School of Art Faculty Member Selected for National Museum of Women in the Arts Exhibition

Acadia Kandora, assistant professor of printmaking in the School of Art, has been selected to represent Arkansas in Women to Watch 2027: A Book Arts Revolution, an international exhibition organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. 

On view in Washington, D.C., through Aug. 15, 2027, ;Women to Watch 2027: A Book Arts Revolution explores contemporary artists' books through innovative uses of paper, printmaking, sculpture and interdisciplinary media. The exhibition invites audiences to rethink the nature of book arts by showcasing works that challenge traditional ideas of the book while combining various artistic approaches and techniques.

Kandora is one of 16 artists selected from 62 nominees submitted by national and international committees. Her selection follows Words Become Matter, a five-city statewide exhibition curated by Catherine Walworth, the Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. Curator of Drawings at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. Women to Watch 2027 is the eighth edition of the acclaimed exhibition series.

"I am honored to be represent Arkansas, especially as a faculty member of the state's flagship university," said Kandora. "Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Art have provided a remarkable environment for my work as an artist and educator, and I'm grateful to represent Arkansas and the communities of artists who are creating thought-provoking work across all mediums."

Kandora's work is a combination of printed matter, collaborative publication, community projects, and alternative processes that examine humans' relationships to nature. She describes focusing on "nature as armor, nature as sanctuary, and the intersection between the imaginary and the concrete." Deep ecology and the theory of indistinguishability and glitch as a mode of disruption inform her conceptual and material explorations.

Her current archive from excursions into nature contains more than 12,0000 artifacts and includes photographs, drawings, handwritten notes, and found objects. Kandora deconstructs, alters, and collages elements of the archive to create the imagery present in her prints and publications.

Curator Catherine Walworth said in an official statement about a related regional exhibition Kandora was part of, before being selected for this national series, that the School of Art professor's work stood out for its exploration of nature as a place of healing and its integration of sculpture, zines and participatory art, "I liked that she brought the performance element, as well, with her shopping cart and pop-up community zine garden project." The pieces in references were part of community-focused artmaking work which can be viewed on Kandora's portfolio site.

Kandora is a printmaker, educator and zinester from the Appalachian Mountains. In addition to her MFA from the University of Arkansas, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in graphic design and sculpture from Shepherd University. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Archipelago Artist Residency in Korpo, Finland, and the Chroma Print Residency in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has exhibited nationally in Baltimore; Indianapolis; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Kent, Ohio. Her collaborative publications are included in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Center for Book Arts in New York City, The Ohio State University's Riot Grrrl Zine Collection and the State University of New York at New Paltz Zine Library. 

"Acadia's national recognition reflects the extraordinary research excellence and creative scholarship underway at the School of Art," said Rachel Debuque, director of the School of Art. "Her work exemplifies the innovative spirit we cultivate at the school, and we're thrilled to see her representing both Arkansas and the University of Arkansas on the national stage."