Artist in Residence Program
Where Professional Artists Meet Student Imagination
The Artist-in-Residence program at Marlborough invites students into the world of contemporary artmaking by connecting them with accomplished working artists from across disciplines. More than a series of guest visits, each residency is a collaborative exchange—an opportunity for students to explore new media, learn unfamiliar processes, and expand their creative perspectives in meaningful, hands-on ways. These artists bring their own stories, materials, and methods into the studio, transforming it into a site of experimentation, mentorship, and dialogue.
Each year, our visiting artist works closely with students in workshops and advanced classes, inspiring new ways of thinking about art, identity, and the role of the artist in society.
Recent Visiting Artists
2025 | Matt Lipps
Photographer and visual artist Matt Lipps brought a multidisciplinary approach to Marlborough photography students, challenging students to reconsider the boundaries of photography, sculpture, and appropriation. With vintage publications, paper cutouts, and carefully constructed sets, Lipps helped students see how imagery can be recontextualized to reveal new meaning—blending personal storytelling with public archives, identity, protest, and cultural memory.
2024 | Ako Castuera
Ako Castuera’s residency bridged art, ecology, and cultural restoration. Through wool-based sculpture and garment-making, students in Ceramics 4 and Intro to 3D Art & Design explored the stories and landscapes embedded in their materials—tracing connections between soil health, traditional shepherding, and climate resilience. Castuera’s work invited deep reflection on reciprocity, process, and the role of artists in healing both land and lineage.
2023 | Michelle Jane Lee
In her minimalist yet emotionally layered work, Michelle Jane Lee translates personal letters into color-coded abstract grids. During her time at Marlborough, she introduced students to her system of symbolic color and abstraction—prompting them to reflect on language, memory, and the possibility of visualizing the unsaid. Lee’s process invited students to consider how personal narratives can be transformed into universal expressions through design, color, and structure.
2022 | Fay Ray
As the program’s inaugural artist, Fay Ray immersed students in a multidisciplinary practice shaped by identity, labor, landscape, and heritage. Her work—spanning sculpture, photography, and collage—is rooted in personal experience and material exploration. Ray’s presence opened a space for students to think expansively about the stories we carry and the forms they can take.