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Crow Cianciola

Biography

When Crow Cianciola lost his job in a staff cutback at a small, custom cabinetmaker, he went to a vocational center and began to research college options at the age of 34. Many friends believed he was too old, and Crow had his own doubts. He started working for himself, and spent a year applying to schools and assembling an art portfolio. The first year of college radically changed Crow's self-concept and introduced him to new friends from many age groups and walks of life. "I feel more plugged into being a contributor now, more open-minded and able to articulate my ideas." Crow felt that being elected valedictorian of his college graduating class affirmed his choices.

In art school, Crow won student writing awards and curated two campus film festivals. He worked as a woodshop studio technician, a campus maintenance worker, a cook, and a bookstore clerk. He exhibited in several art shows, and interned and volunteered with social activist groups, public access television, and cooking for the AIDS Project.

With this scholarship, Crow can pursue career plans that encompass education and art practice. He sees the teaching of art "as a method for creative intellectual and ethical exploration in schools and colleges." At the same time, he is committed to his own artistic media, in which he often incorporates books and other textual materials. "It is essential to have a productive and satisfying studio life for an artist to be a productive and satisfied educator." By opening his own mind and encouraging others to create art, he hopes to contribute to an improved society. "I am devoted to 'conceptual strategies' for visualizing and creating new meaning and new parameters for living together in a multicultural and multigendered world."

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