Crystal Wagner works in her studio in the Emporium Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Crystal Wagner, an emerging local artist, has been selected as the first Betsy Worden Artist-in-Residence at the Emporium Center in Knoxville from October 2008 through March 2009.
Wagner recently received her MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Printmaking from the University of Tennessee and has been featured as an emerging artist in Juxtapoz magazine. Her work titled "Conversion" is part of the permanent collection at the Knoxville Museum of Art. For more information about Wagner, visit www.crystalwagner.com.
As the Artist-in-Residence, Wagner receives free and exclusive access to a 10' x 10' artist studio in the Emporium Center (Suite 105), a materials stipend of $200 each month during the residency, complimentary membership in the Arts & Culture Alliance for one year, and an exhibition of new work in The Balcony gallery near the end of the residency period. The Alliance will also display at least one piece of her new work in the public areas of the Emporium each month of the residency. Wagner agrees to spend a significant amount of time creating work in the Emporium studio, showing new work each First Friday of the month, and possibly helping to hang monthly exhibitions in the Emporium, and/or offer curatorial input.
Betsy Worden, an artist, teacher, and Knoxville civic leader, was perhaps best known for her works in watercolor and weaving, and she contributed greatly to Knoxville's visual arts community in numerous ways throughout her life. She received her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee and did post-graduate studies at Atlanta School of the Art, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and the University of Tennessee.
A painter, tapestry weaver, and printmaker, she was a longtime instructor at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, and she taught watercolor classes for the Knoxville Museum of Art. A leader in the Knoxville arts community, Worden served on the boards of many arts organizations, including the Arts & Culture Alliance and the Art Market Gallery, of which she co-founded. She also co-founded the Community School of the Arts in Knoxville. She served as a past president of the Knoxville Watercolor Society and actively participated in the Tennessee Watercolor Society, the Art and Antiques Gallery, Southern Highland Craft Guild, the Foothills Craft Guild, and Tennessee Women in the Arts. The residency materials stipend has been donated by the Worden family in her honor.
The next Betsy Worden Memorial Artist Residency period will be April-September 2009 and is open to college students and other young and emerging artists. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or e-mail sc@knoxalliance.com.
