West Virginia University School of Art and Design graduate student Kaitlyn Hunter, of Lisbon Falls, Maine, has been awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” for 2014.
Hunter was nominated for the award by assistant professor Dylan Collins and associate professor Jason Lee in the WVU School of Art and Design. She is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in the College of Creative Arts, with an emphasis in sculpture.
The International Sculpture Center was founded in 1960 to champion the creation and understanding of sculpture and its unique, vital contribution to society. Members include sculptors, collectors, patrons, architects, developers, journalists, curators, historians, critics, educators, foundries, galleries, and museums—anyone with an interest in and commitment to the field of sculpture.
The center established the annual “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” program in 1994 to recognize young sculptors and to encourage their continued commitment to the field.
The award was also designed to draw attention to the sculpture programs of the participating universities, colleges and art schools.
More than 151 universities, as well as colleges and art school sculpture programs from six countries, nominated a total of 374 students for this year’s award.
A total of 22 students were selected to receive the award, after a competitive viewing process of the submitted works.
“The selection of Kaitlyn as a recipient of this award, from such a large pool of applicants, including international students, is a great accomplishment,” said Collins, who is coordinator of the sculpture program at WVU. “It is a testament to the artistic promise of her work.”
Hunter is currently in the second year of her Master of Fine Arts program in sculpture.
“Last year I moved out of Maine for the first time to attend school here at WVU,” she said. “I learned about this MFA program from Damir Porobic, a WVU alumnus and professor of art at the University of Southern Maine, where I earned my BFA degree.
“I feel very strongly about the transformative qualities of art and how it can be used to build community.”
Along with being passionate about art, Hunter is also a Girl Scout volunteer and lifetime member.
Hunter and the other award recipients will participate in the Grounds For Sculpture Fall/Winter Exhibition, which will be on view from October 2014 through March 2015 in Hamilton, New Jersey, adjacent to the International Sculpture Center’s headquarters.
Hunter’s work will also be featured in the October 2014 issue of the International Sculpture Center’s award winning publication, Sculpture magazine, as well as on the center’s website at www.sculpture.org.
See Hunter’s website at: http://kaitlynhunter.weebly.com/
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CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu
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