
Monday, May 20, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Virginia McInnis | [email protected] | 480-874-4663
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art to Receive $20,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – National Endowment for the Arts Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowment’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $20,000 to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) for “Counter-Landscapes: Performative Actions from the 1970s – now” exhibition.
“These awards, reaching every corner of the United States, are a testament to the artistic richness and diversity in our country,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Organizations such as Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art are giving people in their community the opportunity to learn, create, and be inspired.”
In the fall of 2019, SMoCA will premiere its first large-scale group exhibition of performance art titled, “Counter-Landscapes: Performative Actions from the 1970s – now,” accompanied by a catalogue and collaborative components. As a counter to the notion that land art deals exclusively with artists who work with earth as their medium this exhibition presents a number of important artists working with performance in the landscape from the 1970s to now, whose work has brought about a new way of seeing and interacting with the environment. Identifying not as land artists or performance artists, but as art activists who sought to interrupt and subvert how viewers perceived art, power, gender and place. The cross-generational, cross-gender group of artists includes early practitioners (1970s–80s), the next generation (1990s–2000s), and new commissions by contemporary artists (2019) Maria Hupfield and Saskia Jordá.
Additionally many other Scottsdale Arts branches have received generous grants. Canal Convergence received $30,000 in February 2016. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ Discovery Series received $25,000 in January 2015 and December 2013 (and $10,000 in December 2012). Scottsdale Arts Education & Outreach received $15,000 in February 2010. SMoCA received $30,000 in December 2009 for the “Rewind, Remix, Replay” exhibition. Scottsdale Arts and its four branches: Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, SMoCA, Scottsdale Public Art, and Scottsdale Arts Education & Outreach have received National Endowment for the Arts grants since 1990.
For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
SCOTTSDALE ARTS
Through its partnership with the
City of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts (formerly known as Scottsdale
Cultural Council) creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational
opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts.
Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and
nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an
exceptional variety of programs through four acclaimed branches — Scottsdale
Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale
Public Art and Scottsdale Arts Education & Outreach — serving more than
400,000 participants annually.
SCOTTSDALE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Founded in 1999, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA)
explores the best of contemporary art, architecture and design. Global in its
focus, the Museum is a unique and vital cultural resource for the Southwest,
serving local audiences as well as visitors from the United States and abroad.
Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, SMoCA’s minimalist building
(an ingenious renovation of a former movie theater) has four galleries for
showcasing changing exhibitions and works from the Museum’s collection, along
with SMoCA Lounge, a living, functional art installation and space for
community engagement. The Museum presents a wide variety of educational
programs and special events for adults and families, including lectures,
readings, performances, docent-led tours, workshops and classes. SMoCA also
features an outdoor sculpture garden housing James Turrell’s “Knight Rise,” one of the renowned
artist’s public skyspaces, and “Scrim
Wall,” a monumental curtain of translucent glass panels by James Carpenter
Design Associates. The Museum’s retail store, Shop@SMoCA, offers classic design
objects and furnishings, contemporary jewelry, art and architecture books, and
imaginative gifts for all occasions.
VISITOR
INFORMATION
Scottsdale Museum of
Contemporary Art
7374 E. Second St., Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
www.SMoCA.org
480-874-4666
[email protected]
HOURS AND ADMISSION
Tuesday – Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, noon – 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and major holidays
Admission: $10 adults, $7 students, seniors (65+) and veterans; free for
members and children under 15
Free on Thursdays and every second Saturday of
the month
MEDIA: For interviews, digital images or additional information, please contact:
Virginia McInnis
Public Relations Specialist
Scottsdale Arts
Phone: 480-874-4663
Email: [email protected]
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