Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters will be well represented this year among the Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Artists-in-Residence Program. 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 MSU’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), which is located in Hickory Corners, Michigan.
Launched in 2022 as a way to promote art and science collaborations, this is the fourth year for the program, but the first time an artist-in-residence – or three in this case – comes from Michigan State University or MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. Also, in previous years, there has been only one artist selected for the program each year, except for one year where there were two.
“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 (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.”
The 2025 Artists-in-Residence are:
- 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 Post-Doctoral 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.
“This was our most competitive year with a ton of applicants,” Schultheis said. “The most important criterion was that applicants had to explain why they thought KBS was a place that would help develop their art, their artistic expression, or why this residency would be impactful for them.”
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.
“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. We thought if there was a community of artists to support each other, that would be a great way to expand the program.”
Elizabeth Schultheis, LTER Education and Outreach Coordinator
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. They also are given the opportunity to return to KBS throughout the summer, if desired.
The program culminates with a return visit and public exhibition when they share their work and experience with the KBS community.
The 2024 Artist-in-Residence, Erica Bradshaw, who is a Kalamazoo-area author, illustrator, and muralist, is scheduled for her residency exhibition, titled “Now and Then: An Artist’s Reflection on a Century of Research,” on July 18, 2025, from 5 to 9 p.m. 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 her time spent interacting with the people and habitats at KBS.
For more information on the KBS Artists-in-Residence Program, visit the KBS LTER website.
By Lynn Waldsmith and Kim Popiolek
