Artist In Residence 2026: Cosmo Segurson

On January 9, the Marlborough community welcomed this year’s Artist in Residence Cosmo Segurson for a talk with students and faculty at the start of his month-long residency in the Visual Arts Department. Now in its fifth year, the artist-in-residence program hosts a professional artist to work with students in the classroom and offer artistic expertise.

Visual Arts Department Head Chelsea Dean described the purpose of his talk: “This is for you all to get a sense of who this amazing person is that we're bringing into our community. And I'm really, really excited because this is the first time we've had an animator as our artist in residence.”

Mr. Segurson is an artist, animator, filmmaker, and organist born and raised in Los Angeles. During his presentation, he shared some of his portfolio spanning personal projects, short films, and television animation. He has worked in the television animation industry for over two decades in many roles: storyboard artist, background designer, director, composer, voice actor, and executive producer. His past directorial credits include Nickelodeon’s Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Static Cling: The Rocko Special, and storyboarding the recent stop-motion SpongeBob holiday episode “Sandy’s Country Christmas.” Most recently he was the co-executive producer of The Cuphead Show! The community was eager to see the examples of his work, including creations from his home studio and his Nickelodeon stop-motion animated short The Prince and Mr. Whiskers. 

As Mr. Segurson detailed his career path, an important takeaway emerged for Marlborough students: there are many paths, mediums, and passions an artist can pursue. Mr. Segurson entered CalArts studying set design, a field he was exposed to in high school. “In high school, the only art that was really great was because of the teacher who taught the theater program.” Once he arrived at CalArts, Mr. Segurson met other art students and discovered all the different paths he could follow. After meeting students working on films and animation, he thought, “That’s what I should be doing.” 

Following his passions has led him to a fulfilling and dynamic career in animation. Mr. Segurson’s work demonstrates his aptitude in mixing mediums, whether he is building 3D sets, utilizing digital design, cartoon sketching, filming, animating, or composing his own score. While showcasing his broad portfolio of work, Mr. Segurson walked the audience through the creative process of each piece. It provided a wonderful example of the practice of an artist bringing a vision to life using many techniques.

Mr. Segurson will work with students in 7/8 Intro to Digital Design and Film 4, and is available to any students with an interest in his knowledge of both 2D and digital mediums. Ms. Dean encouraged Visual Arts students to seek out Mr. Segurson during his time on campus. “If you have a question and you want to learn more, here’s your opportunity. I want to encourage you to get involved,” she urged. Mr. Segurson’s residency will culminate with an exhibition in Seaver Gallery on February 11, featuring his work alongside the work created by Marlborough students in the classroom under his guidance.