Steve Parker, nice art grant shortlist

This year, we offered our second annual Nice Art Grant, a no-strings-attached $500 stipend to go toward selected artists’ creative practices. With over 300 applicants, it was difficult to narrow it down to only two artists, so we needed to create a shortlist to highlight a few more practices! this year’s jurors were epiphany and tim (MNA cofounders) and last year’s grant winners, emma mckay ryan and josh johnson. from our shortlist, today we're sharing work from André Ramos-Woodard @parkerstevesounds

Steve Parker transforms salvaged military surveillance equipment, discarded brass instruments, and maritime tools into sculptures that make invisible systems audible. His sculptures function as three-dimensional scores, activated by breath and touch. They reveal the hidden infrastructures that shape our collective experience: from military monitoring networks to the ultrasonic territories of urban wildlife. Parker's practice has been recognized by the Creative Capital Award, the Rome Prize, the Pollock-Krasner Award, a Fulbright, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. His work has been presented at the American Academy in Rome, Crystal Bridges Museum, Lincoln Center, MASS MoCA, and the Lucerne Festival. As a soloist and member of Ensemble Signal, he has premiered over 200 new compositions. Parker's investigations have produced an opera for 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats, automobile symphonies performed in parking garages, and sonic healing rituals performed by NCAA marching bands. Each project asks: how do we listen—and respond—to systems we cannot see? Parker is Associate Professor at UT San Antonio and Artistic Director of Collide Arts. He holds degrees in Mathematics and Music from Oberlin, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

congrats, Steve!