The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) has announced the selection of Kalee Appleton, Brenda Ciardiello, Michelle Cortez Gonzales, and Kasey Short as its 2021 Carter Community Artists. Beginning in 2018, the Carter appointed its inaugural group of Community Artists including yours truly, Lauren Cross, Diane Durant and Arnoldo Hurtado. The current cohort was selected by a group consisting of members of the Carter’s Curatorial and Education program and its Community Outreach staff.
Kalee Appleton, Carter Community Artist, 2020.
Michelle Gonzales, Carter Community Artist, 2020. “As a Carter Community artist, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to bridge gaps, cultivate positive relationships, and uplift students through expression and art.”
For each year of the program, the Carter selects four local artists, who will work with museum staff to plan and implement programs at the museum, as well as within the community and online throughout 2021.
“We look forward to seeing all of the amazing ways in which Kalee Appleton, Brenda Ciardiello, Michelle Cortez Gonzales, and Kasey Short expand upon the work the past two classes of artists have established while helping us explore new avenues of connection with the community,” says Amanda Blake, Director of Education, Library, and Visitor Services at the Carter.
Brenda Ciardiello, 2021 Carter Community Artist. “Right now with in-person interactions being limited and people feeling more isolated from each other and our community institutions, I hope to find unique ways to engage with the Carter’s audience in order to help people reconnect through shared creativity.”
Kasey Short, 2021 Carter Community Artist. “I look forward to being a part of the institution, exploring archives and exhibitions, working with communities through social art practice, and developing a deeper level of research and understanding of relational aesthetics.””
Last year’s artists worked the program in a variety of ways in a very unconventional year. Their activities included virtual happy hours, art classes, as well as the Cooped Up With The Carter program.
To learn more about the program and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, please visit its website here.
