Donor Recognition | Nina Borgia-Aberle
Artist Statement: Donor Recognition Art
Since 2001, my work as a public artist has included donor recognition art projects, works that honor those patrons who contribute to the mission of the client/organization.
My first donor recognition artwork was for The Stone Avenue Temple Project in Tucson, Arizona. I created a ceramic tile donor recognition mural designed to meet their ongoing fundraising goals. Working with the Director of the Stone Avenue Temple Project and a professional fundraiser tapped into my love of design and collaboration.
Each project brings new challenges requiring creative problem solving to accommodate the varying needs of permanence, change, portability, structural integration or individual gifting. My philosophy is that I am creating a work of art that holds meaning for the viewers as well as a piece that helps the client honor or encourage donors.
Through my association with Clyde Kunz, a Tucson fundraising professional as well as many of my donor recognition clients who have given me great encouragement, I continue to seek out new challenges in donor recognition projects. My goal is to develop a holistic donor recognition plan that will help you honor and inspire your donors.
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Donor Recognition Projects
Historic Stone Avenue Temple Project, Tucson Arizona, 2001
Ceramic tile
Built in 1910, the Stone Avenue Temple was the first Jewish house of worship established in the Arizona Territory. The original congregation grew and moved from the site in 1949. The building faded into obscurity until 1994 when The Stone Avenue Temple Project acquired, rehabilitated and preserved the landmark building. It is now open to the public as a venue for educational and cultural programming. I was asked to create a donor mural for the South entrance to the building. I developed imagery that would include Jewish symbolism and motifs as well as motifs associated with territorial history, and the Sonora Desert environment. Five women were integral to the initial effort to build the Temple. They are represented by five pomegranates within the design of the mural.
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The Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center Donor Panel, Healing Mandala, Tucson, Arizona, 2008
Water jet cut stone, ceramic tile, sandblasted text The Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center (SACAC) is one of many organizations currently housed at the Pima County Inter-Agency Center (IAC), built in 2008. The IAC houses numerous agencies in one location in order to provide many forms of assistance to children in crisis. The immediacy of the agencies response helps to minimize the trauma the children are experiencing. I created the public art for the IAC. The director of the SACAC asked if I could create donor recognition art for their ongoing capital campaign. The theme of mandala as a healing tool was used in various aspects of the art throughout the building so I used a lotus flower mandala for the design of the donor recognition art. "Healing Mandala" is made from water jet cut stone as well as sandblasted stone. As donors continue to give to the campaign, their names can be sandblasted onto the panel in the appropriate space.
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Tucson Medical Center, Peppi's House Hospice, 2007
Ceramic tile, glass tile, masonry
Tucson Medical Center was able to build a premier facility for hospice patients because of the generosity of many donors including the Hospice's namesake, "Peppi." Every patient room opens to a courtyard allowing one to experience the sounds, smells and sights of nature. "Peppi's House" welcomes children as well as adults into a facility that strives to provide a calm and loving atmosphere for patients and family members. I was asked to create a donor recognition wall that would honor those who had given so generously to this project. My goal was to create a work of art, which reflected the spirit and mission of the facility and the caregivers. I was inspired by textile and rug patterns, especially those created by cultures of the Southwest. Rug patterns bring together many individual images that work together to form a harmonious whole.
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Direct Caregivers Association Donor Recognition Project, 2005
Ceramic tile and wood frames
Direct Caregivers is a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring, valuing and training the direct caregiver. The goal for this project was to honor the donors who had contributed to their building campaign as well as to honor the nature of their mission as an organization. They did not want the art to be permanently attached to the wall. I created several framed panels that can be moved if necessary. Each panel represents a specific giving level.
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Casa de la Luz, 2006
Dimensional ceramic tile and glass tile
Casa de la Luz is a hospice facility in Tucson, AZ, whose mission is to provide care to patients and their loved ones as they complete their mission on this earth. Many family members come from out of town. The Casa de la Luz Foundation asked me to create a work of art that would honor the patients and simultaneously contain a component that could be sent to the family members as a momentum. I created two tile panels for the courtyard garden, which is meant to be a peaceful, restorative space for families while they are at the facility visiting loved ones. The tile panels were designed to create a meditative environment. When a patient passes, if a family member chooses, their name is placed on the panel for a year. At the anniversary of their passing, their name is then placed inside another tile, framed and sent to the family member.
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