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Gülgün Kayim Joins Bush Artist Program

January 29, 2009—

Interdisciplinary theater artist and 2004 Bush Artist Fellow Gülgün Kayim is the new assistant director for the Bush Artist Program (BAP). In that role, she is responsible for day-to-day operations of the BAP.

“Gülgün’s strong organizational skills and extensive arts knowledge, combined with her first-hand experience as a Bush Artist Fellow, will contribute significantly to the program and the artists in the three states the Foundation supports,” said Program Director Julie Gordon Dalgleish. “We are looking forward to the ways in which her many talents contribute to the ongoing development of the Bush Artist Program.”

Born in Cyprus just days before the beginning of that country’s brutal civil war, Kayim’s family fled to London when she was five; she came to the United States in 1990. Kayim co-founded the Skewed Visions performance company in 1997; based in Minneapolis, the company is one of few in the nation focused on creating original site specific performances. For Skewed Visions she’s created several works including The Car (collaboratively created), The House (collaboratively created) and The Hidden Room. In addition to her Bush Artist Fellowship, Kayim has also received a Creative Capital grant, three Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowships and a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study grant.

Previously, Kayim coordinated the University of Minnesota’s Public Art on Campus Program and the Weisman Museum’s Jerome/Lilly Temporary Public Art Commission Program. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the department of theatre arts and dance at the University of Minnesota. Kayim holds a BA in theatre and film from the University of Middlesex (London), an MA in theatre theory and criticism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MFA in theatre directing from the University of Minnesota.

“I am very excited to be part of the expanded Bush Artist Program,” Kayim said, “and to bring with me a sensitivity to individual artists’ needs and an awareness of the challenges they often face.”

Kayim assumes the position previously held by Kevin Bitterman, who is now assistant director of international programs for Theatre Communications Group in New York City.

The Bush Foundation established the Bush Artist Program (BAP) in 1976 to support individual artists in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The BAP creates opportunities for artists to advance their work, stimulate dialogue and contribute to deeper community engagement by providing them financial and professional development support. Since its founding, it has awarded 477 grants to 433 different artists. The BAP consists of three grant initiatives:

• The Enduring Vision Awards (EVA) provides $100,000 to three mature artists each year designed to propel their artistic investigations and to encourage their continued influence on present and future generations of artists, audiences and their own fields of work. The first group of EVA recipients was awarded in June 2008.

• The Bush Artist Fellowships awards $50,000 in grant support annually to 15 artists and is one of only three open-application artist fellowships in the country to provide unrestricted grants at this financial level.

• Dakota Creative Connections supports artists in North and South Dakota with project and professional development grants ranging from $3,000 to $6,000.

Applications for the 2009 Bush Artist Fellows and Enduring Vision Awards are under review, and recipients will be announced at a public event in June. In addition, the Bush Foundation will be publishing guidelines for the Dakota Creative Connections grants on March 9 at www.bushfoundation.org; the deadline for completed applications is April 17.

The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife Edyth. The Foundation strives to be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota by investing in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of people in these three states.

Beginning in 2009, the Bush Foundation is pursuing its Goals for a Decade—in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to develop courageous leaders and engage entire communities in solving problems, to support the self-determination of Native nations and to increase educational achievement. (For more information about Goals for a Decade, visit www.bushfoundation.org.)