The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation recently announced the four artists selected to participate in its studio residency program which offers artists space to work and dollars with which to buy materials and support their livelihoods. The submissions were reviewed by Elizabeth Finch, Lunder curator for American Art at Colby College, according to a news release from the foundation.

The four artists include Bethany Engstrom, an installation artist from Belfast; Michael Gorman, a playwright from Palermo; Meghan Brady, a painter from Camden; and Vaishu Ilankamban, a wood worker and recent attendee of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockland.

The artists began their residency Aug. 1, and remain for a six-month studio practice at the Lincoln Street Center in Rockland. Each awardee will receive a stipend of $1,000 a month and be expected to engage with community through an intersection of their choosing.

“I can’t begin to tell you how timely and rewarding my acceptance into the residency is. I’m really looking forward to meeting the other artists and everybody at Ellis-Beauregard,” said Gorman, according to the release.

“I’m particularly excited about the Art/Theater connection that we have made through the staged reading series. Art into performance and Performance into Art, is kind of the motto of our Galleria,” said Gorman.

“Lastly, I wanted to relate how much I appreciated the simplicity and straightforwardness of the application process for the residency. I have often refrained from applying for certain residences and grants as the process and time demands have often been too complicated and time consuming. This is not to say that it’s not necessary, it’s just that I’ve often found myself saying ‘Hell, I can write a play in less time than I can apply for a grant to write a play. The doing is always what has propelled me forward.'”

Donna McNeil, executive director of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, said “We are delighted to welcome all four residents to Rockland and the Lincoln Street Center and to watch their progress as they interface with the community and the other residents, each offering the other a Bauhaus like cross fertilization of expertise,” according to the release.

For more information, email Amanda King at amandak@ellis-beauregardfoundation.org.


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