Projecting All Voices: A model of adaptable support for the arts in the southwest
Select Fellows from the 2023–2022 and 2022–2021 cohorts provided insights into their fellowship journeys and what lies ahead as a result of participation in a unique program
By Melissa Dunmore
This article will focus on the final two cohorts of Projecting All Voices (PAV), a program of the Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities at Arizona State University, generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, led by artist and arts administrator Gabriela Muñoz. The genesis for this fellowship was forged between Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and ASU Gammage, who sought to inform how institutions must and shall adapt to prepare, support and advance creative voices representative of our nation’s rich cultural life. Fellows were invited to explore and investigate, race, identity, cultural heritage, power, policy, ability and/or place and community.
The timing of these fellowships coincided with the pandemic lockdowns and subsequent social reopening and therefore necessitated an unprecedented level of ingenuity, including the need for virtual collaboration and unrestricted funds. Elizabeth Burden, Fellow from 2021–2022, in addition to Amber Doe, Nuttaphol Ma and Amber McCrary, Fellows from 2022–2023, all lent their voices to this piece.
Through these interviews, we are able to amass key learnings about the importance of social networks of influence, exposure to diverse mediums and makers, and the imperative for institutions to expand the way they financially attract and empower artists, including by providing funding and leadership that are adaptable to the changing times which artists are called upon to reflect.
What is your artistic medium and how did you discover it?
Elizabeth Burden: I work in a variety of media — painting, video, sound, coding, mapping, installation — blending studio and social practice in a process that I call artistic archivy. In this process, I use archival materials and data from formal and informal sources as content in the creation of new works that address gaps, misrepresentation, and violences in/of the archive(s) to reflect on the future/ past/present. I am intrigued by archives, the construction of histories, ephemeral inheritances, the role of memory and narrative, and the ways we make sense of it all.
Amber Doe: My primary medium is organic cotton rope, kanekalon hair extensions and various textiles, yarn and thread. Material as metaphor is integral to my practice.
Nuttaphol Ma: My work is presented in different ways including installations, participatory workshops, and public interventions through performances. Ephemera are recorded and documented as artist books, essay films, and storytelling. I continue to learn and evolve my craft with a sense of curiosity and openness. Arriving at these varying forms is a journey — a process of that involves a heightened awareness of what speaks from my heart.
Amber McCrary: I have a few artistic mediums; I write, collage, and create zines. I discovered my artistic medium after I was an undergraduate. It took me time to work for a bit and travel for me to find my voice as an artist and what I wanted to say.
How long have you worked in this medium and/or the arts?
Elizabeth: I have worked in this way since 2007.
Amber D.: I started in 2002 and took a long break before returning full time in 2013.
Nuttaphol: I’ve been at this since I was at community college in 2005 where I was introduced to performance as an art form — it’s something that’s visceral, immediate, at times, inexplicable only to be realized days, months, years later.
Amber M.: I’ve worked in this medium/ the arts for about 10 years.
How did you learn about the Projecting All Voices Fellowship at ASU?
Elizabeth: I think I saw a notice in an eNewsletter, either the one published by the Arizona Commission for the Arts or by the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Amber D.: Through the fantastic and supportive Executive Director of the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, the lovely Adriana Gallego.
Nuttaphol: I learnt about the PAV fellowship via a virtual USDAC (US Department of Arts and Culture) gathering where Gabriela presented the program.
Amber M.: I learned about the Projecting All Voices fellowship from following Jake Skeets’ poetry career and seeing all the great fellowships and awards he has been receiving as a writer. Another person from Phoenix Art Museum sent me the fellowship info and encouraged I apply, which I am forever grateful for.
Please describe your experience as a Fellow, especially for those outside of academia who may be unfamiliar with the concept.
Elizabeth: My fellowship experience was transformative. It was a space where academic thinking meets creative practice, enabling a deeper exploration of themes central to my work, like memory and identity. For those unfamiliar with academic fellowships, it’s like being given a key to a vast library of resources, mentors, and time to deeply dive into one’s work. As a Fellow, I had access to resources and a community that enriched my practice. It allowed me to explore my practice and deepen my own understanding of it in ways I couldn’t have outside this setting. It helped me to clarify my creative voice, which gave me more confidence in my practice.
Amber D.: Research is a core component to my art practice, so winning a fellowship like this is transformational. My work relies heavily on academic research, and I was able to travel and meet with academics, administrators and artists working within similar disciplines.
Nuttaphol: As a Fellow, I was able to pivot my practice to research and community building.
During my fellowship, I devoted my time in investigating the site significance of Angel Island Immigration Station as a potential place to house ephemeral and relics of my durational work titled “Stitching Dreams of Leaving, Dreams of Roots.” It’s a project where I’m altering a flag from an immigrant’s lens at public spaces while concurrently leading participatory workshops and making participatory sculptures that invite participants to reconsider that a pledge to a flag may sound like to create a sense of home for all. Such actions are direct responses to the unrelenting xenophobia rhetoric that has dominated the airwaves and social media in recent times.
Amber M.: My experience with the fellowship has been amazing. If there is anything an artist loves it’s freedom and freedom to create without financial obstacles. I feel like this fellowship very much supported goals and dreams I had as an artist such as traveling, giving myself time to write and work without deadlines. I think the idea of just having a year to focus on art and what I would like to do has been fulfilling.
