2024

Announcing the 2024-2025 Jerome Early Career Printmakers

Left to right: Emma Ulen-Klees, Conor McGrann, Nancy Ariza

Please join us in welcoming the 2024-2025 Jerome Early Career Printmakers Emma Ulen-Klees, Conor McGrann, and Nancy Ariza!

Three artists are selected annually to participate in the Jerome Early Career Printmakers Residency at Highpoint. Thanks to the generous support of the Jerome Foundation, this program has existed since 2003 and has served more than 50 early career printmakers.

The Jerome Residency program is open to early career Minnesota printmakers who already possess training in one or more traditional printmaking techniques. Early Career is defined here as an artist with a record of creating and exhibiting original work who has not received consistent development and production opportunities and significant recognition, awards, and acclaim regardless of age or recognition in other fields.

These artists will use the co-op studio at Highpoint to pursue their printmaking practice toward their culminating exhibition, which will open in June 2025. In addition to studio access and their eventual exhibition, Emma, Conor, and Nancy will enjoy periodic studio visits with invited guests, along with learning and professional development opportunities.

Special thanks to our esteemed panelists Bo Young An and Luis Fitch for their careful review of the outstanding applicants.

About the artists:

As a new(ish) father to a two year old daughter, Conor McGrann has found that his artistic practice has changed quite significantly since she was born. As such, he says “I am so excited for this opportunity, as it will allow me to invest the time and resources I need to fully develop a new way of working as an active artist and parent. I really love intaglio printmaking in all its forms. I find it to be a perfect and at times frustrating collaboration between myself, the materials, and the process. Even after many years of work the act of making a plate always provides surprises. I hope to use this time at Highpoint Center for Printmaking to lean into the “how did that happen?” moments to make work that is fully in conversation with the process and material restrictions intaglio offers.”

Conor McGrann is an artist that makes things usually on paper, living and producing work in St. Paul, MN. He is the Digital Studio Arts Technician at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where he maintains the printshop and photolab and facilitates the use of digital and analog interactions for faculty, staff, and students in the Art & Art History Department.

In his own work Conor has a particular interest in the translation errors and systemic breakdowns that occur when filtering work between digital and analog production methods. His work is focused on the relationship between political systems, geography, the built environment, sense of place, and culture. He received his MFA in May 2021 from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and his BFA in printmaking from Syracuse University in 2009.

About her Practice, Nancy Ariza offered this: “Pattern serves as my primary visual language through which I explore my Mexican heritage, seeking to understand my lineage and deepen my connection to my ancestors and culture as a second-generation immigrant. During the residency, I will focus on exploring new ideas that are rooted in Chicana feminism while still working in abstraction. I’ll be revisiting large-scale printing and continuing to investigate experimental printing techniques using powdered pigments. I’m also looking forward to receiving feedback on my work from guest critics and fellow Jerome artists in residence.”

Nancy Ariza is a Mexican American printmaker, educator, and arts administrator. In her studio practice, Ariza explores intergenerational relationships, storytelling, and memory as a way to understand and honor her Mexican heritage. Often working in woodcut and screenprinting, her artwork combines traditional and experimental printmaking techniques. Ariza has exhibited across the United States in group shows at Blanc Gallery in Chicago, IL; Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University in Chico, CA; Klemm Gallery at Siena Heights University in Adrian, MI; among others. She is also the founder of Amilado Press, a collaborative print studio in Minnesota.

The multiscalar realities and consequences of environmental degradation, transformation, and fragmentation are central to the work of Emma Ulen-Klees. She states: “Through research, and the intensely personal process of archiving, extinct flora and cartographic text/imagery become material actors in ever evolving environmental narratives. The material reality of each subject is further reflected in my method of making and each projects’ form, allowing me to experiment with both the physical and conceptual capabilities of different mediums.”

