The Scripps College Fine Arts Foundation will host a lecture by Sculptor Nina Akamu, Wednesday, May 11, at 1:30 p.m. in the Hampton Room of the Malott Commons at Scripps College. Nina Akamu will speak on the topic “Leonardo da Vinci’s Horse.” Prior to the lecture, at 12:30 p.m., there will be a luncheon celebrating the Fine Arts Foundation 70th anniversary. The Akamu lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets for the celebratory luncheon are $20; reservations are required. Please contact the Fine Arts Foundation for reservations and information (909) 624-4841.
Nina Akamu will discuss her experience creating the eight-foot clay master model for the project Leonardo da Vinci’s Horse, the 24 foot bronze equine sculptures that pay homage to the Renaissance master. One of the two monumental sculptures was dedicated in the Cultural Park in Milan, Italy the other in the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The project was featured on the front page of the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine. TIME Europe and TIME Asia labeled it one of the top ten designs of 1999.
Nina Akamu has garnered numerous national awards from organizations such as the National Academy of Design and Allied Artist of America, among others. She was the youngest artist to become a member and Fellow of the National Sculpture Society since its inception in 1893.
Scripps College’s Fine Arts Foundation, created in 1935, hosts this lecture as part of its mission to stimulate public interest in art and to raise funds to foster art education and programming at Scripps College.