoming Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program exhibition and I am a current resident at Pioneer Works, which in turn I have meetings with curators from the Whitney, Museum of Modern Art, the drawing center, JTT gallery and many more interesting and important people. Without this grant I would not be in the place that I am.

Description of Funds
Project Manager
First Name
Austin
Last Name
Swearengin
Organization Name
Austin P. Swearengin
State
MN
Phone
(913) 306-6246
Email
apswearengin@yahoo.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency