Winona State University art instructor Kjellgren Alkire is a recipient of the 2013-14 Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists.
Alkire is one of five recipients selected out of 232 applicants by a panel of arts professionals. As a recipient, Alkire was awarded $10,000, along with the opportunity to meet with three visiting critics over the year, have his work featured in a group exhibition in fall 2014 in the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Gallery, have an essay written about his work appearing in the exhibition catalog and participate in a public panel discussion.
Alkire mixes sculpture, design and performance to celebrate and interrogate social denotations of Americana, mythology, masculinity, humor, vernacular language, agriculture and architecture. Performances of his alter ego, the Reverend Roughstock, have been presented at a variety of venues in the West and Midwest, as have his prints and sculptures. The recipient of grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Contemporary Forum of the Phoenix Art Museum and the Missouri Arts Council, Alkire has a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University in St. Paul and a Master of Fine Arts from Arizona State University. He resides in Lake City, Minn.
The fellowship program is through the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with support from The Jerome Foundation. The Jerome Foundation, created by artist and philanthropist Jerome Hill, seeks to contribute to a dynamic and evolving culture by supporting the creation, development, and production of new works by emerging artists. The Foundation makes grants to nonprofit arts organizations and artists in Minnesota and New York City.
For more information, call the WSU Communications Office at 507-457-5024.
