Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
Join us for a talk from Jill Downen, who attended the Art Omi International Artist Residency Program, this summer.
Downen, is a 2015 Visual Artist Award Fellow who works in site-responsive installations, sculpture, and drawing. Downen wrote when accepted into the residency, “As an artist-in-residence at Art Omi, I look forward to engaging in dialogue with visiting critics and participating in a community of international artists while I make new work. I want to transform my studio into an art installation; with Dia Beacon nearby, I know I’ll have plenty of inspiration.” Not only does the selected artist benefit from the fully-funded residency and professionally curated exhibition, but all applicants have their work viewed by a selection panel comprised of nationally known artists, arts professionals, and art collectors.
ABOUT JILL DOWNEN
Jill Downen (b. 1967, Belleville, IL) is a non-binary American artist based in Kansas City who works in site-responsive installations, sculpture, and drawing. Significant awards include the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, the Stone and DeGuire Contemporary Art Award, the Charlotte Street Visual Artists Award, and a Santo Foundation Grant. Jill Downen has created installations at The Momentary/Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and for Open Spaces: The Exhibition. Their residencies include MASS MoCA, the MacDowell Colony National Endowment for the Arts residency, and Cité International des Arts residency in Paris, among others. Downen has lectured about their work extensively, including the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Luce Irigaray Circle Philosophy Conference in New York. They hold a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and an M.F.A. from the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis. Jill Downen is the chair of sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute and is represented by the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE STREET & ART OMI INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS RESIDENCY PROGRAM
In 2005, Charlotte Street added an opportunity for one Award recipient to attend the Art Omi Residency. Art Omi is a highly respected international artists residency program in Upstate New York. All past Award recipients are invited to submit applications to Art Omi with one spot guaranteed for a Charlotte Street artists and selected by the Art Omi selection panel. Not only does the selected artist benefit from the fully-funded residency and professionally curated exhibition, but all applicants have their work viewed by a selection panel comprised of nationally known artists, arts professionals, and art collectors.
Art Omi International Artists Residency invites visual artists from every continent, representing a wide diversity of artistic styles, to gather in rural New York State to experiment, collaborate, and share ideas. During four weeks each June-July, concentrated time for creative work is balanced with the stimulation of cultural exchange and critical appraisal. Learn more at www.artomi.org.
