First MSU faculty, alum selected for artists-in-residence program at KBS

For the first time in its history, the Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Artists-in-Residence Program will welcome Michigan State University faculty and alumni. The 2025 artists-in-residence will include an assistant professor, post-doctoral research associate, and recent graduate, all from MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. They will be joined by an artist from New York to complete the 2025 artists-in-residence cohort at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.

This year also marks the first time the program has welcomed more than two artists in a single summer.

“We have always wanted to grow the program to be more like a cohort model of artists because, when the artists come to KBS, they’re really joining a community of scientists,” said Elizabeth Schultheis, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Long Term Ecological Research, or LTER, program at KBS. “We thought if there was a community of artists to support each other, that would be a great way to expand the program.”

2025 artists-in-residence

• Mikayla Thompson, a poet with Cherokee Nation descent who graduated from MSU in December 2023 with a B.A. in linguistics and a minor in indigenous studies. Her residency will take place June 2-9, 2025.
• Blaire Morseau, a beadwork artist who is a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, a 1855 Professor at MSU, assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Religious Studies, and affiliate faculty in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Her residency is scheduled for June 15-19, 2025.
• Marika Jaeger, a self-taught New York-based artist who divides her time between environmental research at Stanford University and painting. Her residency is scheduled for July 3-10, 2025.
• Olivia Furman, whose primary mediums include multimedia and digital collage, ceramics, quilting, and the written and spoken word, is a postdoctoral scholar and research associate in MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies and an assistant project director of the Quilt Index’s Black Diaspora Quilt History Project at MSU. Furman’s residency will take place July 28-Aug. 1, 2025.

The KBS Artists-in-Residence Program, which was started by Gretel Van Wieren, professor of religious studies at MSU, in collaboration with Schultheis and KBS LTER Science Coordinator Nameer Baker, offers artists, working in any genre, a one-week immersion at KBS where they collaborate with scientists, students, and teachers, linked by their mutual passion for observing the world around them and their desire to understand and replicate the patterns present throughout nature.

During this week-long residency, artists become acquainted with KBS and the research taking place at LTER and the field station. They have opportunities to spend time in the field and to participate in lab activities, research, and observation.

The program culminates with a return visit and public exhibition when they share their work and experience with the KBS community.

Upcoming exhibit slated for the 2024 residency

The 2024 artist-in-residence, Erica Bradshaw, who is a Kalamazoo-area author, illustrator, and muralist, will return to KBS for their residency exhibition, titled “Now and Then: An Artist’s Reflection on a Century of Research,” from 5 to 9 p.m. July 18, 2025, at the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary’s Overlook Building, 12685 East C Ave., Augusta, Michigan. At this time, Bradshaw will share pieces inspired by the time spent interacting with the people and habitats at KBS.

To learn more about the program and see a list of past artists-in-residence, visit lter.kbs.msu.edu/get-involved/artists-in-residence.

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