Seldom within one person do you find such an equilibrium, someone with utopian visions yet all the while grounded and pragmatic. This person is Tina Dillman. She is a First Responder Artist! – Paul Kos
In May of this year, I accomplished a long sought after dream, and earned my Master’s of Fine Arts, from the San Francisco Art Institute. After finishing, I received a fellowship to attend The Studio Program in Los Angeles, but shortly after arriving to LA, I received a call that changed everything, and brought me to the other side of the country. In returning to Central New York, I realized that what I was aspiring to do next was near the place I originally called home.
I found a house in Buffalo, NY that I plan to open in the Summer 2015, as, Project Grant, a 6-week socially engaged artist residency program that hosts one artist at a time in my home. Each artist will be provided a stipend, room/board, a studio and an exhibition space. I will be working with the artist to build relationships in the local community, to develop a site-specific public project that may include: classes, talks, readings, dinners, walks or performance/film/music events, in order to cultivate a discourse involving pertinent local/national/global issues.
Project Grant, is located in an up and coming neighborhood in Buffalo, where one could walk to the store, or local coffee shop, ride their bike to the park, and/or drive a short distance (15 minutes) to the art museums. The landlord is extremely supportive of my project, and believes I would be a great addition to the neighborhood. I am looking to host 3 Artists for my first year and double the number of artists in the program by 2016, and use the exhibition space during off months of the residency to exhibit local artists’ work.
In order to fully realize this goal I need to raise $3,000, by the end of the year, in order to secure the first artist in residence (June-July). If you are interested in supporting this project please visit the Hatchfund campaign site.
I thank you for supporting the arts and may all of our dreams become reality. Here’s to thinking of the future…