Bandiagara gets its name from a rocky mountain region in West Africa. Winner of the National Endowment for Arts Travel Grant, George Smith was able to visit the range and experience the ceremonial grounds of the Dogon, the African society living in the region. His work Bandiagara is inspired by the Dogon’s traditional architecture. A long-time sculpture professor at Rice University, Smith was also commissioned for the US Olympic Festival in Houston in 1986 and received the Guggenheim Fellowship for sculpture in 1971. Smith was also the winner of the National Endowment for the Arts Grant for Sculpture, the Cultural Arts Council of Houston Fellowship winner, and many other grants and fellowships. Smith received his BFA in sculpture from San Francisco Art Institute and his MA in sculpture from Hunter College in New York.