Submitted by Alchemy Art Center
Alchemy Art Center invites 13 incredible artists to share their talents with islanders while living and working on Alchemy’s woodland campus, as part of their annual Artists in Community Program. Artists in Community, which is supported by the San Juan Island Community Foundation as well as private donations, brings artists with diverse skills and talents from all over the country (and world) to create their own work while supporting Alchemy’s mission of providing arts access to islanders. Artists-in-residence reside on-site at Alchemy for one to two months at a time, where they have access to the shared ceramics, printmaking, and darkroom photography studios. In exchange, they contribute to the community studio spaces and engage with islanders through a wide range of activities, events, classes, and workshops. Artists in Community has become our cornerstone program, providing engaging and affordable arts programming to islanders, while maintaining San Juan Island as an accessible destination for artists of all backgrounds.
The 2024 Alchemy Artist in Resident is:
Ben Driggs, ceramics, Chicago, IL
Andy Thomas, multimedia and video, New Orleans, LA
Abigail Hendrix, film and photography, Brooklyn, NY
Jo Becker, printmedia, Bellingham, WA
Ben Hernandez, ceramics, Bellingham, WA
Laura M Cañas, print media and illustration, Austin, TX
Maren Lamb, print and ceramics, Greensboro, NC
Maya Djiji (returning), special projects, San Francisco, CA
Coco Leeper, mixed media, San Francisco, CA
Emerald Vernon-Lapow (returning), mixed media, Oakland, CA
Sophie Stratyner, print media, Brooklyn, NY
Mpumelelo Buthelezi, photography, South Africa
Gugulethu Ndlalani, photography, South Africa
As in previous years of this program, artists-in-residence will present free community programming in conjunction with the San Juan Island Sculpture Park, Island Rec, the Family Resource Center, the San Juan County Fair, the San Juan Summer Arts Fest, and many other pop-up spots around the island, as well as through Alchemy’s in-house youth mentorship program. They will also be teaching an exciting array of classes and workshops at Alchemy.
In turn, Alchemy will be supporting the creative growth of visiting artists and interns by providing access to studio space and equipment, opportunities for art shows in the on-site Dome multi-use space, and artist talks at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art. Not least, Alchemy makes possible the opportunity for artists of diverse backgrounds to create work within the incredible natural surroundings of the San Juans Islands, by housing them free of charge on their woodland campus. Residencies are incredibly important resources for artists, and Alchemy strives to make their residency program as accessible as possible.
This program is supported by the San Juan Island Community Foundation, and through generous donations from our community.
Please visit www.alchemyartcenter.com for more information. For more frequent programming updates, you can follow Alchemy on Instagram at @alchemyartcenter or sign up for the newsletter on their website.
Alchemy Art Center, founded by Maria Michaelson and Eben Shay in 2017, is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to creating a thriving arts community on San Juan Island.
