The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded ArtsWestchester a $35,000 grant to support an exhibition that will explore notions of gender and femininity.
In winning the prestigious award, ArtsWestchester is among 1,023 organizations receiving grants that are supporting exhibitions and promoting opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.
ArtsWestchester’s planned exhibition is called SHE: Deconstructing Female Identity. It will feature new and commissioned work created by Westchester and Hudson Valley artists who address ideas of gender and femininity in the 21st century. The exhibition will showcase emerging artists alongside those with established careers, including Laurel Colvin Garcia, Debbie Han, Rebecca Mushtare, Mari Ogihara, Kathy Ruttenberg, Tricia Wright, Nancy Davidson, Marcy B. Freedman and Barbara Segal.
A planned opening is set for March 2016 during Women’s History Month at ArtsWestchester’s gallery in the ArtsExchange building, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, in White Plains.
“Femininity and gender thread all aspects of society and culture, and what better way to explore those issues than through the arts,” said Janet Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester. “We’re grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts and our federal representatives for supporting such an important and worthwhile exhibition.”
The NEA awarded a total of $74.3 million in this round of funding; it’s the second major funding announcement made by the organization in 2015.
“The NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity, and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States,” NEA Chairman Jane Chu said. “Funding these new projects like the one from ArtsWestchester represents an investment in both local communities and our nation’s creative vitality.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrision, are avid supporters of the arts and ArtsWestchester, the largest, private, not-for-profit arts council in New York State, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
“Investments in the arts help bolster creativity and showcase our community’s talent and I am glad these funds will support local artists through ArtsWestchester,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The new exhibit will showcase the works of both emerging and established artists, and I hope their talents will inspire creativity in all who visit the exhibit.”
“The arts are an important part of our regional identity,” said Rep. Lowey. “I’m pleased these federal investments will help ArtsWestchester support local artists who are telling amazing stories that enrich the Lower Hudson Valley. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue to support funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.”
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit www.arts.gov. To learn more about ArtsWestchester, visit www.artswestchester.org. To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring2015.
