MEDIA RELEASE
Contact: Sarah Warren, Argent Financial Group, Inc.
318.251.5812
Raluca Iancu
RUSTON, Louisiana, April 2, 2019 – Hambidge Center has selected Ruston artist Raluca Iancu as the recipient of Argent Financial Group’s Distinguished Fellowship for the Hambidge Creative Residency Program’s 2019 Summer Session, Argent announced today.
Ruston residents who work in the visual arts, writing, ceramics, dance, music or the culinary arts were eligible to apply for the Argent Financial Distinguished Fellowship, which provides a $700 stipend and a two-week creative residency at the Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia. Applicants were carefully evaluated by the Hambidge Center’s panel review process.
Iancu will attend the center’s 600-acre Blue Ridge Mountain sanctuary in August.
“I was thrilled to learn that I was the recipient of the fellowship,” said Iancu. “I am grateful and excited about the opportunity to pursue a new direction in my work.”
Born in Romania, Iancu moved to Canada at a young age and came to the United States for graduate school. She explained on her application that migrating from one continent to another and experiencing different cultures fueled her interest in mass transit. Her work explores disaster, memory and vulnerability through different mediums, ranging from printmaking and performance to edible art and printed objects.
An award-winning artist, Iancu has exhibited domestically and internationally at venues such as the Domek Miedziorytnika Gallery and Museum in Poland, the National Museum Robevci in Macedonia and the International Exhibition of Contemporary Printmaking at the University of Guam. U.S. public displays include the International Print Center in New York City, the Pacific States Biennial North American Print Exhibition at the University of Hawaii and Sixty Square Inches – 19th North American Small Print Exhibition at Purdue University in Indiana.
“It was a difficult decision, as there were many talented applicants, but Raluca clearly stood out among the many who applied for this inaugural fellowship,” said Hambidge Center Executive Director Jamie Badoud. “We look forward to her arrival in August, and to partnering with Argent on future scholarships.”
Iancu earned her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, Printmaking, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University in Halifax, Canada. She is currently an assistant professor of drawing and printmaking at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
“The arts community makes living in Ruston a much more enriching experience,” said Argent Financial Group CEO Kyle McDonald. “We wish Raluca well in her time at Hambidge this summer, and are excited to see what new creative visions she brings back home.”
About Hambidge Center
For more than 85 years, the Hambidge Center has been nurturing creative talents within the arts and sciences at our 600-acre creative sanctuary in the Blue Ridge Mountains, providing the space and time needed for visionary works to be conceived and developed. Nine individuals are in residence at any given time – each has private accommodations and studio space, and shares communal dinners prepared by the Hambidge chef. The public is invited to the Center on Saturdays for a series of programs that include artist talks, nature hikes, gristmill visits, weaving demonstrations, gallery openings and other special events. www.hambidge.org
About Argent Financial Group
Argent Financial Group (AFG) is a leading independent fiduciary wealth management firm. Responsible for more than $19 billion in client assets, AFG provides individuals, families, institutions and businesses with a broad range of wealth management services including trust administration and related services, investment management, family office services, retirement plan and charitable organization administration, mineral (oil and gas) management, and financial, retirement and estate planning. For more information, visit www.argentcares.com.
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