Kentucky Foundation for Women awards five Berea artists with grants

KFW gives these grants to Kentucky feminist artists and arts organizations committed to creating positive social change throughout the state.

“This round of Artist Enrichment grants goes to artists who are connected to their communities and deeply committed building their artistic skills and expanding their vision,” Sharon LaRue, executive director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, said. “These artists offer new perspectives and deeper insight into the lived experience of Kentuckians and the issues that affect their lives and influence their legacy. By supporting this work, we strive to build a more just, equitable and inclusive environment in Kentucky and beyond,”

Recipients include:

Aji AK, $5,000

To design and create a series of carved ceramic tablets and a mosaic centerpiece that honors her Appalachian matriarchal ancestors through folk surrealist symbolism, ancestral storytelling, and ritual installation. These activities will refine her folk surrealist style, increase her skills as a ceramic artist/carver and deepen her feminist storytelling. This project will create visual tools for dialogue and remembrance that invite folks to reconnect with ancestral matriarchal strength, women's history and wisdom as a source of cultural memory and social transformation.

Erica Chambers, $3,300

To fund "Dirt Pearls" a portrait and documentary series addressing food justice, environmentalism, and challenges women face from societal expectations to domestic violence. Erica will elevate these powerful stories by recording women’s own words on video that will open a new journey into filmmaking for her artistic practice as a documentarian.

Evelyn Medley, $4,986

To create of a short documentary film about Beth Ireland, a professional woodworker, educator, and artist, whose career challenges gender norms in a traditionally male-dominated field. The film will highlight feminist resilience and creativity, further her development as a filmmaker committed to social change and amplify underrepresented voices in craft.

Daisy Love, $1,500

To support her development as a performance artist through the purchasing of professional LED hula hoops, dance props, costuming, paying for an online dance class, and hiring a photographer. The acquisition of these materials will take her performance to a new level—allowing her to realize her dreams, step into professionalism, and foster empowerment, inclusion, and cultural change by modeling self-expression as a tool for liberation and social engagement.

Laura Poulette, $2,500

To further develop her proficiency in the craft of green woodworking. This project will further her development as a feminist social change artist by supporting the creation of a new collection of sculptural artwork made from indigenous natural materials that will be impactful both as artwork that spotlights the imperiled botanical diversity of Eastern Kentucky but also broadens perspectives about what type of person "can” be a woodworker.