What was the impact for you and your artistry of unrestricted funds? How can institutions better serve artists and their access to these awards?
Elizabeth: Receiving unrestricted funds was like a breath of fresh air. It provided time and space to work with less pressure. This allowed me to delve into unexplored territories, take risks in my work, and invest in materials and technologies that were previously out of reach. It led to a period of intense creativity and growth, enabling me to complete several new intermedia series of works.
Institutions can better serve artists by offering more flexible, inclusive, and accessible funding opportunities like this fellowship. Providing spaces for artists to show unconventional work, offering mentorship programs, and fostering connections with other artists, curators, gallerists, and other professionals in the field are crucial. Additionally, recognizing and valuing diverse artistic expressions and narratives is essential for a more inclusive and representative art community.
Amber D.: Unrestricted funds are a complete game changer as an artist. Art is such an all encompassing vocation so having the resources to make new work and collaborate with others and conduct important research is nourishment. Art provides such a vital and valuable function within society, and unrestricted funds help tremendously, but another vital component is mentorship and connection. I definitely need help and want help building new relationships with curators and institutions so the work I make can connect to larger communities.
Nuttaphol: First and foremost, receiving the fellowship is a huge honor and a prestigious recognition of my work. I feel that I’m being seen, heard, and [made] visible by receiving such a prestigious recognition!
The unrestricted funds attached to the fellowship offer financial stability. I’m able to allocate the funds in strategic ways. They include the following:
- Funding studio upgrades primarily in sound and video editing capabilities for future projects.
- Funding current projects including “Stitching Dreams of Leaving, Dreams of Roots” and “Mediative Shit: A Collective Ritual to Heal, Repair, Mend.”
- Funding for archival of my past works to the present in forms of artist booklets and free downloadable PDFs.
- Funding future projects that include potential work with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and the New Mexico Asian Family Center.
- Funding for future website redesign.
Amber M: I think institutions can better serve artists and their access to awards by trusting them without asking for a million receipts or a 30-page essay. Perhaps institutions can better serve artists with access to art spaces or studio spaces. I love printmaking and wish I could have spent more time doing some printmaking but I’m hoping to travel to a book arts center to learn more about making books. I also think intuitions can better serve artists by highlighting their work on a virtual or in-person level.
Please describe any opportunities that arose as a result of your involvement in Projecting All Voices.
Elizabeth: Being involved in Projecting All Voices gave me the confidence — and the portfolio of new work — to pursue an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Combined, those two experiences have expanded my network, connecting me with curators, critics, and collectors, which has been invaluable for my career growth. It led to collaborations with other artists and academics, invitations to do artist talks, and opportunities to exhibit my work.
Amber D.: I have been nominated for the Arlene Scult award and I am grateful for that. Fingers crossed.
Nuttaphol: I’m able to continue my work, “Meditative Shit: A Collective Ritual to Heal, Repair, Mend” at Tulane University as part of the Imagining America gathering and at the University of San Francisco Center for Public Services. Additionally, I curated a group exhibition titled “Ways of Becoming” at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). The exhibition brought works from the IAIA community together to talk about our resiliency to become, to rise above despite the weight of cultural amnesia, longing, loss, and grief. Lastly, I was able to leverage my status as a Fellow to initiate a conversation with the Angel Island Immigration Station Museum in which we are exploring the possibility of making a site-specific installation of my durational public stitching works there.
Amber M.: I would say my involvement gave me the opportunity to say yes to so many opportunities I may have had to turn down because of time constraints or lack of financial means to travel. With the fellowship funds, I was able to attend workshops, classes, conferences and meet new folks that have similar writing goals or career goals. This helped me grow as a writer and a small press owner.
What is next for you in your artistic journey?
Elizabeth: Looking ahead, I plan to continue exploring the themes of memory and identity through artistic archivy. I’m particularly interested in creating more immersive installations that integrate sound, video, and interactive elements. I also aim to engage more with community-based projects, using art as a tool for social dialogue. My journey is about pushing boundaries — my own and social ones — to make work that creates spaces for critical thinking, feeling, and reflection that may lead to a re-imagining of possibilities.
Amber D.: I have a lot of work to do. I am a recent recipient of the Night Bloom grant via MOCA Tucson and the Andy Warhol Foundation, a recipient of the research and development grant via the Arizona Commission on the Arts. I am showing and creating new work for two collectives I am a member of called SBAC and the Projects. I have shows in Albuquerque and hopefully Chicago with my collectives. Individually I have shows in Sedona, Peoria and Goodyear with the Vision and Sound Art center. One studios with the Projects for the months of January and February. A group show at Pidgin Palace in the Spring and a fall solo show at Snakebite gallery in Tucson.
Nuttaphol: After the fellowship, I hope to initiate conversation with the New Mexico Asian Family Center to explore ways of co-creating an intergenerational project involving youths and elders that will unpack identity, memory, and place via food and recipes.
Amber M.: I hope my first full-length book will be published soon. I have been hosting writing workshops with Arizona Humanities and will soon be co-teaching a writing fellowship through Diné College called Diné Artisans; Authors Capacity Building Institute (DAACBI); the program is sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Economic Development — Creative Industries Division. And I will be teaching creative writing part time soon!
