Art museum receives $65K grant By Sana Danish Daily Staff Reporter The National Endowment for the Arts will award a $65,000 grant to the University's Museum of Art to fund an exhibit titled "Women At The Top: Images Of Female Power, 1500-1650." The grant, which will allow for the February 2002 exhibit, is the second largest the NEA has awarded to a Michigan arts organization this year. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra received the largest grant. "The funding of the NEA has been reduced in the past 20 years," Museum of Art Director James Steward said. "We regard the fact that we received the second largest grant awarded to a Michigan arts organization as an exceptional endorsement of our work." Steward said the selection procedure for the grant was extremely competitive. Each museum can submit only one application per year. An anonymous NEA expert panel consisting of artists, scholars and museum professionals made recommendations regarding which organizations should receive grants. The Museum of Art won its grant in the category of "Creation and Presentation." Curator of Western Art Annette Dixon, who is organizing the exhibit, said the grant is a stamp of approval for the museum. The grant will help garner attention as well as donations, both from individuals and corporations," Dixon said. Steward said the exhibit is designed to appeal to many members of the University community. Steward said the theme may even carry over to other aspects of the University. "We're hoping the subject of Winter 2002 theme semester will coincide with that of our exhibit," he said. Dixon said the exhibit will focus on "how powerful women or women who are empowered are depicted in visual images." Using depictions of historical, biblical and mythical women, the exhibit's themes will explore how power gets projected and how female identity is experienced. "We hope that students and the community will be able to make links between the way women control and fashion their own images today and the way women did that in the past," Dixon said. The last time the NEA awarded the University a large grant was for a James Whistler exhibit in 1994. raise money for the exhibit, she said. "It catapults us into a higher profile so that we would be in the radar for donations, both from individuals and corporations," Dixon said. Steward said the exhibit is designed to appeal to many members of the University community. Steward said the theme may even carry over to other aspects of the University. "We're hoping the subject of winter 2002 theme semester will coincide with that of our exhibit," he said. Dixon said the exhibit will focus on "how powerful women or women who are empowered are depicted in visual images." Using depictions of historical, biblical and mythical women, the exhibit's themes will explore how power gets projected and how female identity is experienced. "We hope that students and the community will be able to make links between the way women control and fashion their own images today and the way women did that in the past," Dixon said. The last time the NEA awarded the University a large grant was for a James Whistler exhibit in 1994. Originally on page 1A in the 1-24-2000 issue of the Daily.