Arts and Sciences | Events | Featured | Giving | NewsJanuary 26, 2024

UAFS Artist in Residence to Give Talk

Written By: Ian Silvester

New York-based artist Katya Grokhovsky, who was born and raised in Ukraine, is the spring 2024 University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Artist-in-Residence. Beginning at 4 p.m. on January 31, Grokhovsky and the UAFS Art Department will host a Resident Artist Talk in the Windgate Theatre, 535 N Waldron Rd., Fort Smith.

During the hour-long discussion, Grokhovsky plans to discuss her career as an educator, artist, and the founding director of The Immigrant Artist Biennial, a project established in 2019 to present and support immigrant artists often overlooked. A question-and-answer session will follow the talk, and audience members are invited to meet Grokhovsky. The event is free and open to the public.

UAFS Gallery Director Dr. Matt Bailey highlighted the importance of UAFS Resident Artist Talks and noted what guests might glean from the upcoming event.

“It provides a way to hear directly from the artist about their current and past work, as well as what they plan to produce during their residency,” Bailey said. “Most importantly, in these talks, we hear about an artist’s concepts, influences, and ways of thinking about art that help us understand their work and provide the campus and community with new perspectives and ways to think about art in general. Her (Grokhovsky’s) work especially will expose us to different types of media and artmaking other than those we teach here at UAFS.”

During the talk, Grokhovsky will introduce her plans for the work she will create while in residence. In past residencies and galleries, Grokhovsky’s work has been shared through performance, sculpture, fiber, video, photography, painting, and drawing. At the same time, she explores topics like gender, identity, labor, body, history, and self.

Dr. Katie Waugh, Head of the UAFS Art Department and Associate Professor, spoke highly of the UAFS Arts & Design Artist in Residence program and what it means for the university and community.

“This program supports artists so they can concentrate their time and resources on making their work while sharing their ideas, processes, and insights with our students and the River Valley community. It’s exciting to see what artists can produce when given the support they need,” Waugh explained. “Our department is enriched by having a close view of artists’ creative practices through workshops, shared spaces, public events, and student mentorship.”

The UAFS Art & Design Artist in Residence program was funded through a gift from the Windgate Foundation, and more information can be found by visiting the department: https://uafs.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/resources/air.php.

At the end of the spring semester, the UAFS Gallery and Grokhovsky will host a pop-up exhibit showcasing what she will work on during her residency.

About Katya Grokhovsky

Grokhovsky received a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Victorian College of the Art at Melbourne University in Australia, and a Bachelor of Art (Honors) in Fashion from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Through research, play, experimentation, and autobiographical experience, Grokhovsky weaves the personal and political together. She builds worlds and personas that examine stereotypes, prejudices, and oppression, emphasizing the absurd and the uncanny in the everyday.

Learn more about Grokhovsky by visiting her website: https://www.katyagrokhovsky.net.

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• Katya Grokhovsky
• UAFS Artist in Residence
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Windgate Foundation