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Lee Emma Running, associate professor of art, joins a writer, a musician, a filmmaker, and another visual artist as a 2017 Iowa Arts Council Fellow.

Each will receive access to professional development opportunities, promotional support to enhance their careers, and a $10,000 grant to support new works. They will also participate in Creative Capital's Core Weekend Professional Development Program, one of the nation's premier artist professional development programs, and will participate in "Meet the Artist" public programs at various arts and cultural venues throughout the state.

Lee Emma Running

 makes installations and sculptures inspired by natural phenomena, working with animal bones, paper, fabric, fur, raw pigments, and gold. She moved to Iowa City in 2001 to apprentice with papermaker Timothy Barrett at the University of Iowa Center for the Book where she learned to analyze materials and processes as well as maintain the discipline of a fine craft.

Running has done artist residencies at Jentel in Wyoming, Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, the Santa Fe Art Institute in New Mexico, and the Vermont Studio Center in Vermont.

Her work has been exhibited at the Des Moines Art Center, the Charlotte Street Foundation, the Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking, and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art.

She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in 1999 and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in 2005. She is represented by Olson-Larsen Galleries.

The Iowa Arts Council Fellowship

A panel of of Iowa arts professionals selected as this year's fellows, who were ​honored ​during a ceremony with Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg at the State Capitol.

Besides Running, the other 2017 fellows are:

• River Breitbach of Rickardsville,
• Jennifer Drinkwater of Ames,
• Jack Meggers of Des Moines, and
• Rachel Yoder of Iowa City.

“Iowa has a proven track record of developing talented artists. In return, these individuals use their abilities to strengthen our state’s cultural vitality,” Gov. Reynolds said. “I’m proud to recognize these five artists as our newest Iowa Arts Fellows and am eager to hear about the incredible experiences they’ll have over the next year.”

“More Iowans recognize the important role the arts play in improving quality of life across our state,” Lt. Gov. Gregg said. “Iowa has nearly 6,000 art-related businesses that employ nearly 23,000 people. The governor and I are proud to support artists who choose to build their careers in Iowa and commit to contribute to our communities.”

The Iowa Arts Council created the multi-discipline Artist Fellowship Program in 2014 to support professional, active Iowa artists who are at a pivotal point in their careers and who demonstrate exceptional creativity and the capacity to contribute to the excellence and innovation of the arts in Iowa.

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