Incubator Studio Program

Grow your studio practice in a vibrant, affordable residency space.

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About the McGuffey Art Center Incubator Program

The Incubator Studio program began 8 years ago as a way to give emerging artists a place to grow in their studio practice. The members of the studio are chosen through an application process and have use of the space for one year. The Incubator artists gain experience during that year by being in McGuffey Art Center and meeting other artists, sharing their own skills, working on projects in the building and creating within quality studio time. There are opportunities to go on field trips, attend art openings, meet visiting artists, follow studio tours and engage in critiques during the year. Other opportunities include grant applications, art show open calls, collaboration work, etc. that may further their artistic endeavors.

The goal of the Incubator Studio Program is to promote the progress of up to 6 emerging artists, by offering them an inexpensive studio space for 1 year (July 1 - Jun 30), during which they will receive support, encouragement, advice, and inspiration from the membership at McGuffey Art Center. As an incubator member, artists will be an integral part of the McGuffey Art Center community and will work on a committee doing tasks such as hanging artwork, hosting openings or creating marketing materials.

Renting an incubator studio requires less of a time and financial commitment than a full McGuffey membership (10 hours a week of studio time is required instead of 17.5 for full membership) and can be worked around a full-time job. During their time in the program, incubator artists will be encouraged to develop a body of work and move on to the next step in their journey as an artist. These artists will have an opportunity at the end of their residency year to showcase their works in a group show on the first floor of McGuffey Art Center.

Meet Our Current Incubators

IRENE ARIFIN

A constant process and discovery, Irene’s artwork is a way to share a part of her magical inner world - her love letter to life. Constantly inspired by people and experiences, Irene enjoys experimenting with different perspectives and mediums. Her current favorite medium is pastel.

Irene graduated from Cornish College of Arts in Seattle, WA, and is an experienced graphic designer. She grew up with manga and comic books, which heavily influenced her style.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM.

GRACE LITTLE

Grace Little is an artist living and working in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her primary mediums for her abstract work are oil paints and fibers. Most of the work focuses on beauty through the lens of heaven and the human experience.

Through this work, Grace looks deeply into where there is still beauty to be found in the midst of the mundane, messy, chaotic, and unpredictable. While her work does give her space and time to process, the work is deeply emotive and challenges the notion of what a painting can do. Ultimately, the work intends to be outward facing and to care for the viewer. The current body of work has the goal of bringing forth beauty into the world.

Grace is a recent graduate of James Madison University’s School of Art, Design, and Art History (‘23) where she received her BFA in painting and drawing.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM -OR- WEBSITE.

MIMM PATTERSON

Fail better. Samual Beckett’s words of advice are Mimm Patterson’s goal for her year as an Incubator Artist at McGuffey Art Center. Mimm, who moved from California to Crozet in 2022, is a mixed-media artist, writer and trauma-informed yoga therapist. She is also someone who knows failure.

“In my thirties, before I moved to Ireland, I worked as an artist” she says. In the 1990’s Mimm was the quintessential struggling artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. “I survived but I didn’t thrive. I think I lacked the self-belief required to create from a place of authenticity. I wasn’t brave enough to be vulnerable. But now I possess a grounded sense of purpose and the tenacity that comes with decades of life experience. I won’t feel shattered if I fail. I’ll feel stronger knowing that I tried.”

Mimm’s work is informed by the belief that truth is malleable. Once we understand that our own truth is unfixed - that it is determined by the perspective from which it is viewed - we are able to reconcile our past with our perception of the present. This concept is critical to her current work, an exploration of her family and the dark mark its ash of memory has left on Mimm like an inky fingerprint that can’t be washed away.

“In some ways my new work is a practice of self-study. When my mother and I reunited after twenty years of estrangement I learned my family’s history for the first time. When she passed in 2019 she left behind several thick volumes of photographs and documents dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. I am learning who I am and how I came to be through these images and the stories they tell.” Over the next year she hopes to share those stories through a body of work that inspires connection and shines with clarity and resonance.

Mimm holds a BA in Studio Art and Education and a MFA in Transpersonal Psychology. She is an ICF certified coach as well as a SoulCollage® and Guided Autobiography facilitator. Mimm shares her new home in Crozet with her partner Ben and their twenty-year-old cat Bruce.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM -OR- WEBSITE.

MIKA ROSE

For me, clay is more than just a medium, it is a sanctuary where I have unearthed a profound sense of “home”. In the quiet rhythm of creation, I find a space to explore the depths of my own being. My work is inspired by those who came before me and of the rich flora that graces my own environment now. I create pots that dance between form and function, duality and acceptance, and the fragile nature of life itself.

Each piece is a testament to my own existence. My invitation into the world of clay has been a collaborative effort, nurtured by patient wisdom and support from my teachers and community. As a newly emerging artist, I stand at the threshold of a remarkable expedition into the vulnerable heart of artistic expression.

Through the vessel of ceramics, I hope to continue to discover not only the art of shaping clay but also the art of shaping myself.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM -OR- WEBSITE.

ELENA YU

Elena Yu is an interdisciplinary artist from Los Angeles, CA. She moved to Charlottesville in Summer 2023 from Joshua Tree, CA, where she has worked as an artist and arts organizer since 2016. Elena’s work weaves together many mediums and intentions including textiles, performance, sculpture, social practice, arts education, self-publishing, community building and collaborations. Her emphasis is on developing projects, public programs and exhibitions that consider and care for many aspects of community ecosystems; bringing together local residents, artists, partnering organizations, and sites around contemporary art.

While at McGuffey, Elena looks forward to getting to know the people, places and art of Charlottesville, and embracing the time and space to dive into various parts of her practice. Some of her current projects include researching and embodying lichen as a means towards increasing interspecies and intersectional care, and designing and sewing custom quilts and one-of-a-kind clothing.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM.

TORI WHITE

Tori White is a multi-media artist currently based in Charlottesville, VA. They recently graduated from the University of Virginia with distinction in Studio Art and high distinction in Kinesiology. They will continue to be involved in the UVA Studio Art Department as an Aunspaugh Fellow in the upcoming academic year. As a multi-media artist, they like to explore a breadth of different mediums including painting, relief-printmaking, and photography.

Their recent work has heavily relied on doll imagery in an attempt to both rebel against and reconcile their feelings towards the imposition of femininity during childhood. Going forward, they would like to continue exploring the dynamics between punk aesthetics and gender presentation beyond the binary.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM.