Urban Arts Space

Iyana Hill is a sister and co-laborer who changed my life. When I felt like I didn’t know enough to do an exhibition, she looked at my work and was like, nah sis, you’re a visual artist. She stayed up late nights with me dreaming, planning, revising, painting, heavy lifting. She was a creative consultant at every step of my exhibition. I had access to 10,000 square feet of space and decided every corner would be filled with Black art. Grateful that Iyana agreed to create work in conversation with me and build her exhibition, I Didn’t Ask for My Conception, for the corridor. The phrase I heard the most from her while we were working was “I got your back sis!” Wishing all of us creative partners like this! Full link to this video on my profile, WOSU Public Media and on PBS

Last Friday, I had a wonderful opportunity to check out the Urban Arts Space in downtown Columbus. It was so inspiring to see the works on display from Ohio State Design students and to see the creative problem solving surrounding a really important topic: Environmental Changes ?? “During the 2024 spring semester, Ohio State visual communication design students selected Trees of the Oval, a renowned campus green space, to study their forms and environmental significance. The students created accordion books based on the emotional, social, political, and ecological dimensions of their chosen trees. The project also features a collaboration with designers from the University's Emerging Technology Studio to incorporate an Augmented Reality (AR) experience. Through AR technology, viewers will see the physical installation overlaid with digital tree leaves from the Oval. By exploring how design and nature can foster a sense of belonging and how digital innovations can complement rather than overshadow traditional spaces, this installation aims to encourage deeper social engagement and provoke thoughtful interaction with our surroundings.” Excited to see future projects ?

We’re seeking our next Community Artist-in-Residence for 2025! This residency includes a $20,000 artist stipend, $5,000 community programming budget, and in-kind support for an artist who will work with Urban Arts Space across nine months to deliver five community programs and a culminating exhibition or project. Former residents include the incomparable Arris Cohen and Ajanaé Dawkins! FULL DETAILS: https://lnkd.in/g5j-EZDV INFO SESSION: December 3, 1:00 PM ET via Zoom (link in bio) DEADLINE: January 6, 2025, 11:59 PM ET The 2025 Urban Arts Space Community Artist-in-Residence Program supports community-centered arts and culture projects while recognizing outstanding local artists. This residency encourages artists to facilitate public art and collaborative experiences. Rather than offering studio space or housing, this community-based residency focuses on realizing the visions of artists for whom the community is their studio, such as painters who create public murals, dancers who teach classes in public spaces, writers who give readings in local bookshops, and beyond. Applications are accepted from individual artists and artist collectives for projects in a wide variety of disciplines, including dance, film/video/media, folk arts, interdisciplinary arts, literary arts, multidisciplinary projects, music, opera, theater, visual arts/crafts, and others. This opportunity is limited to artists who reside in Franklin County or adjacent counties, and applicants cannot be students currently enrolled in higher education. Featured Artwork: Arris’ J. Cohen Photo Credit: Dawn Tyler and Ky Smiley, UAS Photo Interns Design Credit: Suyeon Chae, UAS Design Intern

We are hiring! Trails & Tales Project Coordinator (Part-Time Contractor) Position: The Commission is creating Signature Programs & Events to highlight the accomplishments of Ohioans including creating six thematic driving trails. The Trails & Tales Project Coordinator will assist the project team with the details pertaining to the development of the five remaining trails. This is a part-time, contracted position. It can be done remotely with some in-person meetings/events throughout the contract. Full position description: https://lnkd.in/gJnDcUvt Please share with your networks! #OhioJobs #hiringnow #ohiotrailsandtales

