2 Tarrant County artists awarded grants by Nasher Sculpture Center

Two Tarrant County artists are among the recipients of a prestigious grant awarded by the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.

Kris Pierce of Fort Worth and Claudia Maysen of Keller will receive $2,000 each as part of the annual Nasher Sculpture Center Artist Grant in Honor of Jeremy Strick.

Pierce will rekindle his 2012 sculpture series “The Red Telephone,” which consisted of three custom payphones situated throughout busy areas in Fort Worth.

“This generous grant from the Nasher Sculpture Center is making it possible to rekindle a project from 2012 called ‘The Red Telephone,’” which was created as part of the exhibition where is the power at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, part of the Art Galleries at TCU, and curated by the late Terri Thornton. Those phones will be set up across Dallas with updated technology.

Maysen will use the funds to support the installation of 18 life-size figures, similar to paper dolls, for a solo exhibition at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center, opening in 2026. The paper dolls are a metaphor for how immigrants are stereotyped, which she seeks to dispel.

“Support from the Nasher Artist Grant will directly fund materials, a specialized foam-cutting tool, and transportation of the artwork. I will also host bilingual artist talks and paper doll workshops in English and Spanish to foster inclusive dialogue around identity, dignity, and belonging. These are not just events — they’re spaces for community connection and shared reflection,” she wrote via e-mail.

Other awardees include Hakeem Adewumi of Dallas, Sheridan Hines of Allen and PRP (Permanent Research Project), an artist space run by Jake Elliot Hargrove, Michael Mazurek, and River Shell in Dallas.

Adewumi, a creative designer and photographer, will use the grant to train in computer numerical control operations, which will integrate sculpture into his Juneteenth House project, an ongoing project of the themes and meaning of that holiday.

Hines will use the grant to create life-sized sculptures continuing her bold sculptures about domesticity, intimacy and “bodily vulnerability,” a theory coined by philosopher Judith Butler arguing bodies are susceptible to harm.

PRP (Permanent Research Project) of Dallas, a nearly decade old artist-run venue that acts like a graduate art program without the financial debt and emotional toll. They’re using the funds for repairs and inventory.

The jury included artist and assistant curator of education at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Jesse Morgan Barnett, photographer and teacher Ciara Elle Bryant of Dallas, retired University of Texas at Arlington art professor Benito Huerta of Fort Worth and TCU assistant professor of art Dan Jian as well as Nasher Curator Leigh Arnold and Nasher Curator of Education Anna Smith.

“This year’s winners demonstrate the sustained engagement artists have with the communities around them and the Nasher is proud to celebrate and support their contributions to building connections through art,” Arnold said.

This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 12:46 PM.