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Weatherspoon Wins Large Grants for Poverty Exhibition

GREENSBORO - The Weatherspoon Art Museum has received grants totaling $113,000 for a unique exhibition – “Borne of Necessity” – that will consider the causes and effects of poverty.

The work of ten contemporary artists or artists’ groups from Canada, England, Slovenia and across the United States will be featured in the Jan. 18-April 11 exhibition. Four of the contributors have created new works for the exhibition.

“As a university art museum that also serves the public, the Weatherspoon is committed to presenting exhibitions that examine and promote discussion about important social and cultural issues of our time,” said Nancy Doll, the museum’s director. “Art can be a powerful lens through which to gain new perspectives on the world around us. ‘Borne of Necessity’ is a groundbreaking show and, obviously, one that is very timely.”

Curator of Exhibitions Ron Platt organized the 12-week exhibition. Weatherspoon staff members know of no other museum exhibition of contemporary art that has focused on poverty.

The grants include:
o $50,000 from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for the exhibition catalogue and the commission of new works,
o $35,000 from The Rockefeller Foundation for general exhibition costs,
o $10,000 from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation for the exhibition catalogue,
o $10,000 from the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation for educational materials and programming, and
o $8,000 from the North Carolina Arts Council to commission artwork for the exhibition.

 “Borne of Necessity” rejects the stereotype of poverty as an intractable condition caused by moral or social failings. It aims to increase awareness of the causes of poverty and to provoke a response to the issue.

 The exhibition is particularly relevant in North Carolina. The state has done pioneering work to define poverty and now is experiencing a higher rate of joblessness than the nation as a whole.

 The Weatherspoon, home to one of the finest collections of contemporary art in the Southeast, presents more than twenty exhibitions and a host of educational activities annually. Visit the gallery online at weatherspoon.uncg.edu.

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