I’m extremely excited to share that I’ve been awarded a Greater Columbus Arts Council Artist Projects Grant! With these generous funds, I’ll be publishing my first poetry collection and collaborating with a number of beloved creatives. Thank you to the city of Columbus and our public officials for supporting the arts and the livelihoods of artists. We have a thriving poetry scene here in Columbus that is only possible through financial support like the GCAC grants. And special thanks to Ajanaé Dawkins and Julie Whitney-Scott for their insights about the application process! THE SHIP AND THE STORM is a poetry collection featuring a call-and-response format between myself (w/a Diane Callahan) and my creative partner Dave Dixon, with each poem in conversation with its pairing. We want to give readers poems that feel like love letters to the world, musing on its pains and disappointments but also its beauty and sacredness. We’re delighted to be working with local collage artist Emily Morgan on the cover design and to have poet David G. Clark as our editor, Levi Gaidos as our graphic designer, and Story Garden Publishing as our distributor! You can read the collection in print, ebook, and audiobook on September 1, 2025, and we’ll be launching the book in person during a collage poetry party at Urban Arts Space on September 20. It will be a space for everyone to create and share their own works of art!

"I was moved to tears by Powers’s expansion on Appalachian identity and its complexities—the economic destruction because of coal companies rapidly pulling out of the region; isolation as a side effect of the rolling hills and mountains that make up the region; and the complexities of gender in a region steeped in traditional gender roles due to the nature of life so far from a city." Read UAS intern Morgan Brown's full review of DEEP RUTS by Julie Rae Powers on our blog! DEEP RUTS is a powerful photography book that reimagines perceptions of Appalachia. https://lnkd.in/g6aaAeCE

This past Saturday, I had the incredible opportunity to join Ky Smiley, Marcus Morris, and Casey Riley in a discussion about the beautiful work of Ming Smith at The Gund at Kenyon College, as part of the Ming Smith Symposium. The conversation not only highlighted Ming Smith’s artistry but also allowed us to speak about how her work has inspired us as artist. I’m grateful to have been part of this panel. Thank you to everyone involved in making this amazing symposium happen! Photo: Jim DeCamp Photography

If you told me 3 years ago that not only would I be a curator and visual artist with a solo exhibition but that my work would be featured on PBS and Hulu I would have called you a liar but here’s to surprising myself. Here’s a short clip of me talking about working as a Black archivist. In this episode of Broad & High, I talk about me moving between being a poet, visual artist, and curator, approaching visual work by writing narratives first. Shout out to Carrie and her team at WOSU Public Media for spending time with me while I built my exhibition! Full episode is on my profile ?? I have so many things to announce over the next few months but this was year it set in that I am a concept artist above everything. Currently moving between writing, installation work, concept albums + the recording space, and directorial work in film feels like the truest version of myself. Everything starts with me alone with my pen and research though ??

The Ohio State Department of History of Art is excited to present the?Samella Lewis Initiative for the Study of Black Art's Artist x Writer series. Lewis, a giant in Black American art and art history, was both an artist and writer. This series moves in that spirit, as a way to stage meaningful conversations between cultural workers who advance Black arts globally. ? Their?fall 2024 conversation is between?Krista Franklin?(poet and visual artist) and?Alexander Ghedi Weheliye?(theorist and writer). Franklin’s 2018 work?"All I Need"?is the frontispiece for Weheliye’s latest book?"Feenin’"?which traces R&B music’s continuing centrality in Black life since the late 1970s.?This event will be a unique opportunity to hear from two deeply influential thinkers and give an inside glimpse into the often undercover networks of relations, affiliation, and influence in Black cultural production. Artist x Writer: Krista Franklin and Alexander Ghedi Weheliye November 25, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. ? The Maroon Culture Club 867 Mt Vernon Ave, Columbus, OH 43203

Hello to Arts Colleagues near and far! Session proposals are now open for the Americans for the Arts Conference taking place in Cincinnati in June 2025. We're looking forward to seeing your submissions for interesting, informative, and entertaining session presentations! Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eitRvjA9 Read the Call for Sessions info here: https://lnkd.in/eqAYQq9Z January 6 submission deadline! Chosen presenters receive complimentary registration for AFTACON ($899 value) and a small presentation stipend as well. I