Sculpture Conference - National Sculpture Society

NSS

SCULPTURE
CELEBRATION

2024

SEPTEMBER 19–22 • INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

HONOREES

Joey Quiñones

Augusta Savage Grant

Spencer Tinkham

Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant

Benjamin Phillips

Stanley Bleifeld Memorial Grant

Mitch Shea

Alex J. Ettl Grant

Chris Kunk

Dexter Jones Award

Ian Rank-Broadley

Richard Kindersley

The Armed Forces Memorial Trust

Liam O’Connor

Henry Hering Art and Architecture Award

Fred X Brownstein

Sculpture House Annual Award

Mark Edward Adams

Sisko Memorial Medal

Wesley Wofford

Herbert Adams Memorial Award

Michel Langlais

Medal of Honor

Schedule

THURS
SEPT 19TH

All Day Visioning Retreat for NSS board and staff at the Indiana State Museum

Plan A Advisors, a management consulting firm for nonprofits, is guiding NSS through a six-month strategic planning process which launched early June. This retreat marks the midpoint of the process.

Welcome to Indy! Cocktail reception and President’s Welcome

Celebrating its 135th anniversary this year, the Columbia Club is an architecturally significant property listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the 35 top-ranked city clubs in the nation.

FRI
SEPT 20TH

The Indy Arts Center was designed by renowned architect, Michael Graves, and is situated on a 9.5-acre campus with a sculpture garden. Free shuttle buses will be provided for Sculpture Weekend guests from the Fairfield Inn Downtown to IAC.

INDIANAPOLIS ART CENTER
BROAD RIPPLE VILLAGE IN NORTHERN INDIANAPOLIS

10:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Richard McDermott Miller Modeling Competition

Meet ten of the best emerging sculptors in the US under the age of 30 as selected by the NSS education committee. Sculptors from across the country will sculpt a portrait from life in this intense timed competition.

Tours of Indy Art Center and campus

Open Studio Visit: Austen Brantley, sculptor-in-residence at Indy Art Center

12:30-1:30 PM
Ruth Lilly Library, IAC

Toolbox - Lunchbox

Sculptors, bring your favorite tools to share with fellow artists during roundtable lunch chats. A moveable feast of food and information! Enjoy fabulous food trucks and get to know the Modeling Competitors who will be joining us.

Indiana Limestone Symposium Carving Demo

Amy Brier, co-founder and director of Indiana Limestone Symposium brings her expertise to IAC for an afternoon demo and Q&A

3:30 PM

Time’s up! Modeling competition ends

3:30-4:00 PM

Photography session of competitors and finished works, public viewing With professional photographer Andy Lay

4:00 - 4:30 PM

Jurying of clay portraits

The finished clay works will be juried by three NSS Elected Sculptor Members

Cocktail Reception – NSS 91st Annual Awards Exhibition

Celebrate the sculptors whose work is included in this traveling exhibition, installed in two galleries from August 19 – December 15, 2024 at the Indy Art Center.

Outdoor foundry, IAC campus.

Iron Pour, Pizza Party, and Modeling Jury Results

Close the evening with a slice and a drink, mingle and meet colleagues and congratulate the Modeling Competitors.

SAT
SEPT 21ST

All activities will be within walking distance of the Fairfield Inn and Suites, which is located directly across the street from the Eiteljorg Museum and the Indiana State Museum, and within walking distance of the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, and the Herron School of Art + Design. The following programs will be held in state-of-the-art facilities at the Herron School, Indiana University.

Downtown Indianapolis

starting at 9:30 AM

Tours of Herron School of Art + Design

10:00 AM
Herron School of Art + Design Auditorium

Panel Discussion: Sculpting in 2024: The Impact of Technology and AI

Whether you embrace it or hate it, AI is here to stay and it’s affecting how we work. Because it’s evolving so quickly, we have put together a panel of experts to tackle the many facets of AI.

Shirley M. Mueller, MD

Neuroscientist board certified in Neurology and Psychiatry and an art collector. She is the author of Inside the Head of a Collector: Neuropsychological Forces at Play and several articles, including AI and the Aesthetics of Art: A New Era for Collectors (Psychology Today, February 2024).

JACQUELYN HALPERN

technology guru, is currently leading Product Design at Salesforce’s Trailhead. In recent years, Jacquelyn has plunged into the fascinating world of generative AI. She’s on a mission to unveil how generative AI can enhance our world and our creative spirits.

ROBERT MICHAEL SMITH

is an active pioneer of digital sculpture, 3D CG visualization/animation, virtual reality, robotic CNC and 3D printed sculptures. Smith is tenured Associate Professor at New York Institute of Technology Fine Arts Department and is a founding board director for Digital Stone Project and a board organizer for DSP Summer Workshops for Robotic Stone Carving in Tuscany.

ZEB WOOD

Media Arts and Science Faculty Member, Luddy School of Informatics, IUPUI, embraces emerging media with a focus on 3-D design integrated formats. He’s worked with students on projects that improve lives and disrupt industries and instructs in all areas of 3-D production, including augmented and virtual reality.

PAUL KRONER

is a Cincinnati-based artist and gallerist who embraces AI. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati's Graphic Design program, he is a fine artist working in sculpture, painting, animation, illustration, and photography. His gallery was established in 2021 with the mission to foster a dynamic space for the exchange of ideas and to ignite thought-provoking discussions through the power of art.

Toolbox - Lunchbox

Roundtable lunch chats continue; share your favorite tool.

Photographing Sculpture Workshop – Andy Lay Photography

Pro tips and tricks for photographing your work for sale and marketing, with award winning photographer, Andy Lay.

Marketing for Sculptors Made Easy – Rose Fredrick, Editor-in-Chief, Sculpture Quarterly

Designing your website, optimizing social media

Social Media Hookup

We’re connecting sculptors with students from the Luddy School of Informatic, Computing, and Engineering and the Herron School of Art + Design at Indiana University for 15-minute one-on-one sessions. This program is intended to connect sculptors with young creative computing experts who will help sort out your social media issues. Register here for a Social Media Hookup

6:00 - 9:30 PM
Eiteljorg Museum

Honors and Awards Dinner

Cocktails, dinner and awards presentations