Maine College of Art & Design Announces 2022 Grant and Residency Recipients List
32 artists and designers will receive professional support

Rachael O’Shaughnessy '94, Night Water Hamilton, Oil on Box Panel, 7”x5”, 2018

PORTLAND, ME May 11, 2022Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) today announced the lists of 2022 Residency and Grant recipients for MECA&D artists and designers. These unique opportunities are made available through Artists at Work to support selected projects from alumni, faculty, and staff at the College. 

Between January 3 and February 28, 2022, artists and designers from the College were invited to apply for one or more of the available awards, including: 

“The excitement and talent of the winning artists this year is inspiring,” said Dr. Laura Freid, president of Maine College of Art & Design. “We are grateful for all the benefactors and donors who make it possible for our College to provide unique opportunities and physical spaces to support the work coming out of our community.”

The College’s Artists at Work team enlisted the help of 15 artists, designers, and administrators to help jury 103 submissions received and select this year’s winners.

“These unique opportunities, available only to our alumni, provide a critical launching point for graduates to build their creative careers,” said Jessica Tomlinson, Director of Artists at Work. “We are grateful to those supporters who make this professional development possible.”

To learn more about the grants and residencies available to the MECA&D community, visit meca.edu/residencies.

Additional details about each award and the full list of recipients can be found below. 


AWARDS & RECIPIENTS

Pace House Residency

Located in Stonington, Maine, the Pace House is made possible through the generosity of Stephen and Palmina Pace who gifted their seaside home to the college for the purpose of creating time and space for Maine College of Art & Design faculty, staff, and alumni.

The 2022 Pace House residents, who were also awarded stipends to recognize their accomplishments as mid-career artists and encourage their professional development with support from the Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation, include: 

Nicole Duennebier '05, Program Chair in Printmaking & Professor of the MFA in Studio Art Adriane Herman, and Professor of Sculpture, Foundations, and MFA Ling-Wen Tsai made up the jury for this residency.

 

Jenny Family Residency

After a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, MECA&D is bringing back the Jenny Family Residency for selected residents this summer. The family of Barbara Rita Jenny MFA '02 established the residency in 2008. Located in New Edinburgh, Nova Scotia, the Jenny Family Residency is open to Maine College of Art & Design degree-holding alumni, current faculty, and staff. 

The 2022 Jenny Family residents include:

Travel support for residents provided by a generous grant from the Robert J. Jenny Memorial Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

The jury included Barbara Rita Jenny MFA '02, Patricia Brace '06, Adjunct Instructor in Foundation, and Golaleh Yazdani MFA ’18.

 

Alumni Residency at MECA&D

Each summer, throughout the Alumni Residency at MECA&D, the College brings back a small group of alumni to Maine for four weeks in the MECA&D studios. While on campus, the selected alumni engage in intensive site-specific experiences while renewing their ties to the College.

The 2022 Alumni Residents are:

The jury was comprised of Shiva Darbandi, former Director of the Joanne Waxman Library, Dylan Hausthor '15, Adjunct Instructor in Photography, and Rachel Katz MFA '00, Administrative Director of Graduate Programs (MFA, Salt).

 

Monson Arts Residency and Workshops

Monson Arts is a residency and workshop program in Monson, Maine. An initiative of Maine’s Libra Foundation, Monson Arts began programming in 2018. It was started as a way to spur economic development in Piscataquis County. Monson Arts provides time and space for creative work through a combination of residencies, workshops, community/school programs and initiatives, and exhibitions.

Through Maine College of Art & Design partnership with Monson Arts, one alumni applicant from MECA&D is selected to attend the Monson Arts Residency each year and is awarded a $1,000 stipend. Six students and alumni are also selected each year to attend workshops at Monson Arts free of charge.  

The 2022 MECA&D resident is Brian Smith MFA '20, Adjunct Instructor in Foundation. 

The artists selected to attend workshops are: 

The jury was comprised of Jenny McGee Dougherty '05, Associate Director of Artists at Work & Alumni Relations, Isabelle Maschal O’Donnell ’17, Alumni Relations & Events Coordinator, and Jessica Tomlinson, Director of Artists at Work. 

 

EMMA Collaboration

Every two year, the EMMA Collaboration brings 100 renowned artists and craftspeople together from around the world to create art in the Boreal Forest of Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, a place where form and function collide. One applicant is selected each session to represent MECA&D at the EMMA Collaboration. The 2020 session was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and EMMA is excited to reconvene again this year. 

The 2022 MECA&D resident is Lin Snow '20.

The jury was comprised of Annika Earley MFA '16, Adjunct Instructor in Foundation and Jill Dalton.

 

Studios at MASS MoCA Residency Fellowship

The Studios is MASS MoCA is an artist and writers residency program situated within the museum’s factory campus and surrounded by the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Operated by MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists program, the residency runs year-round and hosts up to 10 artists at a time. MECA&D partners with MASS MoCA to offer a fellowship to cover the cost of the residency for a BIPOC alumni artist each year. 

Heather Flor Cron '20 was selected to receive this year’s fellowship and will attend a two-week residency in January 2023.

 

Belvedere Fund Grant

The Belvedere Fund for Professional Development in the field of crafts at Maine College of Art & Design was established in 2008 in memory of Deborah Pulliam of Castine, Maine. Deborah was a lover of history, land preservation, animal welfare and the arts, and she supported many causes generously throughout her life. Candidates eligible to apply for Belvedere Grant awards are alumni who received a BFA degree from Maine College of Art & Design within the last 10 years and are currently working in the field of crafts.

Funds are intended to support the enhancement of the professional and studio practice of an artist. 

The 2022 awardees are: 

The 2022 selection committee was comprised of Alysha Kupferer, Assistant Professor and Chair of Textile and Fashion Design; John Gardiner '07, MFA '14, Adjunct Faculty & Studio Technician in Woodworking & Furniture Design; Simonne Feeney, Maine Crafts Association Program Manager; and Ian Anderson, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. 

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ABOUT MAINE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN

Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D, pronounced "Maine College of Art and Design”) has been activating students of all pursuits to make art, make an impact, and inspire change since its founding as Portland School of Art in 1882. Located in Portland's thriving Arts District, students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, 24-hour-a-day studios, a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and a community-based Artists at Work program—making MECA&D the right-sized school in the right-sized city for every student who wants to make their mark and be seen. MECA&D offers BFA Majors and Minors, Graduate Programs, Continuing Studies, Pre-College, and includes the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and the Institute for Contemporary Art. Follow us at @mecaart.

 

MEDIA CONTACT

Jacqui Walpole
Director of External Relations
jwalpole@meca.edu