2010 Studios Midwest

In its long-standing tradition of welcoming exciting artists into the Galesburg community, the Galesburg Civic Arts Center is pleased to announce that Michelle Dickson, an installation artist from Amherst, MA, will be our Studios Midwest artist-in-residence this summer.

A community-run visual arts residency from its inception in 1986, Studios Midwest has been administrated by the Galesburg Civic Art Center for the past seven years. During its tenure, the program has fostered the independent visions of 97 artists from across the United States, and globe, as they have shared their talents and worked with the Galesburg and surrounding communities. Like all highly regarded arts programs, Studios Midwest is committed to ensuring both quality of work and the perpetuation of the residency.

In these uncertain times, when arts programs nationwide are facing funding issues even as more and more artists seek the creative prospects of residencies themselves, it only makes sense to take a moment to be sure that Studios Midwest continues to attract the best artists and the most support. Last year, Studios Midwest began a two-year review to plan the residency’s next steps carefully and creatively.

We are pleased to announce that Fall 2010 will see the roll-out of a reimagined and revitalized Studios Midwest residency, one which we believe will ensure Galesburg’s connections to the larger art world for years to come. Michelle Dickson’s presence in Galesburg this summer is the first step towards the renewed Studios Midwest.

To keep updated on the Studios Midwest residency as it happens and what past artists are doing, please visit this blog.

Studios Midwest 2010 programming is made possible with support from:

Illinois Arts Council

Dick Blick Art Materials

Hinchliff Pearson West

Mark Holmes and The Box Gallery

Michelle Dickson's Bio:

I am currently based in Amherst, Massachusetts working on my MFA at the University of Massachusetts. I was born in Jacksonville, Florida and I received my BFA from the University of Florida in 2008. Although my background comes out of painting and drawing, in the last couple of years I have been exploring more sculptural and installation methods. My work is autobiographical and deals with concepts of personal memory and temporarily. Working in a site-responsive manner, I attempt to create installations that have a specific relationship with the physical scale of the viewer's body and relevant speculation about the real world. I want to achieve a reconnection to the interior self through triggered memory.