Norman Arts Council is pleased to announce the first round of Norman Artist Grants award winners: Lacy Jo Burgess-Cady (creative project), Rai Fordyce (creative project) & Leticia Galizzi (education opportunity).
Lacy Jo Burgess-Cady is an artist from Norman, working mainly in mixed media and fiber art. She earned her BFA in Art History from the University of Oklahoma in 2003. She has taught in the Children’s Programs and Outreach at the Firehouse Art Center for over a decade.
Burgess-Cady will use funds from the grant award to create an installation that celebrates the Monarch Migration — incorporating multi-media fiber techniques to celebrate the inspiring natural phenomena. This sculpture and the experience of seeing the migration from the point of view of the butterfly are intended to elicit empathy with the struggles faced by nature in an increasingly fragmented and urban environment. Burgess-Cady plans to display the piece in an open community space for all to enjoy.
Rai Fordyce is a multifaceted artist, community organizer, and business owner based in Norman. As a single mother, Rai is deeply committed to building community and fostering connections among her fellow residents. She is known for her work facilitating clothing swaps and social meetups, which have become popular gathering places for people of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to her community organizing work, Rai is also a talented textile artist. She runs her own business Sun Textiles & Wares, where she creates and sells a wide variety of handcrafted textiles, chainmail, and resin pieces.
With the grant award, Fordyce will create a clothing collection for a fashion show that promotes attainable, sustainable, hand-made fashion by local artists as an ethical alternative to what’s known as fast fashion. The financial support allows Fordyce to purchase quality fabric, tools, patterns and ethically produce a fashion show utilizing other Norman artists, creatives and local businesses.
Leticia Galizzi is an artist and educator based in Norman, OK. She holds an MFA in Painting from the University of Oklahoma’s School of Visual Arts having studied at Yale School of Art before that. She has shown her paintings, woodblock carving and printing widely; recent venues include MAINSITE Contemporary Art, Pictor Gallery in NYC and Resonator Institute.
With the grant award, Galizzi will travel to her native Brazil, specifically the state of Minas Gerais. She is visiting to reconnect with the local art and techniques, which was made inaccessible and mired in mystery to many by both geography and reasons related to colonization, gold and mineral resources. She will also study with Marco Elizio de Paiva, a well-known local historian specializing in Colonial Brazilian art, pre-Colombian art in the Americas, Baroque, Russian and Islamic art.
This is the first round of Artist Grants awarded by Norman Arts Council with plans to offer more in the months, supporting our local artists in growing their craft and sharing it with the community and regions beyond.
