The Nasher Sculpture Center has announced the recipients of its 2024 Nasher Artist Grant: Clint Bargers, Fabian Guerrero, Bonny Leibowitz, Analis Minjarez, and Sweet Pass Sculpture Park. Learn more about how the awardees will use their funds below, via descriptions provided by the Nasher.
Formerly named the Nasher Microgrant, the museum’s granting initiative was launched in 2015. The name has changed throughout the years and most recently it has been renamed in honor of Jeremy Strick, the longtime director of the museum who retired earlier this year. The 2024 Nasher Sculpture Center Artist Grant in Honor of Jeremy Strick, provides funds to North Texas artists that can be used to purchase equipment and materials, support travel or research, acquire studio space, or support artist-run curatorial projects.
In a press release, Jed Morse, the Nasher’s Interim Director and Chief Curator, stated, “Over the last 15 years under Strick’s leadership, the Nasher has engaged with hundreds of local artists, and we hope to honor his legacy through this endowment. This year’s awardees span a variety of media and styles with projects that put communities at the forefront of their practice and shine a light on a range of critical contemporary issues.”
This year’s awardees were selected by a panel that included artists Christian Cruz, Antonio Lechuga, Mary Miss, and Terri Thornton, as well as the Nasher’s Curator Dr. Leigh Arnold and Curator of Education Anna Smith. Each grantee will receive $2,000 to support their proposed project.
Learn more about the Nasher Artist Grants via the organization’s website.
2024 Nasher Artist Grant Projects
Clint Bargers, “Kiln Load
5,” 2024, ceramic, photo courtesy of the artist
Clint Bargers
Irving, Texas
Clint Bargers will use funds to repair his ceramic kiln, which has become a shared resource for artists in his community who need an affordable means to fire their work. Mr. Bargers will invest in additional shelving for the kiln, allowing him to expand the space available for firing sculpture and hand-built ceramics by fellow artists.
Fabian Guerrero, “Untitled (Jose),” 2023, Mamiya Rz67, 19 x 16 x 3 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Fabian Guerrero
Irving, Texas
Fabian Guerrero will continue his photographic series Sueños Norteños, which delves into the nightlife and community lifestyles of queer individuals within the Norteño scene, a term that refers to both an inhabitant of northern Mexico and a style of folk music prevalent in northern Mexico and Texas. Mr. Guerrero will use funds for the casting and production of photographs that amplify voices within the Chicano/Texan LGBTQ+ community and celebrate a vibrant culture that defies stereotypes and embraces diversity.
Bonny Leibowitz, “Plunderland Park,” 2024, wire, scrap metal, tree parts, plastics, photography, 8 x 25 x 20 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Bonny Leibowitz
Richardson, Texas
Bonny Leibowitz plans to produce a permanent installation titled Trees I Have Loved at Jim Bob Art Park & Nature Trails in Benjamin, Texas — an 80-acre expanse of lush, fertile land, four hours west of Dallas, known for its high winds, thunderstorms, and dynamic weather patterns. Funds will support materials for a die-cut aluminum tree that relates to the ongoing impact of climate change on the land and environment in North Texas.
Analise Minjarez, “Line as Space,” 2022, ceramic and wire, 56 x 30 x 8 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Analise Minjarez
Dallas, Texas
Analise Minjarez will divide funds between research-based travel and a front-loading kiln which can accommodate a new body of work that features ceramic shards caught in a handmade wire net. These works will incorporate clay harvested from Minjarez’s hometown of El Paso and build on her experience as a Texas/Mexico fronteriza, exploring the transformation, consumption, repurposing, and healing qualities of the material.
Concrete Workshop at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, 2024, photo courtesy of the artists
Sweet Pass Sculpture Park
Dallas, Texas
Tamara Johnson and Trey Burns plan to offer artist stipends to participants in the 2024 iteration of Sweet Pass Sculpture School and produce an illustrated catalog documenting their work. Sculpture School is an alternative education and exhibition program inviting artists to explore the concept of place more deeply. The 2024 Sculpture School program examines the meaning and materiality of concrete, the world’s most widely used material.
1 comment
Congratulations to all the recipients! I’m so especially pleased that Bonny will be installing her piece at Jim Bob Art Park & Nature Trails. We are very excited and looking forward to it!