Since 2005, a Charlotte Street Award Fellow has been chosen to attend the Art Omi Residency. Downen, who works in site-responsive installations, sculpture, and drawing, was Charlotte Street's 2015 Visual Artist Award Fellow, according to a press release.

"As an artist-in-residence at Art Omi, I look forward to engaging in dialogue with visiting critics and participating in a community of international artists while I make new work," Downen said of the Spring announcement.

"I want to transform my studio into an art installation; with Dia Beacon nearby, I know I’ll have plenty of inspiration," Downen said.

As a part of the program Downen will receive a fully-funded residency and a professionally curated exhibition. In addition, all residency applicants had their work viewed by a selection panel comprised of nationally known artists, arts professionals, and art collectors.

Click Here for the Full Announcement from Charlotte Street

Downen's art practice is a focused investigation of the symbiotic relationship between sculpture, the human body and architecture. Their art envisions a place of exchanging forces and tensions between construction, destruction, and restoration.

Downen submits that the body is the primary vehicle for understanding the world through immersive sculptural environments that engage the senses and ways of knowing that are often private and experiential. Their practice is framed by conceptual inquiry, research, and a visual-spatial language honed over decades.