Seven Below Artist-in-Residence
About the Program
The Seven Below Arts Initiative was established to foster artistic development and support arts education in the state of Vermont. Burlington City Arts, in partnership with Seven Below, is proud to administer the second annual session of the Artist-in-Residence program at The Barn, a historic property near Burlington, Vermont.
The six chosen residents were selected from a diverse range of applicants from all over the country. They are joined by new Seven Below Studio Manager and working resident R. Elliott Katz from Cabot, Vermont. A sculptor, Elliott is currently working on a series of cast concrete sculptures for his upcoming show, “Cultivate,” with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in June 2008.
2008 RESIDENTS
Charmaine Wheatley depicts everything from sunsets to eavesdropped conversations in watercolors, and will work on a Burlington area-based comic book during her residency.
Haisi Hu, a native of China, works with narrative videos by using animated puppets, toys and mannequins. She creates armatures for her characters and elaborated sets. The New York State Council for the Arts supported her last feature-length video, "Once Upon A Lifetime."
Matt Bollinger received his BFA in painting and creative writing from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. His paintings and drawings depict fictional social groups who congregate at music shows, in art collectives, or at karaoke bars.
Meghan Gordon received her BFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work explores the world of period rooms and their relationship to painting.
Thordis Adalsteindottir (a native of Iceland) and David Herbert are a collaborative team whose work comments on the history of the clergy working with artists and architects to communicate to a broader audience. They will construct a church fully furnished with stained glass windows, to be displayed on the second or third floor of a parking lift in lower Manhattan.
Seven Below Artist-in-Residence Manager
A sculptor, Elliott's work explores the intersection of man and nature. His methods include hybridizing natural forms and spaces with unnatural materials or modifying man-made objects to reference natural forms. He is currently preparing a series of cast concrete sculptures for his upcoming show, "Cultivate," with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in June 2008.
REACHING OUT...
The Outreach Program connects the resident artists with the community through workshops in local schools and camps, public lectures, and community events.
PAST RESIDENTS
- Klara Hobza (‘07) gave a public lecture at the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts in Burlington, discussing her artist/naturalist project that attempts to banish the European Starling as an allegory to the expatriation of humankind.
- Anna Schachte (‘07) worked closely with an area elementary school to explore the links between poetry and visual art. The workshop led students through an exploration of poetry inspired by a selection of paintings and, after an engaging discussion, guided the students in writing their own poetry.
- Carlos Ferguson (‘07) took his educational component directly to the streets. Using his projection-fitted Airstream for film screenings of found and re-edited home movies, Carlos engaged locals at the supermarket, in town parks, and at public gatherings.
- Josh Reiman (‘07) created a dynamic opportunity for a crew of interns and volunteers to document his performance-oriented project, including the construction of a monumental pyramid from hay bales.