Columbus, Ohio – Columbus artist Kojo Kamau will receive the $10,000 fellowship named in memory of former GCAC President Raymond J. Hanley, the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Columbus Arts Endowment announced today.
An anonymous panel of judges, along with the trustees of the Columbus Arts Endowment, chose Kamau as the fourth recipient of the Raymond J. Hanley Fellowship, an award for an individual artist who has demonstrated an unusual level of achievement while working for at least five years in the visual arts, performing arts, literary arts or any other arts discipline. Fellowship money is awarded to the recipient without restriction, so the artist can use it to further his or her career as needed. The fellowship is administered by GCAC and supported through the Hanley Arts Fund of the Columbus Arts Endowment, created upon Hanley’s death in 2006.
The award will be presented at a reception January 10 at the King Arts Complex. An exhibition of Kamau’s photographs will be shown in conjunction with the exhibition African American Creative Genius With Impact (January 10-March 2, 2013). A free public reception for the exhibition openings will take place January 10, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Elijah Pierce Gallery at the King Arts Complex.
Kamau, an acclaimed photographer and Columbus native has exhibited his photographs throughout the Midwest and has collected numerous awards including the 2006 Ohioanna Library Career Award and the 2004 ColumbusWinterfair Award of Excellence. His 40 year photography retrospective, sponsored by the Upper Arlington Cultural Arts Commission, was one of the best exhibitions recognized by the Columbus Dispatch. To celebrate Kamau’s 70th birthday year in 2009, the Columbus Museum of Art presented Kojo: Fifty Years in Photography, a retrospective that included more than sixty photographs, both color and black and white, reflecting his five decades working in the medium. The exhibition addressed themes that run throughout the photographer’s career such as community, travels, portraits of local and international artists and musicians, and political and social issues.
Kamau’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Metropolitian Library and the Columbus Foundation. His photographs have been exhibited in one man and invitational exhibitions throughout the United States including the Indianapolis Art Center, Ohio University, the Chicago Center of Science and Industry and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In Central Ohio he has exhibited at the Columbus Museum of Art, the Ohio Art Council’s Riffe Gallery, The Ohio State University, Columbus College of Art and Design, King Arts Complex Ohio Wesleyan University and the Kiaca Gallery.
Kamau’s international exhibitions include Gallery 44 Center for Contemporary Photography,Toronto, Canada; Culturefest ’93, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa; and the Central Bank of the Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas.
Kamau, who has captured local and national celebrities on film, studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design, The Ohio State University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a retired chief medical photographer at The Ohio State University and is currently a photography instructor at Columbus State Community College.
Each year, the identification of a recipient will be made based upon the panel of judges’ knowledge of individual artists working in the Columbus area and will not involve any application process. Based on the panel’s nomination of a recipient, the final award will be approved by the Columbus Arts Endowment Board.
As President of the Greater Columbus Arts Council from 1985 through April 2006, Hanley helped to create a national image for Columbus as a city deeply committed to the arts.
About the Greater Columbus Arts Council: Through vision and leadership, advocacy and collaboration, the Greater Columbus Arts Council supports art and advances the culture of the region. A catalyst for excellence and innovation, we fund exemplary artists and arts organizations and provide programs, events and services of public value that educate and engage all audiences in our community. GCAC thanks the City of Columbus and the Ohio Arts Council for their continued support of all our programs.
About the Columbus Arts Endowment: Created by past chairs of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Columbus Arts Endowment continues the spirit of advocacy and partnership GCAC has encouraged since its inception. Culture is the exclusive focus of the endowment, which is intended to supplement, not replace, existing broad-based philanthropic support. The Board of Trustees of the Columbus Arts Endowment consists exclusively of past chairs of the Greater Columbus Arts Council.
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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
