Artists and Major Art World Funders Contribute Over $21 Million to Expand Skowhegan’s Capacity to Support Emerging Visual Artists

Top (l-r): Moffett/Gober Sculpture Pavilion; Gund Dining Hall / Bottom (l-r): David C. Driskell House; Acquavella Sculpture Shop. Images courtesy of Michelle Rose Studio, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.

Acquavella Sculpture Shop. Designed by Kittredge, the expanded Sculpture Shop was made possible by the Acquavella Family Foundation and provides uncluttered space to work in wood and metal, and also houses a spray booth, tool and wood storage, a small shop office, and a first aid area. A covered slab behind the building was also surfaced in metal for welding.

David C. Driskell House honors artist, curator, and educator David Driskell who was a student (1953), faculty member (1976, ’78, ’91, ’04), Governor (1975-1989), Trustee (1989-2002), Advisory member (2003-2020) and Skowhegan Lifetime Legacy Award recipient (2016) and one of the most enduring members of the Skowhegan community in its history. Designed by Wanzenberg, with funding from Jud and BB Reis and the Sire Foundation, among others, this building houses up to eleven participants, and its addition on campus has the effect of decongesting all the residences, and ensuring that every participant has more privacy and an improved environment for rest.

Helen Frankenthaler Studio was designed by Kittredge. Frankenthaler was a visiting artist in 1986 and the studio, made possible by her eponymous foundation, is the first new building constructed on  Skowhegan’s campus since 2011 and provides studio space for three participants.

Frank Moore Studio and Pollinator Garden were completed in 2020 and 2022, respectively, and were realized through collaboration by Frank’s family and friends in an effort spearheaded by Governor Jane Hammond and Frank’s sister Rebecca Moore, Director of Google Earth. The four-studio, timber-frame building was designed by Kittredge. It overlooks a Pollinator Garden, conceived by Hammond and Moore, that honors Moore’s love of nature, his abiding interest in insects and butterflies, and his prescient environmental activism. The Pollinator Garden, itself, links to a larger campus-wide effort to draw attention to the school’s natural environment.

Gund Dining Hall was designed by Wanzenberg and made possible through leadership support from Ann and Graham Gund. The dining hall is distinguished by reclaimed wood floors, windows overlooking the lake, an open kitchen and improved food storage for what is largely locally-sourced produce and meat. A new industrial composter will further evolve the relationship to the food the participants eat, how it is prepared, and how it is disposed of to minimize waste.

Moffett/Gober Sculpture Pavilion was designed by Kittredge and underwritten by artists Donald Moffett and Robert Gober. Four existing sculpture yard studios were converted into a covered pavilion for artists to work at large-scale, outside, and during fair or inclement weather.

Pollock-Krasner Ceramics Studio was designed by Kittredge and funded by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Two existing sculpture yard studios were converted into the first dedicated space for ceramics with wheels, a slab roller, a sink with proper filtration and water recycling system, storage, and work tables.

The Kippy Stroud Cottage is an ADA-accessible staff cottage designed by Wanzenberg as part of a staff enclave that consists of five studio apartments as well as a common kitchen and shared living space. The residence is supported through a grant from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation that honors Kippy’s deep devotion to Maine, her unwavering support of younger artists and the development of their work, as well as her stalwart belief in education, the power of community and bringing creative people together. Next door is a staff cottage dubbed the Twin As, named in honor of Ann Gund by Agnes Gund. The flexible staff cottage layout suits a variety of living configurations and provides appropriate privacy and living space for program staff, all of whom are Skowhegan alumni.

Two campus additions are anticipated for 2023: The Flex Space designed by OPAL Architecture of Belfast, ME, proprietors of GO Lab and Timber HP, an innovative ecologically sustainable technology manufacturer in Madison, ME. The Flex Space is designed using Carbon Laminated Timber (CLT), a carbon neutral material. A second environmentally-driven project, a series of Natural Amphitheater Spaces, is designed by Hood Design Studio of Oakland, CA. Both the Flex Space and the Amphitheater spaces are designed to supplement existing object-based studio facilities, allowing for innovations in performance, dance, movement, and new genres.