Julia Franklin Receives 2018 Iowa Artist Fellowship

Graceland University Professor of Art Julia Franklin, MFA, received a 2018 Iowa Artist Fellowship from Governor Kim Reynolds in late July. This once-in-a-lifetime award gives Franklin $10,000 to prioritize her art. This money is going to the leasing of Studio #456 in Mainframe Studios in downtown Des Moines. Mainframe hosts a free open house/open studio event the first Friday of each month, so everyone is invited to tour the building and visit Franklin’s space as well as the other 45 artists who create in the building. Franklin is also using the funds to do research, buy professional-grade art supplies and ship artwork. Another perk of the fellowship allowed Franklin to participate in a three-day intensive professional development seminar from Creative Capital, which gave her time with consultants to develop art goals and new exhibition opportunities.

Franklin’s evolving project, “Picking Up the Pieces,” centers on her father’s suicide when she was a teenager and the recent discoveries and mysteries about him and his death. She has reached out to area groups connected to his life and helped kick off One Iowa’s LGBTQI Senior Summit at Grand View University with an artist’s talk. This week Franklin is talking with the cast of Fun Home, which is being produced by Iowa Stage. She will give some pre-show talks while it runs later this month at the Kum and Go Theatre at the Des Moines Social Club.