One of the many advantages to Paducah being a UNESCO creative city of Crafts and Folk Art is the opportunity it allows for Paducah artists and residents to engage with creative people from all over the world.

One of the many advantages to Paducah being a UNESCO creative city of Crafts and Folk Art is the opportunity it allows for Paducah artists and residents to engage with creative people from all over the world. Visitors and residents of Paducah don’t have to travel far to see a wide range of international art. Evidence of this is seen in the Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA). PAA seeks to “enhance Paducah’s identity as an international art community and to promote the growth of individual artists through education and outreach programs.”

One way the organization does this is through the Artist in Residence program that they host throughout the year. This month, through June 27, PAA welcomes Austrian sculptor and mixed media artist, Gabriela Nepo-Stieldorf. The artist creates sculptures and installments using ceramic, bronze, Plexiglas and stone. Much of her work incorporates intriguing figures, structures, textures and colors. Viewers may notice an emphasis on human anatomy represented in Gabriela’s work in various creative ways. She has a keen interest in the beauty and interest of the human form.Art is one way for Gabriela to express herself. It’s a medium that feels very natural and relevant to her life. Not only is she a fine artist, but she also teaches art. While in Paducah she will lead workshops for youth and adults. She will also present a talk to the students at the Paducah School of Art & Design. 

This is not the artist’s first artist in residency program. Gabriela has participated in programs throughout the world, including Italy, Hungary, Japan and Canada. She first connected with the PAA in April 2013 during a cultural exchange project between Paducah artists, Freda Fairchild, Paul Lorenz and Teri Moore, and the community of Innsbruck, Austria. The project was hosted in cooperation with the Burghauptmannschaft of Austria, the ceramic association IKSIT and schools in Innsbruck.

“Gabriela Nepo-Steildorf can in no way be placed in the mainstream of the art world. Her work is individualistic,” Hilde Zach, former Mayor of the Provincial Capital Innsbruck says. “But all of her work has one thing in common…it casts a spell upon the spectator and is fascinating in its highly skilled technique.”

For more information on the exhibit and workshop schedule e-mail Freda Fairchild or Rosemarie Steele.