The Union for Contemporary Art founds its home—two adjacent buildings at 24th and Burdette Street will house the nonprofit, who is holding a “Community Clean-up Day” January 14 to clean and paint the interior of the building. The Union is also calling for applicants for their Studio Fellowship Program to start in February 2012. Six fellows will receive a studio space, stipend, and professional development opportunities for six months as well as participate in a group exhibition at the end of the fellowship. Deadline is January 14; see u-ca.org for details.
Nebraska Arts Council announced the list of recent grant awards to organizations for upcoming projects. Amongst the award-winners was El Museo Latino for Artists in Schools Sponsor Grant, African Culture Connection for Arts Leaning Project Grant, KANEKO and Kent Bellows Foundation for Arts Projects Grants and Bone Creek Art Museum for Underserved Arts Project Grants. For the complete list visit nebraskaartscouncil.org.
Scott Blake’s renowned 9/11 Flipbooks have taken on a life of their own. The art books, consisting of images of United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center including personal essays on the September 11th attacks, have recently been added to notable collections such as the Toronto Zine Library, Princeton University’s Library and Libreria Galleria Demetra in Milan, Italy.
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts recently received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts totaling $45,000. Bemis was the only visual arts organization of the 823 awardees to receive grants for two separate projects. In other Bemis news, summer 2011 Bemis resident John Pena was awarded the 2011 Artist and Emerging Artist of the Year by the Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Center for the Arts.
The Arbor Day Foundation is currently accepting proposals from artists interested in creating nature-inspired outdoor art as part of their ongoing Art in the Woods series at Arbor Day Farm Tree Adventure attraction in Nebraska City. The deadline is February 15, 2012 for outdoor art installations inspiraed by nature, emphasize conservation and the responsible use/re-use of natural materials, and demonstrate the interconnectedness of the natural world. Arbordayfarm.org