In 2018 we welcomed Hope Ginsburg of the Art Foundation Program and Department of Painting and Printmaking as our second ARI Research Fellow. We owe her a depth of gratitude for being such a wonderful part of the Institute this year, and we offer her sincere congratulations for her thoughtful investigations and work during this time.
The ARI Research Fellow plays an important role in fostering deeper collaborations and investigations across VCUarts. The fellowship is awarded annually to provide support to an outstanding researcher in VCUarts. Fellows receive three course releases throughout the year, intensive research support, and the opportunity to activate the ARI Gallery.
The primary focus of Ginsburg’s fellowship was the production of Swirling, which will premiere at her show Sponge Exchange at the University of Southern Florida Contemporary Art Museum in January, 2020 with grant support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ginsburg used time from course releases to produce the multi-channel video project with the Wexner Center for the Arts last fall, and traveled to numerous universities to lecture and visit studios. A preview of Swirling was displayed in the ARI Gallery during spring 2019 through August 2nd 2019. During this time the gallery also presented Beautiful Words are Subversive, a collaboration between Nontsikelelo Mutiti of Graphic Design and Tinashe Mushakavanhu PhD.
This past year Hope Ginsburg was awarded the Kennedy Family Artist and Scholar Residency at the School of Art and Art History at the University of South Florida College of the Arts. The residency involves co-teaching Sponge Exchange at the university to create a new work as part of the eponymous show. Ginsburg was recently featured for her 2018 project Land Dive Team: Amphibious James by the socially engaged art funder A Blade of Grass. Next, Ginsburg is pioneering her new project Meditation Ocean with research through a year long Mindful Teacher Training through Mindful Schools.
Thank you Hope Ginsburg for your amazing dedication, and your contributions to ARI and arts research.
Image: Hope Ginsburg, Matt Flowers, Joshua Quarles; Video still from Swirling, 2019.