August-September 2022 | DeHaan Artists of Distinction

Through September 22: sculptures, works on paper, photography, and textiles by Indiana-based artists who are pushing their careers in dynamic new ways. The DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award program, which expanded statewide in 2021, supports contemporary visual artists with grants of up to $10,000. This year’s artists include: 

Anila Quayyum Agha

Her works on paper reference the effects of climate change on racial and class dynamics and are created from components often attributed to women’s work, like beads and needles. Agha, a Pakistani-American cross-disciplinary artist, was recently featured in the New York Times. 

Kelvin Burzon

Burzon explores the intersections of sexuality, race, gender, and religion. His work is driven by his Filipino-American background and his interest in how religion influences culture and families.

Artur Teixiera Da Silva

His work, We Don’t Remember the Same, references Indiana war memorials and challenges the mythology around the military. Da Silva is a visiting assistant professor in the New Media department at Indiana University South Bend. 

Laura Foster Nicholson

The New Harmony-based weaver’s large-scale tapestry explores the “beauty/desolation” of industrial agriculture and its impact on climate change. Installed on curved lines, the tapestry mimics the country roads she travels in her native Posey County. 

Bryan Ballinger

The Huntington-based muralist sets animals–human and otherwise–in settings that suggest a story that viewers can make their own. For this show, he extended his murals into the third dimension by creating and printing fiberglass sculptures. 

About the DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award

The program, a partnership created in 2017 between the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation and Indy Arts Council, recognizes and celebrates contemporary visual artists in Indiana supports their aspirational projects with grants of up to $10,000. Final 2022 application deadline is November 11. 

Image: Artur Teixiera Da Silva, Instapermanence (detail), Polaroid photos