Arts Speak

ARTS SPEAK Empowering CAM

By Bryan A. Hollerbach | photos courtesy of CAM

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis recently landed its latest laurel by being named a 2022 host organization for the annual summer ArtTable Fellowship Program.

In a mid-February press release, CAM announced the receipt of the new honor, which comes from the eponymous New York City-based organization “supporting women-identifying individuals in the visual arts.”

Via a nationwide membership network and community initiatives, ArtTable strives to “expand opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds and at all stages of their careers, fostering a stronger future for all women in the arts,” the press release explains.

CAM will choose an ArtTable fellow to assist in readying for the 10th Great Rivers Biennial exhibition, running from Sept. 9 through next Feb. 12. Beyond taking part in planning, researching and designing that exhibition, the press release notes, the chosen fellow will work on special 10th-edition programs and activities.

Yearly, a jury of nationally recognized arts professionals selects the local artists that the exhibition features, each of whom receives a stipend of $20,000 and an exhibition at CAM. The 2022 jury selected this diverse trio: „ Yowshien Kuo, a multimedia artist whose solo exhibition “Western Venom” ran at the museum from September 2020 to February 2021. „ Yvonne Osei, whose own website describes as “a Ghanaian artist living in the United States,” represented locally by Clayton’s Bruno David Gallery. „ Jon Young, a tribal member of the Catawba Indian Nation of Rock Hill, South Carolina, who primarily works in sculpture.

Supporting the Great Rivers Biennial is St. Louis’ Gateway Foundation, which “strives to enrich St. Louis life and culture by supporting efforts to acquire, create and improve tangible and durable art and urban design,” its website states.

ArtTable granted only 18 fellowships this year. The fellowship program dates from 2000 and, according to the press release, “provides quality real-work experiences and mentorship to women-identifying students and/or emerging professionals from backgrounds generally underrepresented in the visual arts field.”

A paid program, it ranges in length from five to eight weeks, states the press release, during which fellows work closely with leaders in the field “to gain exposure to a range of professional activities at first-class leading museums and arts organizations.” The program also allows fellows to “receive one-on-one mentoring from professionals working in their areas of interest that are ArtTable members.”

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-535-4660, camstl.org