The Department of Art and Art History and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin are pleased to welcome artist Dawn Kim as the 2020-2021 recipient of the St. Elmo Arts Residency and fellowship. The annual residency program aims to support emerging artists and the creation of new work by providing dedicated studio and living space in South Austin in addition to a $30,000 award to a newly minted M.F.A. artist in painting, drawing, print, photo, sculpture or multimedia. Each resident is given teaching opportunities within the Department of Art and Art History and a solo exhibition at the Wildflower Center.
Despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, a new resident was selected for the 2020-2021 academic year. Kim, received her BFA in advertising at the Art Center College of Design and an MFA in Photography from Yale University. Her investment in photography stems from her belief that the medium is "uniquely tasked to perform all these things that it cannot do: tell a story, bear witness, represent truth." Using text and image, Kim's work examines systems at work in the mundane, in the form of slideshow lectures that rely on individual desires to make meaning from pictures.
Before making photographs, Kim made artist books. Printed Matter Inc. published her first artist book, The New York Testament, through their Emerging Artists Publication Grant. She is the recipient of the MacDowell Fellowship and the Blair Dickinson Prize from Yale School of Art. Her work has been shortlisted for the Aperture Photobook Awards and is in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the MoMA Library and the New York Public Library.
"[I'm excited] to continue to spend time with my freshmen students—I feel grateful to be a part of this extraordinary time in their lives," said Kim during her first Fall semester as part of the Department of Art and Art History Studio faculty. "It's their first year in college, the first time they're away from home, test subjects of remote learning, the first time voting in a major election—all in the middle of a pandemic. Their intelligence and awareness of what is important has centered me and given me hope."
Kim will continue to work closely with students while turning her focus to her own studio work in the spring semester as she prepares for the St. Elmo culminating exhibition at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
About the Department of Art and Art History
The Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin includes the divisions of Art Education, Art History and Studio Art. It reflects the rigorous standards of a flagship institution, while offering an intimate environment for students to train as scholars, artists and educators in the arts.
About the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
As the Botanic Garden of Texas, The University of Texas at Austin Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center inspires the conservation of native plants through its public gardens, education and conservation programs, research, and consulting work. It is internationally renowned for its leading role as a champion of native plants and resilient landscapes.
About the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin
The College of Fine Arts educates artists, scholars and future arts educators in a context that emphasizes artistic excellence, advanced technology, cultural diversity and best professional practices. The college places a high priority on research and the creation of new work through its many divisions and departments, including among others, the Butler School of Music, the Department of Art and Art History, the Department of Theatre and Dance, the School of Design and Creative Technologies, Texas Performing Arts, the university’s arts presenting organization, and Landmarks, the university’s public art program. A comprehensive visual and performing arts college, degree concentrations from the B.A. to Ph.D. are offered in classical music and composition to acting, dance and scenic design to studio art and arts education, as well as the scholarly study of the arts in a broad range of disciplines.