Barb Byrne | Butterfly Pendant, fused glass
Azaria Rianne Hogans | choreographer, dancer, educator
Greg Holden | Northern Leopard Frogs at Route 66 State Park, Eureka
Patrick Rafferty | guitarist, teacher
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Featured Artists Program
Meet our Missouri featured artists for June
Each month we highlight a new group of four individual artists from all around Missouri. Here’s our quartet for June!
Find more of all these artists’ works on their own websites. Just follow the links on their artwork and profiles.
Plus, here are highlights and links to all our earlier artists since we started the Missouri Featured Artists program last December. There’s music, photography, poetry, storytelling, fashion, paintings from wax to watercolors, metal and glass and ceramic sculptures, and so much more as we celebrate the diversity and depth of Missouri creativity.
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Greg Holden
artist, photographer, inquisitive observer, thankful human being
Eureka
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Azaria Rianne Hogans | “AMAL,” dancers Katie Griffiths and Josie Walker
photo, Missouri State University Office of Visual Media
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Azaria Rianne Hogans
choreographer, dancer, educator | Springfield
The medium I work with is the body, which means this medium thinks, breathes, and loves simultaneously while creating the work. The human experience is art.
Hello! I am Georgia born and raised, and now reside in Springfield. I hold an MFA in dance from Texas Woman’s University, and my research revolves around Black and Afro-diasporic modern dance. I serve as manager of resources and archives and as a board member for the digital dance company kNOwBOX dance (NB). I co-host NB’s Dance Behind the Screen Podcast as well as assist in running the kNOwBOX dance Film Festival. I am also an assistant professor at Missouri State University. I have presented and performed works nationally and internationally, and have published articles in journals and magazines such as Dance Education in Practice, Journal of Dance Education, Dance Teacher Magazine, and Dance Magazine.
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Barb Byrne
fused glass artist | Pleasant Hill
Whether it’s through my butterflies, birds, flowers, or wildlife, I want my audience to feel the awesome connection we all have to this earth.
My fused glass journey began in 2009 when I took a class at a local community center and fell in love with the medium. I continue to gain experience through live classes, online webinars and tutorials, private tutoring, glass forums, books, and lots of experimentation. For close to 20 years, my husband and I lived on a 300-acre farm in the beautiful Missouri countryside close to the Gasconade River. My connection to animals and nature drew me into doing animal portraits and landscapes using fine glass powder and enamels. Working with glass powders continues to be my passion and my main focus as I expand my body of work into more complex pieces.
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Greg Holden
artist, photographer, inquisitive observer, thankful human being | Eureka
I do not place titles on photographs. I do not want to influence what anyone might see or feel.
I photograph wildlife, primarily around my home. Weddings and like photography are just too wild for me! I figure I need to get to where the photograph is, so I will use a kayak or hiking boots to do so. I got my first camera in 1971. It was a Polaroid, and I begged my parents and neighbors for paying jobs so I could buy film. My first single-lens reflex camera, a Ricoh, was in 1977. I went to Nikon with the advent of digital photography. I do not ever want to get stuck seeing things in any certain way. There are too many variables and situations to think I will ever have my cameras set to perfection. The joy and creativity is in trying.
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Patrick Rafferty
guitarist, teacher | Affton
As a performer, I aim for the singular experience, an experience rooted in my commitment to exciting repertoire delivered with maximum expressivity.
I perform regularly in both solo and chamber music settings. Since graduating from the Peabody Conservatory, my performances have been featured across numerous media outlets, garnering accolades and awards. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoy my teaching, which ranges from the university level to my private studio for beginners and advancing adult students. In all of my work, I remain committed to offering listeners and learners a launchpad to self-discovery and communication. I post regular updates about my performing and teaching on my website and social media. I hope to see you there!
Our Featured Artists from the beginning through May 2021
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Gary Cadwallader
painter of acrylics and watercolor
Warrensburg
Byron von Rosenberg
poet, illustrator, storyteller
Byrnes Mill
Regina Willard
contemporary impressionist
West Plains
Hyejin Cho
concert pianist, educator
Kirksville
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Grant Kniffen
painter
Dardenne Prairie
Laura Bigger
artist, printmaker
Kirksville
Ralph Hepola
musician
Springfield
Jen Everett
interdisciplinary artist
St. Louis
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James Douglas Cox
metal artist
Republic
Natalie Wiseman
visual artist
Joplin
Kevin Umaña
painter, ceramics sculptor
Kansas City
Nartana Premachandra
dancer, writer, storyteller
St. Louis
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Wanda K. Tyner
glass artist
Lee’s Summit
F.C. Shultz
author, poet, reader
Webb City
Lindsay Dunnagan
visual artist
Kirksville
Brian Owens
soul musician/vocalist
St. Louis
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Anand Prahlad
literary author, musician/songwriter, filmmaker, teaching artist
Columbia
Brenda Beck Fisher
painter, watercolorist, interpreter of the beauty in the world
Hannibal
Anne Garney
landscape painter, fauve, expressionist
Kansas City
Jeffrey Noonan
musician: performer, teacher, scholar
St. Louis
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Whitney Manney
fashion and textile designer
Kansas City
Justin Hamm
poet, photographer, citizen of the American Middle West
Mexico
Robin Van Hoozer
artist, painter, maker of unusual things
St. Joseph
Bobby Norfolk
storyteller, author, teaching artist
St. Louis
FAQs
What is the program’s goal?
The Featured Artists program promotes and supports individual artists and demonstrates the variety of creative Missouri talent.
How does the program work?
We feature four artists each month. We highlight and promote each month’s artists via the homepage of the Missouri Arts Council website, the Featured Artists page on the website, monthly email, social media, and links to the artists’ websites. Artists receive a $300 stipend/license fee to feature their work online. Artists are paid directly by the Mid-America Arts Alliance.
Who is eligible?
Individual Missouri-resident artists of any medium with online work that they have ownership to license. (Groups are not eligible.) Mediums may include (but are not limited to) visual art, literature, music, video, dance, theater, storytelling, and traditional arts.
May artists participate if they don’t have a website?
No; an effective website is an essential part of this program. Without it, there is nothing to promote, neither your work NOR a place to send people to benefit you. An artist’s website is an important tool to promote your creative work. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. can supplement with social engagement, but do not effectively allow an artist’s work to be as easily accessed as does a website.
How do artists apply?
Propose your work for consideration via this online form. Support your application with links to your website and other online platforms where your work is located. No work may be sent as an attachment. Work that cannot be accessed online may not be considered. Artists retain full ownership and rights to their work. Artists will allow with their consideration a limited use right to feature their work on the Missouri Art Council website and other platforms. There is no fee to apply.
How are Featured Artists selected?
The Missouri Arts Council staff selects artists with diverse demographics and locations throughout the state who are producing quality original work in a variety of art mediums and genres.
How will artists know if they are selected?
Artists will be contacted directly if they have been selected. If you are not contacted, do not despair! All applicants will continue to be considered as the program continues monthly.
How often should artists apply?
Artists need apply for this program only once. Applications will be kept on file for future consideration.
How long will this program last?
We will continue this program through June 30, 2021. If funding allows, this program may continue.