Career Development Grant
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
My goal is threefold: to complete my Great Lakes map series using re-purposed Battleship games; to exhibit them as an installation with other related new works including football and hockey game collages; and to share ideas the public and artists I invite for the show. Outcomes will be: a statistical and narrative record of the impact of the show as a whole, and of individual pieces, completion of the Battleship series, an increased network of fellow artists, more public recognition as a unique regional artist, a presentation of Great Lakes history made memorable by the use of gaming materials, and a new graphic metric for sports fans to see the movement in a particular game. For my own artistic development, the grant will allow me time to pursue my vision of play in art and expand into new areas. Since having a second child, time and resources have become more precious. My experience with the Quick Start showed me how grants like this can help keep my art practice viable. I will keep a record of local media, blog, and other mentions or reviews of the work. I will note the number of new followers of my blog and twitter accounts, and visitors to my website. I will likewise track any invitations to future art shows or collaborations, keep a sign-in/comment book at the opening reception, and note any income such as art sales, jobs or commissions deriving from this opportunity. The Duluth Art Institute and Depot may also keep door counts which I can tally during the month of the show to estimate an overall number of viewers; director Annie Dugan estimates 11,000 visitors over the course of a show, perhaps 15% being children. After completing a number of new pieces, I will gain insight into my current working process, and what direction my continuing work might take. I am interested in designing some of the new pieces so that the experience may be interactive for the audience, fitting with the theme of games and play.
My 3 specific outcomes were met: completing my series of Battleship great lakes maps; exhibiting them with related new works including sports collages; and sharing ideas with other artists and the public. I created 5 new assemblages and 6 collages. An archived recording was made of our artist talk, moderated by local artist Tim White. Some 200 people attended the opening; I grew my network of fellow artists, including exhibitors Chris Selleck, Elizabeth LaPensee, and Jonathan Thunder; and I added connections on my 2 social media feeds (Twitter and Facebook). The exhibit garnered at least 5 media mentions. In print, the Duluth Reader ran a photo and article, with estimated readership of 40,000; and the DNT with its daily circulation of 22,300 mentioned it in "Best Bets". In broadcast, my interview on KUMD's Radio Gallery reached 2,000 listeners, and is available to the 13,000 monthly home page visitors; while Fox 21 TV news interviewed Annie Dugan about the show. Online, Perfect Duluth Day ran an article by Dr. David Beard. The grant allowed me 114 hours of art-making time to pursue my vision. I received 2 invitations to show the work at other venues: The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, and Minneapolis' Coffee Shop NE. Annie Dugan estimated 11,000 visitors, perhaps 15% children. I gained insight into new directions for my work, consulting with Duluth's Maker Space about the future possibility of reprogramming of an electronic Battleship game for more accuracy.
Other, local or private