Zion National Park Announces its 2015 Artists-in-Residence

Date: October 15, 2014
Contact: Michelle Haas, 435-772-0184

Four artists have been selected to serve as Artists-in-Residence in Zion National Park in 2015. These artists were selected from a large pool of applicants representing a broad spectrum of art forms. Please look for the following artists during their residency dates.

• February 2 – March 3: Camila Galofre, painter, Ecuador, South America
• April 1 – April 30: Leslie Nichols, 2D mixed media, Bowling Green, KY 
• September 1 – September 30: Benjamin Rusnak, photographer, Boca Raton, FL 
• October 16 – November 14: Earnest Ward, art journalist, Fort Worth, TX 

Resident artists spend 30 days living in a historic cabin in Zion National Park. They explore and surround themselves in the sights, sounds, textures, and wonders of Zion to find inspiration for their work. Each artist conducts two public presentations on their work and residency experience. Date, time, and location of these presentations will be announced closer to each artist's residency. 

The Artist-in-Residence program at Zion honors and continues a long tradition of artists using their work to facilitate a conversation on the value of nature and preservation. This tradition began in the early 19th century with Hudson River School painters and Transcendentalist writers like Thomas Cole and Henry David Thoreau. The work of some of these artists directly led to preservation legislation that created Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks.

For more information on the Artist-in-Residence program at Zion National Park please visit our website at www.nps.gov/zion. For more information on each of these artists, please visit their websites: www.cargocollective.com/cgalofre, www.leslienicholsart.com, www.benjaminrusnak.com, http://earnestward.blogspot.co