Spotlight Artist: Eleanna Anagnos

BIO

Eleanna (She/her) (born Evanston, IL) is a Greek-American, New York City/ Mexico City-based artist and curator. Her work sits between painting and sculpture with a focus on haptics, touch, displacement, primal consciousness and bridging the...

Saturday, March 5, the University of Iowa’s Grant Wood Art Colony will award the Grant Wood Legacy Prize to three outstanding high-school visual artists: Siyu Chen (Unity Christian High School, Orange City), Maisy Wasenius (Treynor Junior Senior High School), and Emma Isenhart (Des Moines Christian School, Urbandale). The three prize recipients were selected from a pool of over 400 visual art entries from students across the state. Current Grant Wood Fellows Johnathan Payne and Elena Smyrniotis selected the winners for their demonstration of a Regional voice and skill. Judges reviewed entries from Iowa students in the media categories in which Grant Wood worked: jewelry, painting, drawing and illustration, printmaking, design, ceramics and glass, and mixed media. The Grant Wood Legacy Prize is a collaboration with the Belin-Blank Center, which serves as the affiliate for the Iowa and Midwest Region-at-Large Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

The Grant Wood Fellows Exhibition returns to campus for the first time since 2015. "Hold the Line," featuring the work of five current and former fellows, is on display September 10 through October 2, 2021.

"Annually, I take our fellows on a tour of Grant Wood sites so they can gain a deeper understanding of Wood and Iowa. Very little physically remains of Stone City Art Colony and it can be challenging to observe Wood's impact in this area," Maura Pilcher said in an email. The sculpture offers the attraction of Instagram-ability, providing "a photo op and the catalyst for greater discussion," she said.