NEWS

JANUARY 08, 2021

COADY BROWN CURATES “DOMESTICATED” – A GROUP SHOW AT RICHARD HELLER GALLERY

Coady Brown (Visual Arts Fellow 2019-2020 and 2018-2019) is the curator (and a participating artist) of “Domesticated,” a new group show at the Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. The exhibition also features works by Raul De Lara (Visual Arts Fellow 2019-2020). In addition to Brown and De Lara, the group show also features works by Alexander Harrison, Brook Hsu, GaHee Park and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez. The show opens January 9th and runs through February 13th. Left image: Coady Brown, Midnight Bloom, 2020, oil on canvas, 42” x 36”, Right image: Raul De Lara, Tornado, 2020, painted wood and leather saddle, 21.5” x 9.5” x 21.5”

DECEMBER 31, 2020

NATHALIE MIEBACH LAUNCHES NEW STUDIO VENTURE – “SPIDERS AND BIRDS”

Nathalie Miebach (Visual Arts Fellow 2007-2007 and 2006-2007) has recently launched a wonderful new artist-run, women-owned small business called Spiders & Birds – playful handwoven design for a home that likes to smile. According to Nathalie, “I began Spiders & Birds during the Covid-19 pandemic. After a 15 year, solid career in exhibiting sculptures all over the US and abroad, I wanted to stretch my wings again to start a design studio that borrows my fine arts aesthetics of play to combine with more functional items for the home. While I am still working in my regular studio making sculptures (nathaliemiebach.com), I am excited to start this new branch in my art career that focuses on a slightly different interest of mine.”

DECEMBER 29, 2020

“S-334473” – SARAH OPPENHEIMER’S STUNNING INSTALLATION AT MASS MOCA

Sarah Oppenheimer (Visual Arts Fellow 1995-1996) has recently completed the installation of S-334473 – her dynamic environmental sculpture – at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, MA. Visitors are encouraged to touch the glass and metal sculpture in order to set its movement in motion and redefine the physical experience and sight lines of the exhibition space. “Oppenheimer’s S-334473 mobilizes the museum’s architecture in order to transform and extend the visitor’s understanding of the exhibition spaces it reveals, and disrupts. In the process, artwork and viewer become joined in an intricate choreography of the inhabited environment.” Left photo: courtesy MASS MoCA, Right photo: Bette Warner

DECEMBER 24, 2020

FIRELEI BÁEZ IN POWERFUL GROUP EXHIBITION AT SKIDMORE COLLEGE

Firelei Báez (Visual Arts Fellow 2013-2014) is one of the participating artists in the extraordinary group show, “Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond,” at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College. According to organizers Rachel Seligman and Minita Sanghvi, “the exhibition takes the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment as the occasion for reflection and exploration of the issues and challenges women in the United States have faced, and continue to face, in politics and society. “Never Done” aims to go beyond politics to create conversations about art, gender, race, and intersectional identities. To do so, this exhibition presents artwork by a diverse group of women: Black, brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ, and differently-abled women and non-binary artists; artists working in photography, painting, printmaking, collage, textile, and sculpture; artists from across the United States and from different generations.” Through June 6, 2021. Image above: Untitled (Temple of Time), 2020, oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas, 94.5” x 132.5”

DECEMBER 23, 2020

JOHN MURILLO LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/VOELCKER AWARD

John Murillo’s (Writing Fellow 2007-2008) collection of poetry, Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry, has just been longlisted for a 2021 PEN/Voelcker Award For Poetry Collection given to a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence. “Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of its partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators. Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry was also selected as one of the Top Ten Poetry Books of 2020 by the New York Public Library (NYPL). Photo: Marcus Jackson

DECEMBER 23, 2020

LEILA CHATTI LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/OPEN BOOK AWARD

Deluge, Leila Chatti’s (Writing Fellow 2016-2017) collection of poems, has just been longlisted for a 2021 PEN Open Book Award for an exceptional book-length work of any literary genre by an author of color. “Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of its partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators.

DECEMBER 22, 2020

ASAKO SERIZAWA LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/ROBERT W. BINGHAM PRIZE

Asako Serizawa’s (Writing Fellow 2015-2016) collection of linked stories, Inheritors, has just been longlisted for a 2021 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize For Debut Short Story Collection for an author whose debut collection of short stories represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise for future work. “Since 1963, the PEN America Literary Awards have honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature across diverse genres, including fiction, poetry, science writing, essays, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of its partners, PEN America confers over 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators.

DECEMBER 02, 2020

ANNUAL BARD FICTION PRIZE IS AWARDED TO AKIL KUMARASAMY

Akil Kumarasamy (Writing Fellow 2016-2017) has received the Bard Fiction Prize for her debut story collection, Half Gods. Akil begins a one-semester residency at Bard College for the 2021–22 academic year, during which time she will continue her writing, meet informally with students and give a public reading. “Akil Kumarasamy’s Half Gods is a breathtaking debut by one of those rare writers whose compassionate understanding – in this case, a multigenerational family with a frayed, crazy-quilt history – is matched by the narrative gifts necessary to bring her tales to life,” writes the Bard Fiction Prize committee.

DECEMBER 02, 2020

ANUSHKA JASRAJ SPEAKS ABOUT HER DEBUT SHORT STORY COLLECTION

In a new interview in The Telegraph India, Anushka Jasraj (Writing Fellow 2015-2016) and two-time regional winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Asia shares her thoughts about her debut short story collection, Principles of Prediction. “Principles of Prediction explores the folds and nuances of human relationships and the various shades and emotions of people in unique situations, all in fluid prose.”

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

WE REMEMBER OUR BELOVED FRIEND AND TRUSTEE DAN MULLIN

The entire Work Center family is saddened by the recent passing of our devoted, long-time friend and trustee, Dan Mullin. Dan was a very giving man, generous of heart, quick to laugh and blessed with a wonderfully mischievous side. He was deeply religious and relentlessly optimistic. For all who knew him and for everyone influenced by his contagious smile, wit and love, he will be greatly missed.