EXHIBITION HISTORY: 2001-2015

Established in 2001 and organized by the graduate photography students at Texas Woman’s University and the Photographic Artists’ Coalition (a student-run photography organization), the annual Joyce Elaine Grant Photography Exhibition provides a national venue for the exhibition
of artistic expression as seen through the eye of the camera. Photographers from throughout the United States are invited to submit entries for the exhibition. The exhibition and endowment was established by Christine Shank and a small group of graduate students and named in memory of the mother of Professor Susan kae Grant. Exhibition proceeds fund the Joyce Elaine Grant Photography Exhibition Endowment, which supports photography scholarships for future graduate students in the Department of Visual Arts.

ABOUT THE 2015 EXHIBITION:

Exhibition Dates: February 11 – March 13, 2015
Reception & Lecture: February 17, 2015
• 4:00-5:00 pm / Guest Lecture with April Watson
• 5:30-8:00 pm / Opening Reception

April Watson, Curator of Photography at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO, served as juror for the 14th Annual Joyce Elaine Grant Photography Exhibition. Twenty-eight artists from throughout the United States and China were selected to exhibit their work. Artists include, Beverly Ahern, Ben Altman, Linda Alterwitz, Bennie Flores Ansell, Sarah Austin, Christine Carr, Bryon Darby, Marcus DeSieno, Garrett Hansen, Sharon Lee Hart, Abbey Hepner, John Holmgren, Paul Hooven, Allison Jarek, Priya Kambli, Janna Langholz, Holly Lay,
Andy Mattern, Katie Newton, Ashley Raasch, Heather Ross, Jiehao Su, Jennifer Tremblay, Marydorsey Wanless, Angela Franks Wells, Linda Wilson, and Christine Zuercher.

The Shepherd’s Daughter by Clare Benson – 2015 JEG SOLO SHOW AWARD
Selected by Elizabeth Siegel, Associate Curator of Photography, Art Institute of Chicago

Artist’s Statement: The Shepherd’s Daughter

“My work is deeply rooted in my family history. After the death of my mother when I was eleven years old, I became increasingly curious about notions of family, memory, and mortality. I was raised by my father: an avid hunter, archery champion, and former hunting guide in the Alaskan wilderness. Growing up amidst the hunting culture of northern Michigan, I learned to see hunting as a tradition that ties humans to the natural world; a ritual that speaks to notions of mortality and the interconnectedness of life within a larger system. Before my father, my
grandmother was a hunter and before that my great-grandmother, and long before that the stars made up constellations that told stories of the greatest hunts. In my work, the nuances of hunting and the rugged northern landscape of my childhood are woven with narratives of genealogy and gender, memory and mythology, time and space.”

Clare Benson Biography:

Clare Benson is a photographer and interdisciplinary artist from the Unites States. Her work has been exhibited and screened throughout the US and internationally. Benson earned an MFA in Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and a BFA in Photography at Central
Michigan University. She is currently living in northern Sweden on a Fulbright Fellowship.

INFORMATION:

The East / West Galleries are on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building, at the corner of Texas and Oakland Street, TWU campus in Denton, Texas, 76204. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, when the university is in session. Weekends are by appointment only. For directions, please go to the TWU Department of Visual Arts website: www.twu.edu/visual-arts.com The exhibition and lecture are free and open to the public.

For images of the work or biographic information for the artists, please visit joyceelainegrant.com or contact: Vance Wingate at 940-898-2533 or by email: [email protected] or Rachael Banks at 502-640-4317 or by email: [email protected]

JOYCE ELAINE GRANT PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION SPONSORS:

Texas Woman’s University, Photographic Artists’ Coalition, Red River Paper, Imaging Spectrum, Anonymous Donor, Coupralux, Arlington Camera.