 Image: Rebecca Kautz, Half Life, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18 inches, 2024
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For Immediate Release Monday, September 8, 2025 Media Contact: Alana Horton, Arts Midwest [email protected] | 612.238.8001 Artist contacts available upon request Wisconsin Artist Wins 2025 Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Arts Midwest is thrilled to announce that Rebecca Kautz of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin has been named one of nine recipients of the 2025 Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities, selected from more than 400 submissions across the region. Each of this year’s awardees will receive $3,000 in unrestricted support to advance their artistic practice. Now in its third year, the award celebrates the vision, talent, and contributions of disabled Midwestern visual artists. “These incredible artists are quilting, welding, collaging, and even transforming prosthetics into art pieces,” said John Kaiser, Arts Midwest Grants Manager. “Their work shows just how expansive Midwestern creativity is, and the powerful role disabled artists play in shaping the arts.” About the 2025 Awardees The 2025 Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities recognizes artists from across the Midwest. This year’s winners are:
Spotlight on Rebecca Kautz “My allegorical work uses psychoanalysis and personal history to explore personal and political narratives surrounding identity, illness, belonging and place. My work is influenced by my rural Midwest upbringing where feelings of estrangement stem from childhood trauma and a dysfunctional family. The repeating element of the Defiant Vermont Castings wood burning stove signals the maladjusted child-self. Installed by my father during the 1970’s energy crisis, the woodstove was the primary source of heat. It is a witness and a central figure in the family room of my childhood home. Ancient societal issues such as predators of the marginal, are depicted as alligators. A melancholic mood hides beneath high-key colors combined with personal imagery and cultural iconography. These candy colors are ‘out of step’ and discordant when used to depict antique, early American décor common in my rural Victorian home. Nostalgia and neurosis are states that grip and obfuscate in equal measure. My goal is to gain a broader audience, expanded exhibition opportunities, and a solo show of new work. My goal is to shine a light on issues of surviving childhood trauma and personal recovery. I speak openly about my lived experience in my work in effort to dispel shame.” About the Award The Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities was established in 2022 and is supported by the James Edward Scherbarth and Paul Francis Mosley Giving Fund. The award honors the late James Edward Scherbarth, an award-winning visual artist, teacher, and advocate for arts access who believed that creativity lives in everyone and dedicated his career to helping people express themselves through art. Arts Midwest acknowledges both identity first and person first framing of disability identity. When we use the phrase “disabled artists,” we intend to align with the Social Model of Disability understanding that people are disabled by environmental and societal barriers. About Arts Midwest Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates Midwestern creativity. We build community and opportunity across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond. As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest works to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Learn more at artsmidwest.org. # # # Alana Horton (she/her) Communications Officer at Arts Midwest Phone 612.238.8001 Web www.artsmidwest.org 3033 Excelsior Boulevard #380 Minneapolis, MN 55416 Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates Midwestern creativity. Learn more. Arts Midwest has implemented a 4-day work week. Please note that our office is closed on Fridays.  Image: Lost Island, acrylic on canvas, 48x36 inches, 2025 |
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