Herberger Institute alumni, faculty receive grants from Arizona Commission on the Arts

The Arizona Commission on the Arts awarded grants to 31 artists throughout the state, including two faculty members and six alumni from Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

The $5,000 Research and Development Grants are awarded through a competitive application and review process and support Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons and deepen the impact of their work, according to the Arizona Commission on the Arts. 

The Herberger Institute recipients and their projects include: 

• Liz Guzman, BA in music, School of Music: Percussionist Guzman’s grant will support travel to the Philippine Islands, where she will study with masters of various Filipino folk music traditions. She will create a new body of work for marimba showcasing traditional Filipino folk music.

• Hilary Harp, associate professor, School of Art: Harps’s “Better Out Than In” is the third in a series of experimental gender-fluid folk tale videos created by the multimedia artist in collaboration with Pittsburgh-based artist Suzie Silver.

• Heidi Hogden, assistant professor, School of Art: Hogden’s “Desert Survival” project will comprise seven graphite drawings, five cement sculptures and four mixed media paintings. Collectively, the works aim to demonstrate the consequences of climate change through visual storytelling and humor.

• Sara Hubbs, BFA in painting, School of Art: Hubbs will experiment with complex sculpture casting methods as well as new methods of viewer engagement with her series of three sculptures called “The Gift.” 

• Saskia Jorda, BFA in painting, School of Art: Jorda will explore themes of place and cultural identity through sculptural works that employ the metaphor of mapping of territorial disputes.

• Michelle Marji, BFA in dance, School of Film, Dance and Theatre: Marji hopes to diversify the involvement in and knowledge of two areas of personal passion through a community event that combines rock climbing and hip-hop dance and will be accompanied by community story circles, art, hip hop, food and music.

• Amanda Mollindo, BFA in photography, School of Art: As a part of her long-term, interdisciplinary project titled “Beyond the Vessel,” Mollindo will engage in research that explores the history, evolution and conditions of reproductive healthcare policy and practices. Her research will include video interviews with women across the U.S., large format photographic portraits and a series of still-life photographs representing family planning techniques employed prior to the advent of modern medicine.

• Ruby Morales, BFA in dance, School of Film, Dance and Theatre: Morales will convene a group of dancers for a five-week paid training intensive and rehearsal process during which the dancers will develop a shared movement language rooted in two disparate dance styles–break dance and Cumbia–and develop a new performance piece.

The full list of grantees represents a variety of artistic disciplines and reside in communities throughout the state. This year, thanks to a new public-philanthropic partnership between the state agency and the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), and through funding from the Newton and Betty Rosenzweig Fund for the Arts, the number of available awards more than doubled, from 15 to 31.

For more information on the all 31 recipients and the grants, visit azarts.gov.