NEWS

Ogden Contemporary Arts (OCA) has received funding from two coveted sources: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Andy Warhol Foundation.

The $25,000 awarded by the NEA will help pay for OCA’s artist-in-residence program, which starts in September. The $80,000 awarded by the Warhol Foundation will be spread over two years and help pay for operations and programming.

Venessa Castagnoli, OCA’s executive director, said when Warhol Foundation officials visited Ogden last March, they were impressed with the partnerships OCA has built with the community, local artists, and Weber State University.

“We bring in really great contemporary artists,” she said. “But the people we bring in are engaging with our local community.”

That engagement includes school tours, outreach programs with such groups as Youth Impact, and Artist Factory workshops for youth and adults. Some of these are at low or no cost to the public and include paying local artists to teach, Castagnoli said. But others are not. Art supplies are expensive, and teaching artists need to be paid. Grants such as these can help offset some of those costs.

Art, she added, is important for everyone, regardless of what they do for a living. And it is worth supporting.

“You can use our creative skillset to further you in whatever field, whether you’re an artist, or a doctor, or a lawyer,” Castagnoli saud. “We’re focusing on that as an organization, and that’s what sets us apart from other contemporary arts organizations out there.”

This year, OCA staff hopes to extend its summer arts programming for children and adults to Lester Park, located near the main Weber County Library branch. And they are curating and installing artwork for the Weber/Morgan Children’s Justice Center. Both of these efforts will include paying local artists to teach or to create works.

“Putting money back into the pockets of local artists is huge,” she said.

In addition to trying to engage local residents in creating art, Castagnoli said OCA is striving to make contemporary art more accessible to people who might otherwise not visit a gallery. All of the signage and information accompanying exhibits is written in English and Spanish, for starters. And the atmosphere, she hopes, is more welcoming.

“It’s not just an intimidating gallery that you’re not comfortable walking into,” she said. “You can come in, look around, and ask questions.”

Ogden Contempory Arts is located at 455 25th Street in Ogden. For more information and upcoming exhibits visit ogdencontemporaryarts.org.