The Morgan Conservatory’s gallery and artist opportunities coordinator discusses “A Room of One’s Own,” an artists-in-residence exhibition that opens from 6 to 9 p.m. May 3 and remains on view through June 1.
What can visitors expect from “A Room of One’s Own”?
The exhibition represents a huge variety of media and styles of artwork. It captures the versatility of our studios and equipment available to artists that work here.
Who are the artists whose work will be featured? Are they all Northeast Ohio-based or are they from across the country?
Anne Covell, Kerri Cushman, Julie McLaughlin, Jessica Spring and Ellen Sheffield are from around the U.S., and Carla Fontecchio, Jacob Koestler, MP Marion, Pam McKee, Lisa Miles, Lisa Schonberg and Shari Wilkins are Northeast Ohio artists.
What programming — artist talks, workshops, etc. — is scheduled surrounding “A Room of One’s Own”?
Some of the artists will give a short talk about their work during the opening reception. Talks will start at about 7:30 p.m.
A dozen artists whose residencies all occurred in 2018 — that seems like a lot. What was the goal of hosting so many artists?
The Morgan’s residency period runs throughout the year and can be scheduled for anywhere between a few weeks to a few months, depending on the project and work being produced. We were supposed to select 10 artists in residence for the year. Our residencies are project-based, the artists send a proposal with a plan for the work they would like to create in our studios. We get a lot of very high-quality applications and made a decision to accept more than 10 artists in 2018.
What has the residency program meant to The Morgan Conservatory?
The artist residencies provide the studio space, equipment and uninterrupted interval of time crucial in helping artists create new work while advancing their approaches and ways of thinking. We feel very fortunate to be able to host such a great variety of artists from all over the world and contribute to the advancement of papermaking, printmaking and book arts.
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Lead image: A piece by Jessica Spring, courtesy of The Morgan Conservatory