Aminah Robinson programs to benefit black artists
Erica Thompson The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Museum of Art and the Greater Columbus Arts Council will open applications Tuesday for two programs for professional, visual artists, nationally and locally. One recipient will live and work in Robinson's home on the Near East Side.
The Columbus Museum of Art and the Greater Columbus Arts Council will announce Tuesday the launching of a new, annual residency and fellowship program to honor the memory of Columbus artist Aminah Robinson.
The opportunities, which include $23,000 in awards and stipends, will benefit two African American artists, one of whom will stay in Robinson's soon-to-be renovated home and work in her studio in the Shepard neighborhood on the Near East Side.
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"Aminah cared deeply about the next generations," said Nannette Maciejunes, executive director of the Columbus Museum of Art, which inherited Robinson's estate, including her house, when she died in 2015 at age 75. "Helping inspire and teach (African American artists) was so important to her, so I think she would love the idea of the house being a place where another generation of artists could be inspired and can do their work."
Applications for both opportunities opened on Tuesday on the GCAC website (gcac.org), and recipients will be determined by juries that include representatives from the neighborhoods where the African American artist lived, the museum, the arts council and other artists and educators.
>> PHOTOS: At home in 2015 with folk artist Aminah Robinson
The Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Fellowship, which will run March 2 to May 31, is open to professional, African American visual artists living in Franklin County. The person selected will receive a $15,000 award.
The Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Residency, which will run Aug. 17 to Nov. 15, is open to professional, African American visual artists residing in the United States. The person selected will receive a $2,500 award, a stipend up to $5,500 and the opportunity to live and work in Robinson's home, which is the subject of a fundraising campaign.
Both recipients will participate in community outreach activities and have the opportunity to present and exhibit their work publicly. Application deadlines for the fellowship and residency are Feb. 3 and March 9, respectively.
Also in 2020, the Columbus Museum of Art will offer its first major exhibition of Robinson's work since her death. Opening July 10 and running through Jan. 3, 2021, "Raggin' On: The Art of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson's House and Journals," will feature furnishings she created for her house, books from her personal collection and other items.
Robinson is celebrated for her sense of adventure and storytelling, and for her love of community, said Jami Goldstein, vice president of marketing, communications and events at the GCAC. The residency and fellowship will help continue that legacy in the artist's name.
"Those kinds of resources are so important to artists because they give them time and space out of the usual day-to-day to contemplate, explore, interact and create," Goldstein said. "These kinds of opportunities are critical for artists' next stage of development."
ethompson@dispatch.com
@miss_ethompson