FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Suzanne Cada
PO Box 2506
Knoxville, TN 37901
(865) 523-7543
sc@knoxalliance.com
www.knoxalliance.com

Arts & Culture Alliance Announces Six-Month Artist Residency Opportunity

(08/17/2009/Knoxville) – The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to receive applications for The Betsy Worden Memorial Artist Residency, available at the Emporium Center for Arts & Culture at 100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville.  Available to college students and other young and emerging artists, The Betsy Worden Memorial Artist Residency includes:

+ FREE and exclusive access to 10’ x 10’ artist studio located in the Emporium Center
+ Complimentary membership in the Arts & Culture Alliance for one year
+ Display of at least one piece of artist’s new work in the public areas of the Emporium Center each month of the residency (beginning with the First Friday opening reception on October 2, 2009)
+ Exhibition of artist’s new work in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center near the end of the residency period (March, 2010)

Download an application here: Word / PDF

The artist will also be required to occupy the studio and be present to show new work each First Friday of the month, help hang monthly changing exhibits in the Emporium galleries if necessary, and spend a significant amount of time creating work in the Emporium studio.  Artist may also offer curatorial input and be eligible for curatorial opportunities in programming gallery space.

The Emporium’s current Artist-in-Residence, Brian Wagner, studied at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Western Kentucky University where he graduated with a Bachelors of Art in Photojournalism. Wagner worked for several newspapers across the country, including the Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, St. Petersburg Times, Herald in Jasper, IN, Midland Daily News, Charleston Gazette, Provo Daily News, and the Maryville Daily Times. Wagner has taught at Pellissippi State Technical Community College and begins his fourth semester as a fine art photography teacher at Maryville College this August.  Currently, he does freelance photography for various businesses, publications and individuals as well as weddings.  He is preparing for a solo exhibition in The Balcony during September 2009.  "It has been a complete privilege working as the Artist-in-Residence for the past several months. The opportunity acted as a catalyst, helping me create my current body of work, while opening many new doors along the way,” says Wagner.  “My work would not be where it is today without this opportunity, and I am grateful for the experience."

Betsy Worden, an artist, teacher, and Knoxville Civic Leader, was perhaps best known for her works in watercolor and weaving, and she contributed greatly to Knoxville’s visual arts community in numerous ways throughout her life.  She received her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee and did post-graduate studies at Atlanta School of the Art, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and the University of Tennessee.  A painter, tapestry weaver, and printmaker, she was a longtime instructor at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, and she taught watercolor classes for the Knoxville Museum of Art.  A leader in the Knoxville arts community, Worden served on the boards of many arts organizations, including the Arts & Culture Alliance and the Art Market Gallery, of which she co-founded.  She also co-founded the Community School of the Arts in Knoxville.  She served as a past president of the Knoxville Watercolor Society and actively participated in the Tennessee Watercolor Society, the Art and Antiques Gallery, Southern Highland Craft Guild, the Foothills Craft Guild, and Tennessee Women in the Arts.

Applications must include resume, letter of recommendation, artist’s statement, and CD of digital images of artist’s work.

Deadline for receipt of application is Friday, September 18, 2009.  Applications should be submitted to the Arts & Culture Alliance, PO Box 2506, Knoxville, TN 37901.  For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or e-mail sc@knoxalliance.com.

About the Arts & Culture Alliance
The Arts & Culture Alliance serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions.
 
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