Funding will highlight work of female artists

RIDGEFIELD — The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum was awarded thousands in grant dollars to support an upcoming exhibit highlighting work from female artists.

The National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, allocated the museum a $20,000 grant to help it fund its upcoming “52

Women Artists: Revisiting a Feminist Milestone” exhibit.

The exhibit — coordinated by writer, critic and curator Lucy Lippard — is staging pieces from its 1972 display, “Twenty-Six Contemporary Women Artists,” alongside artwork from modern-day creators. Some of the featured art includes work from Adrian

Piper, Mary Heilmann, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Mary Miss, Dona Nelson, Howardena Pindell and several other women who were not previously recognized.

“The Aldrich’s exhibit is important in recognizing female artists who are underrepresented in many artistic fields,” U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said in a statement when he announced the grant last week. “We’re proud that the federal government is able to step up and support their efforts.”

“Supporting museums and artists during this pandemic is crucial to preserving Southwest Connecticut’s culture and local economy,” he added.

Cybele Maylone, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum’s executive director said the museum is “grateful,” to have received this grant, which will allow it to remain open to the public through COVID-19 and act “as a space of contemplation, reflection, education and inspiration during these difficult days.”

Among the artists featured is Adrian Piper, who is known for addressing gender, race, class and ethics in her work, according to Artnet, an online resource for the international art market. Perhaps her most known piece was, “My Calling (Card),” a series of printed notes she distributed to people who had accidentally offended her. One card said, “Dear Friend: I am black. I am sure you did not realize this when you made/laughed at/agreed with that racist remark.”

Meanwhile, Mary Miss often uses her art as a vehicle to convey “complex issues of our times,” with the goal of making sustainability, both social and environmental, into “tangible experiences,” according to her biography. Some of her more prominent collaborations include designing a temporary memorial around the Ground Zero site in New York City and predicting the flood level of Boulder, Colo.

A number of these women have their pieces in galleries across the country and beyond and have taken to the classroom to cultivate the coming generations of artists.

Allison Hill, public affairs specialist for the NEA, said the organization is “aware of many arts organizations that are struggling during the pandemic.”

“We have been able to award emergency funding, as well as our regular grant programs, to assist nonprofit arts organizations financially through the CARES Act and, soon again, with funding made available through the American Rescue Plan,” she said.

“Still, the need greatly outweighs the availability of funds,” she added.

Pamela Stoddart, executive director of the Ridgefield Guild for Artists, said although people are missing the “camaraderie” of visiting exhibits with friends, virtual platforms have been a sort of “silver lining” throughout the pandemic, allowing community members to continue embracing art.

Stoddart said artists have told her they’re experiencing a “lack of creativity and desire to work” during these difficult times.

“They [artists] ultimately want to show it or share it and there’s such a lack of that right now. That’s what’s missing,” she said.

Stoddart also said artists are facing a “creative block,” as they are unable to get outside and draw inspiration from the moving world around them. Although the public might hesitate to return to art showings and classes, she said she thinks there’s going to be “a huge surge,” once the vaccine’s efficacy is better understood.