“From Council Bluffs to Davenport and Mason City to Centerville, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today announced it is awarding more than $1.5 million in grants for the return of the state’s arts, culture, history and creative sector by supporting arts and cultural jobs and programming in the humanities.
In total, 236 individuals and organizations—representing 70 communities across 56 Iowa counties—will benefit from $1,527,814 in one-time grant funding, made possible through the agency’s state/federal partnerships with Arts Midwest, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities with federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act.”
Jennifer Knox received a grant for MYCYOWA. The goal of MYCYOWA, a STEAM-themed traveling public art project, is to increase awareness of mycoremediation, a process in which fungi break down and absorb pollutants on land and in fresh water: heavy metals, textile dyes, tanning chemicals, wastewater, petroleum, hydrocarbons, pesticides, and herbicides. Resources will be used to fabricate and install a set of weatherproof bilingual trail signs at locations across the state; each sign will feature an original hybrid science-poem written on the theme of mycoremediation. To echo fungi’s surprising vitality and interconnectedness across ecosystems, our goal is to position each installation in a different landscape—from urban neighborhoods and art festivals to small town main streets and state parks.
Emma Murray was recognized for her work on her Dear Casey (podcast). If you want to hear more about the Dear Casey (Kasem) music nostalgia podcast she’s working on, check out Iowa Public Radio’s “Talk of Iowa” podcast recording. The 2021–22 Iowa Artist Fellows were interviewed for the segment last Thursday. Her interview is around the last 10 minutes of the podcast…and another shout-out to Jennifer (2016 Fellow), who encouraged her to apply!