[CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — Nov 11, 2021] The DEMIL Art Fund is pleased to announce its second cohort of award recipients this Veteran’s Day.
The DAF, in partnership with the emerging Veteran Art Movement, provides veteran artists with $5,000 grants to amplify their artistic practices and engage the public.
The artists in DAF’s second cohort are Miridith S. Campbell (Kiowa) of Duncan, Oklahoma; Erika Renee Land of Macon, Georgia; and Gerald Sheffield of Los Angeles. Each of these recipients exemplifies DAF’s mission of creating knowledge around questions of peace and justice.
Campbell is an interdisciplinary artist best known for her traditional beadwork. She will use the funds to continue creating works that explore her Kiowa tribal traditions.
“The Kiowa have always been known as a warrior people. Much of the tribal traditions, honors and ceremonies center on feats of bravery, of sacrifice. In turn, the people give [warriors] accolades through many forms of dance, prayers, gifts and bestowing honors of reverence,” Campbell says.
Campbell values those traditions and ceremonies but says, “the dichotomy to this history is that [war] is brutal. I often wrestle with the romanticism of war and the beauty of the warrior and his ensemble.”
Land is a writer and spoken word performer who has published poetry novels, music and poetry albums, and the off-Broadway stage play PTSD and ME.
Land will use the award to complete her memoir “I Look Like Her” which explores her journey with post traumatic stress disorder.
“The Demil Art Fund is aiding me in fulfilling my dream of creating meaningful art that hopefully will spark the imaginations and creative spirit of other veterans,” she said.
Sheffield holds a BFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, and an MFA in Printmaking and Painting from Yale University.
Sheffield will use the funds to continue his sculpture and painting. Sheffield's work challenges Western stereotypes of non-European representation inherent in the global residue of American foreign policy.
The DEMIL Art Fund is typically a year-long program but this cohort will last an additional four months so the artists can participate in the Veteran Art Summit and Triennial scheduled for Spring 2023.
About the DEMIL Art Fund
The DEMIL Art Fund is a privately funded nonprofit that directly assists artists with their projects. DAF is dedicated to diversity with the demographics of the population it funds. Military veterans are a priority for the fund.