“The Jerome Fellowship will allow me to push my practice by continuing these ongoing projects, as well as providing support and foundation to experiment and grow new ideas! While I look forward to the advancement of a long term project archiving extinct plants through paper embossings, I am also excited to translate a series of ink paintings/drawings exploring the history of cartography and its symbols, into prints for the first time. I often process ideas through series, or sequential works, so the particular ways many print matrices hold a memory through transformation will be a great push for those ideas. I am especially interested in how lithography, and monotype will bring out different elements within this work. Beyond these particular projects I happily anticipate the unpredicted and unexpected paths my work may take over the course of the fellowship, whether by happy accident, or generative community feedback. It is this mutual exchange between subject and process (which feels particularly rich in printmaking) that I most look forward to learning from.”

Emma Ulen-Klees is a multidisciplinary artist and writer whose work centers the fragmentation and transformation of landscape. Her individual but interconnected projects come together to mourn extinction and absence, magnify the accumulation of plastics, and interrogate the distortionary nature of western cartography, while still allowing for the beauty and awe vital to emotional relationships to place. Ulen-Klees earned a Printmaking BFA from California College of the Arts (2014), and MFA from Cornell University (2020). Past awards include the Ralls Scholarship in Painting, Yozo Hamaguchi Scholarship in Printmaking, as well as the Kala Art Institute Emerging Artist Residency. She has exhibited at the Missoula Art Museum (Missoula, MT), Zolla/ Lieberman Gallery (Chicago, IL), Jack Hanley Gallery (New York, NY), Safe Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Anglim Gilbert Gallery (San Francisco, CA) as well as in Oakland, Berkeley, CA, and Ithaca, NY. Internationally she has exhibited in Osaka, Japan and Hjalteyri, Iceland.


About the review panelists:

Bo Young An is best described as a creative. Her practice includes, but is not limited to, curation, illustration, design, murals, and education. An received her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts from the University of Washington, Seattle, and her MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2022. Her work has been shown at exhibitions in Seoul + Hanam (KR), Honfleur (FR), Leon (SP), and Seattle + Wisconsin + Minnesota (USA).

Luis Fitch is an internationally renowned Mexican artist, mentor, and creative entrepreneur specializing in visual art and working across gallery and urban art settings. His legacy transcends barriers, cultivates cross-cultural connections, and infuses design with meaning and purpose. His relentless commitment to bridging divides through his creative endeavors inspires the world—a testament to the enduring power of art and design to foster unity and understanding.

His artwork is featured in over 380 private and institutional collections throughout the United States, Europe, Dubai, Mexico, and Latin America, including prestigious institutions such as the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, and many more.

Luis's creative journey continues to evolve, marked by recent milestones that underscore his indomitable spirit. Notably, he was commissioned to illustrate four stamps for the United States Postal Service, a testament to the profound impact of his artistry on a national scale. Additionally, Luis crafted the first-ever art collection by a Mexican artist for Target stores, commemorating the revered Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) tradition. His involvement as the Commission Chair of the State Flag and Emblem Redesign, appointed by the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs, further exemplifies his dedication to shaping cultural narratives.

Bo Young An and Luis Fitch

Meet the 2023-24 Full Color Print Fellows and Teaching Artists

Left to right: Emma Ulen-Klees, Conor McGrann, Nancy Ariza

We are sending a warm welcome and congratulations to the 2024-2025 Jerome Early Career Printmakers Emma Ulen-Klees, Conor McGrann, and Nancy Ariza! These three artists were selected from a group of outstanding applicants by esteemed review panelists Bo Young An and Luis Fitch.

Beginning in September, Emma, Conor, and Nancy were granted access to the cooperative printshop at Highpoint to push their printmaking practice forward toward the exhibition that will take place in June 2025 (and beyond).

Beyond access to the studio and their 3-person culminating exhibition, the residents will also enjoy periodic studio visits with special invited guests along with learning and professional development opportunities. Read on to learn a bit more about each artist.

