KSU School Of Art And Design Receives Gift For Artist Residency Program

Press release from Kennesaw State University:

Apr 28, 2021

KSU School of Art and Design Receives Gift for Artist Residency Program

KENNESAW, Ga.
(Apr 28, 2021) — Kennesaw State University’s School of Art and Design recently received a gift from the Windgate Foundation that will help foster the development
of an artist residency program.

As part of the three-year, $60,000 gift, a review committee will select two individuals
for a four-week residency at KSU. Each artist will receive a $5,000 honorarium for
their work, as well as a $5,000 budget for supplies to produce an original piece,
which will be showcased at the end of the summer residency. Part of the gift will
also be used to create a summer course where students will be accepted by submitting
an original work and will have the opportunity to work with one of the residency artists.

“The College of the Arts at KSU is committed to transformational student engagement
through professional practices in the arts,” said Ivan Pulinkala, dean of the College
of the Arts. “This annual artist residency program in the School of Art & Design,
made possible through the generous support of the Windgate Foundation, advances our
capacity to give students the experience of working with visiting professional artists
in their field of study."

Recently, KSU’s Department of Dance benefitted from a similar gift by establishing the Choreographic Residency Program
Endowment, which garnered national attention and delivered unique learning benefits
for dance students. The Windgate Foundation’s support help the School of Art and Design
mission of becoming a launch point for emerging visual artists and allow KSU students
to grow as industry leaders to meet the growing market demand post-graduation.

“We have found visiting artist programs to be an exciting way for students to connect
more personally with a practicing artist and absorb information and ideas,” said Patricia
Forgy, Windgate executive director. “The visiting artists also benefit from the use
of the facilities and connections made in the community as they share their craft.
We are pleased to support the creation of this type of program at KSU School of Art
and Design.”

To give students more space to work and study, KSU’s Chastain Pointe facility recently
underwent a 21,000-square-foot renovation that made it the newest and one of the largest
printmaking facilities in the nation. The world-class facility is designed to encourage
cross-disciplinary exploration in the art form, with individual studio areas for etching,
lithography, serigraphy and letterpress, among other things.

The School of Art and Design provides its students with a rigorous education offering
undergraduate degrees in art, digital animation and apparel textiles technology. This semester,
KSU launched a graduate degree in art and design. The Master of Arts in Art and Design degree program, which will be housed in the College’s School of Art and Design, features
three tracks in digital animation, art education and museum studies.

The Windgate Foundation, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a private, family foundation
supporting significant educational programs in craft and visual arts; art history
preservation efforts; funding for K-12 and higher educational institutions for the
development and support of the arts, scholarships and effective instructional programs;
and programs for economically and socially disadvantaged children in Arkansas. Since
1993, Windgate has provided over $980 million in grants across the United States.
www.windgatefoundation.org/

– Josh Milton

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.

This press release was produced by Kennesaw State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.