Individual Artist Project Grant

The community will be involved in multiple levels of this project, as I look to participants to provide content for the pieces I make. My goal is that they pause and reflect on a positive memory or interaction with their environment, in or outside of the aquarium. When the art is on display, viewers can engage with these stories that come from those around them, inspiring further reflection. I will propose on site activities and science-based art workshops that can further engage the public. As an example, I can spend time at the aquarium creating some of the art, sparking dialogue with visitors and drawing them into the project. In spring 2022, I am also teaching a collage course and leading a monthly youth photo club at DAI where I can discuss the confluence of art and science, share the project and get student input. In addition to the community discourse for content, and the display of the artwork, I will provide an online experience of the project. A dedicated website will house an archive of the data and stories collected, including those that don't make it into the artwork itself. Photo and video documentation of the pieces, throughout the process and the final products, can be showcased on the site so a wider audience can engage with the art. Through Instagram and Facebook, I can give frequent updates and encourage dialogue on the project by posing questions in posts and through a project hashtag. Any event can be announced through these platforms as well.Beyond making and displaying a ?calendar? of natural history anecdotes, I want community members to engage in and help inspire the direction of the art. Interviewing visitors about their interactions with the natural world both in and out of museums will enrich my work and my process, as well as expand my audience. It has been a goal of mine to show my art in a non-traditional venue. Exhibiting at the aquarium in the summer of 2023 offers many benefits: a larger, newer and more diverse audience and exposure at a science-based museum. Allison adds that it is rare for their art exhibits to tie directly back to the aquarium. This project aims to do just that. The dedicated website offers an occasion to share and archive the stories. It can also be an opportunity to stimulate and increase viewership on my current online platforms by linking viewers to my professional website and my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I would like, for instance, to expand my social media followers by 25%. Since 2017 I have produced solo shows at the Kruk Gallery, MacRostie Art Center and Duluth Art Institute, and have been included in multiple juried exhibits in the region. The solo exhibits were partially funded from ARAC and MSAB grants. I have a steady practice at my studio where I experiment with techniques and materials while continuing to create new work. I have experience working with deadlines, managing time to successfully prepare exhibits and adapt to changing plans. Despite COVID restrictions, I connected to the public during my solo show at DAI in 2020 through a virtual artist talk, multiple livestream events and private, masked tours in the space. For the collaborative aspects of the project, the aquarium's Communications Director, Allison Iacone, confirmed she will connect me to Alexis Berke, Director of Learning and Engagement. She indicates that it's common for the aquarium to survey their public, so there are multiple ways to conduct my data/story collecting on site.In many ways, the project is already a success due to the confirmed collaboration and exhibit at the aquarium. Throughout the project, I will document and reflect on my process and community engagement through journaling, sketching and photographs. I will use the photo documents on my regular and project websites to showcase the art and to submit to future solo and juried exhibits. I will chronicle my experience of working with the aquarium and the public, and take new skills to future community-based projects.