We are excited to introduce five extraordinary artists who will be joining the Penland Resident Artist Program next spring. This year, Penland added the option of a one-year residency to the traditional duration of three-years. Geoffrey Bowton and Kimberly Thomas will come as three-year resident artists; Adam Grinovich and Annika Pettersson (collaborating partners) and Sarita Westrup proposed to spend one year and were selected to help us launch this new residency model. All five will arrive in March 2024 and will join current residents Daniel Garver, Sean O’Connell, and Sarah Vaughn who each have another year in the program.
Penland’s resident artists are full-time artists who spend one to three years living on campus and dedicating themselves to a proposed project or career transition. Many residents use this time to explore new ideas and directions, undertake ambitious projects, or develop new bodies of work. Please join us in welcoming Geoffrey, Kimberly, Adam, Annika, and Sarita! We are looking forward to having them join the Penland community in March.
Meet the artists!
“Standing for the disabled veteran community, I feel my voice can become an inclusive vehicle and deliver new conversations to social spaces…I believe that Penland supports individuals who address critical issues in their communities and prove meaningful change through creative and cultural expression.”
Adam Grinovich and Annika Pettersson
“We see this residency as an opportunity to fully focus [on our studio practice rather than teaching] and create bodies of work—both individually and collectively—to become engaged with craft communities and participate in the conversation of contemporary craft.”
“I am part of a new generation of contemporary glass artists. The support of and connection to a community who shares similar professional, intellectual and creative goals [will] offer me opportunities to inspire others and learn from them.”
“Rooted in weaving techniques and bricolage, my sculptural basketry works are inspired by where I was born and raised, the Rio Grande Valley on the Texas-Mexico border…I feel there is a momentum right now in my work that requires the attention and care which the Penland residency [will] provide.”
Selection Committee
Resident artists are recommended by a national committee of artists, curators, educators, and professionals who are knowledgeable about material-based work and understand what it takes to be successful in a self-directed residency. Panelists rotate frequently to bring a range of perspectives to the application review process. We received an outpouring of excellent applications this year, and it was a challenging task to select only five artists. Penland would like to extend a huge thank you to our review panelists who generously offered their collective insight to lively discussions and nuanced decisions.
Cristina Córdova, studio artist and educator; 2015 USA artist fellow; author of The Figure in Clay; former three-year Penland resident artist.
David Clemons, studio artist and educator; 2021 James Renwick Alliance Master of the Medium; former head of the metalsmithing and jewelry department at University of Arkansas in Little Rock.
Sarah Darro, curator, writer, and visual anthropologist; curator and exhibitions director at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft; 2019 American Craft Council Emerging Voices Scholar awardee; 2020 Curatorial Research Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass
Wendy Maruyama, furniture maker, artist and educator; professor emerita at San Diego State University; 2020 US A Fellowship; Penland board of trustees.