Artist-In-Residence Program

ACAC’s 2022 Artist-in-Residence was Kari Percival, an illustrator and pageant designer with a science background and deep commitment to education and environmental activism. She’s also a newly published author, with a charming book on gardening designed for very young children called “How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside.” Arts Arlington invited Kari to work with some of Arlington’s dedicated grass-roots community groups to raise awareness about their mission and issues with beautiful poster designs.

The result is “No Place Like Home” — a poster project with a purpose! Art is an effective way to catch people’s attention and deliver a message. Kari’s whimsical style appeals to the eye and the spirit; behind each poster is meticulous research, ensuring that the information conveyed in images is accurate and faithful to the concerns of the community groups. You can view Kari’s project page here!

The Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture’s 2020-2021 Artist in Residence was Chanel Thervil, a Haitian-American artist who has been making waves and spreading joy in the Greater Boston area with her vivid and compelling mixed-media portraits of friends, family, and informal community leaders. At a time when social and racial justice challenges are urgent around the nation as well as here at home, our goal was to work with Chanel to shine some light on the diverse Black folks who live and work in Arlington.

Chanel’s project was titled “Portraits of Black Arlington.” The photographic portraits shared here –> capture the beauty and spirit of a diverse group of Black community members. You can read more about Chanel’s project here on Arts Arlington.

The 2020 artist-in-residence was Nilou Moochhala, who explored the impact of the pandemic on our community. When COVID-19 came to our town, safety guidelines closed down much of public life and severely limited gatherings with family and friends. The dangers posed by an unpredictable virus seemed everywhere. At that point, Moochhala, who lives with her family in Arlington, began a daily sketch practice — a few minutes every day to reflection, and to process thoughts/emotions as related to the on-going lockdown. These images –> were created through a type of meditative mark-making: using color, texture, the rhythm of shapes and movement of line to record a moment during this difficult time.

For her Artist-in-Residence project, Nilou created abstract drawings in response to local ‘storytelling’ interviews — from Town officials to public health professionals, from essential workers to local businesses, and of course, a wide variety of residents. The drawings were turned into “meditation flags” – a format inspired by Buddhist and other traditions and were installed in the pine forest of one of Arlington’s Menotomy Rocks Park. The specific site was a clearing where an existing ring of gathered branches lie on the forest floor – and these ‘meditation flags’ built on the energy to create a space for reflection, healing and contemplation. You can read more about Nilou’s project  “Reflecting on Our Pandemic Experience” here.

The Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture’s first artist-in-residence project began in 2019, bringing highly regarded sculptor and fiber artist Michelle Lougee to town. You can view some of Michelle’s creations here –>. Working through June 2020, Michelle created a large-scale collaborative public art project with the community for the Minuteman Bikeway. Residents were invited to learn how to crochet with “plarn” — a yarn made from recycled plastic bags — and contribute to a collaborative work with a message: if we all work together we can create beauty and protect the environment! The project was called “Persistence: A Community Response to Pervasive Plastic,” and you can visit the project pages beginning here!