Two Visual Artists Awarded 2020 A.I.R. Fellowship

Current student Aika Akhmetova ’20 and recent graduate Bat-Ami Rivlin ’19 are both recipients of this year’s A.I.R. fellowship. This fellowship was established in 1993 by Stephanie Bernheim in order to support underrepresented and emerging self-identified women and non-binary artists in New York City. Each year, six artists are awarded a year-long fellowship to develop a project at A.I.R.

A.I.R. is an artist-run exhibition space that provides opportunities to a diverse body of women and femmes regardless of their social, economic, national and racial background. They run a variety of programs to support artists, one being their annual fellowship.

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In the last 27 years, more than 100 artists have had the opportunity to have their first solo exhibition in New York City with the support of the A.I.R. community,” according to the A.I.R. website. “The 2020-2021 Fellowship Program received over 300 applications which were reviewed by a panel consisting of artist Gina Beavers, poet and critic Monica de la Torre, and Chapter NY director Nicole Russo.”

In a comment to the university, Rivlin said, “I’m honored to be selected as an A.I.R. Fellow for the 2020-2021 year. It's incredibly humbling to be part of this historial space which artists such as Ana Mendieta, Nancy Spero, Judith Bernstein and many other pioneers have been part of. I'm looking forward to being part of this rare communal space, as well as working alongside the amazing artist fellows in the program.”

Akhmetova added, “I feel very excited and grateful for this opportunity. I am really looking forward to working with all of this year's fellows and the gallery itself. A.I.R. has a really rich history, I'm curious to find out how it would feel to be inside a space like that.”

Rivlin is a New York-based artist. She utilizes found and surplus objects to create installation and sculptural works that explore conceptual spaces between object ontology, material function, and bodily characteristics. Rivlin has exhibited in such venues as the Jewish Museum, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Knockdown Center, Times Square Space, and more.

Akhmetova is a New York-based artist, originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Their work references indigenous Kazakh traditions and rituals, often manifesting in sculptures, videos, performances, and writings. Finished pieces bring up themes of queerness, abjection, tradition, norm, and violence. Akhmetova has exhibited in the U.S. and Kazakhstan. Their work is in the Public Collection of Art of Kazakhstan. Akhmetova studied Painting at Rhode Island School of Design. They currently live and work in NYC.

While there is a temporary pause on most A.I.R. programs due to COVID-19 concerns, the A.I.R. plans to accommodate their fellowship to fit these uncertain times. A statement on the A.I.R. site reads: “Given all that is going on in the world—and felt so keenly and immediately by the cultural community—we are using this moment to build new foundations and fortify ongoing systems of support for women-identifying and non-binary artists locally and internationally. Foremost among these is the A.I.R. Fellowship Program.”