gener8tor Art Announces 2023 Artist

Meg Lionel Murphy Awarded $15,000 Grant, 12 Weeks of Mentorship

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Global venture firm and startup accelerator, gener8tor,  announces Meg Lionel Murphy as the recipient of the 2023 gener8tor Art Fellowship. 

In partnership with the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, Meg Lionel Murphy, a Door County-based artist, received a $15,000 grant and participated in the gener8tor Art 12-week accelerator program. With a focus on supporting artists who have a social advocacy component to their art practice, including themes of social justice, creative placemaking, and community development, gener8tor Art provides artists the support and mentorship to navigate the industry and grow and sustain their business and practice.

Meg Lionel Murphy was selected from a pool of Wisconsin artists nominated by past gener8tor Art artists. The applications were reviewed by a jury of arts professionals based on the jury’s gauge of the artist's talent, the compelling nature of their bodies of work, their strong career goals, their ability to be significantly impacted by the program, and the social impact of their work. Representing a cross-section of art industry professionals, including curators, gallerists, artists, and academics, gener8tor Art’s 2023 jurors included Scott Campbell, Midwest Programs Director at Independent Curators International (Chicago), Micki Meng, Founder of Friends Indeed Gallery (San Francisco), and Stacie Martinez, Sales Director at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles).

Graduates of the gener8tor Art Accelerator have continued to excel in their work, expanding their impact and scaling their art practices. Many alumni from the program see at least a 20 percent increase in income from their art practice over two years and many alumni experience increased recognition and awards for their art practice, such as alumni Dakota Mace, who received the Ellsworth Kelly Award, and Tyanna Buie who received Ruth Arts Mary L. Nohl Alumni Award.

“We believe artists are inherently storytellers that help amplify the voices of individuals and communities,” said Nyra Jordan, social impact investment director at the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact. “This is why programs like gener8tor Art are so important”.

Throughout the program, Meg Lionel Murphy met with gener8tor mentors and industry experts through hybrid engagements both virtually and in person. The accelerator included trips to Milwaukee and Chicago to meet with gallery directors, artists, and art collectors. She also met with an arts writer to rework her artist statement and project statements, hosted an artist talk with the artist Claire Kellesvig on supporting artists who are mothers, and focused on creating a new body of work. Meg Lionel Murphy will showcase her new work at an upcoming exhibition at MOWA DTN on view from Jan. 19, 2024 - April 2024. The opening reception will be held at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel on Jan. 19, with an artist talk in March. Works from the exhibition will be for sale through the Portrait Society Gallery.

“As an artist located in rural Wisconsin, I never dreamed this level of funding and support was possible,” Lionel Murphy said. “I started my art career in Minneapolis, Minn., with some of the highest art funding in the country. With Wisconsin at 49th in state funding, this opportunity is extremely important, rare and meaningful. The experience of working with gener8tor Art has made me more confident in my career at a crucial time, as I am pregnant and preparing for a solo show with the Museum of Wisconsin Art. I now feel significantly more invested in my plans to continue living and working in Wisconsin."

For additional information about the program, visit gener8tor Art or follow the program updates on Instagram at @gener8torart.

About Meg Lionel Murphy

I paint a far, far away land, where violence magically transforms femme bodies into a monstrous size, so that their pain must be seen, felt, and acknowledged. The artwork wrestles between moments of horror and euphoric escape. I want the work to land in the inbetweens: play and power, loss and hope, present and past.

My favorite stories as a girl were about unicorns, rainbows, fairies, and angels. All fairytales ended with a marriage. But as an adult, marriage was the most dangerous thing I ever did to myself. Picasso said women are either doormats or goddesses. My work charts the path of the doormat to the goddess. 

My work follows deadly memories and extreme moods that manifest deep in our bones, mind, and imagination over time. Every painting plots the path of healing after trauma, at different points of that process, starting in a home, a place that holds unspeakable terror. Statistically, home is the most dangerous place to be a woman because of gender-based violence.

What aids a woman’s journey to leave that abusive household? I try to paint what that moment feels like—the awakening, when it feels possible to leave. Often it is inspired by another woman, a friend, who can see past a home’s facade into the truth. One woman finds a spark of safety in the care of another’s shared experience.

Meg Lionel Murphy works from rural Wisconsin, where she produces paintings for exhibition in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. Her recent solo shows include “Traumatica Dramatica” at The Untitled Space Gallery (New York), “Interior Violence” at CoExhibitions Gallery (Minneapolis), and solo booths with SPRING/BREAK Art Show (New York and Los Angeles). Recent group shows include “10 @ 10” at The Wisconsin Museum of Art, “Pleasure Garden” at Laurie Shapiro  Gallery (Los Angeles), and “In Her World” at Voltz Clark (New York).  She is a recipient of the gener8tor Art grant and accelerator program. Her work has been acquired by the Minnesota Museum of American Art.

Murphy’s artwork has been featured in a variety of publications including: Hyperallergic; Artnet News; Bitch Magazine; Forbes; The Art Career Podcast; GirltalkHQ; Art Publika; Interlocateur; Tartarus; Mutual Art; Brown Paper Bag; MPLS Art; Mulieris Magazine; Neut Magazine; 360Magazine; and The Untitled Magazine.

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About gener8tor 
gener8tor is a global venture firm and accelerator network that supports startups, founders, workers, employers, artists and musicians across race, place and gender. gener8tor partners with companies, governments, universities and nonprofits to operate programs in more than 41 communities across 22 states and two countries. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021 and 2022. 

About gener8tor Art
gener8tor Art is a 12-week accelerator program for visual artists. gener8tor Art helps artists achieve greater success by providing the support and mentorship needed to maintain a sustainable practice and navigate the industry. 

About American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact
American Family Insurance for Corporate and Social Impact is a venture capital firm and partner of choice for exceptional entrepreneurs who are building scalable, sustainable businesses in a long-term effort to close equity gaps in America. It also recognizes that capacity building and supporting organizations and experts that have been working toward social causes are equally important in making a positive impact within our communities around the country.