Emma Ulen-Klees offered this about her work: “multiscalar realities and consequences of environmental degradation, transformation, and fragmentation are central to my work. Through research, and the intensely personal process of archiving, extinct flora and cartographic text/imagery become material actors in ever evolving environmental narratives. The material reality of each subject is further reflected in my method of making and each projects’ form, allowing me to experiment with both the physical and conceptual capabilities of different mediums. The Jerome Fellowship will allow me to push my practice by continuing these ongoing projects, as well as providing support and foundation to experiment and grow new ideas! While I look forward to the advancement of a long term project archiving extinct plants through paper embossings, I am also excited to translate a series of ink paintings/drawings exploring the history of cartography and its symbols, into prints for the first time. I often process ideas through series, or sequential works, so the particular ways many print matrices hold a memory through transformation will be a great push for those ideas. I am especially interested in how lithography, and monotype will bring out different elements within this work. Beyond these particular projects I happily anticipate the unpredicted and unexpected paths my work may take over the course of the fellowship, whether by happy accident, or generative community feedback. It is this mutual exchange between subject and process (which feels particularly rich in printmaking) that I most look forward to learning from.”

Emma Ulen-Klees (b. 1992, Elysian, MN) is a multidisciplinary artist and writer whose work centers the fragmentation and transformation of landscape. Her individual but interconnected projects come together to mourn extinction and absence, magnify the accumulation of plastics, and interrogate the distortionary nature of western cartography, while still allowing for the beauty and awe vital to emotional relationships to place. Ulen-Klees earned a Printmaking BFA from California College of the Arts (2014), and MFA from Cornell University (2020). Past awards include the Ralls Scholarship in Painting, Yozo Hamaguchi Scholarship in Printmaking, as well as the Kala Art Institute Emerging Artist Residency. She has exhibited at the Missoula Art Museum (Missoula, MT), Zolla/ Lieberman Gallery (Chicago, IL), Jack Hanley Gallery (New York, NY), Safe Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Anglim Gilbert Gallery (San Francisco, CA) as well as in Oakland, Berkeley, CA, and Ithaca, NY. Internationally she has exhibited in Osaka, Japan and Hjalteyri, Iceland.

Conor McGrann said this about his practice: “I am the father to a two year old and I have found that my art practice has had to change quite significantly since she was born. I am so excited for this opportunity, as it will allow me to invest the time and resources I need to fully develop a new way of working as an active artist and parent. I really love intaglio printmaking in all its forms. I find it to be a perfect and at times frustrating collaboration between myself, the materials, and the process. Even after many years of work the act of making a plate always provides surprises. I hope to use this time at Highpoint Center for Printmaking to lean into the “how did that happen?” moments to make work that is fully in conversation with the process and material restrictions intaglio offers.”

Conor McGrann is an artist that makes things usually on paper, living and producing work in St. Paul, MN. He is the Digital Studio Arts Technician at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where he maintains the printshop and photolab and facilitates the use of digital and analog interactions for faculty, staff, and students in the Art & Art History Department.

In his own work Conor has a particular interest in the translation errors and systemic breakdowns that occur when filtering work between digital and analog production methods. His work is focused on the relationship between political systems, geography, the built environment, sense of place, and culture. He received his MFA in May 2021 from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and his BFA in printmaking from Syracuse University in 2009.

Nancy Ariza

The Jerome Early Career Printmaker’s Residency at Highpoint was developed with a steering committee to eliminate barriers to printmaking studio access for Minnesota artists from racial and ethnic communities that have been underrepresented within the cooperative printshop. 

Find more information: highpointprintmaking.org/full-color-fellowship


Meet the Jerome Residents

Left to Right: Mei Lam So, Izzy Shinn, and Gidinatiy Hartman

ANNOUNCING HIGHPOINT’S 2023-24
JEROME EARLY CAREER PRINTMAKERS

Highpoint is pleased to announce the 2023-24 Jerome Early Career Printmaking Residents Mei Lam So, Gidinatiy Hartman, and Izzy Shinn. The nine-month residency begins in September and will culminate in May with a June 2024 exhibition in Highpoint’s galleries. Between now and then, though, much experimentation, progress, and growth will occur. The program will include four special guest critiques that occur at intervals during the residency. For more about each of the residents, read on:

Mei Lam So (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based visual artist whose medium includes printmaking, textile printing, and ceramics. She received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MFA in Printmaking and Ceramics from the University of Iowa. Originally from Hong Kong, Mei’s work explores topics surrounding the acculturation process of bicultural Asian immigrants. Mei has exhibited her work nationally.

Mei offered this about the upcoming residency, “I look forward to enacting some developing ideas and creating a new body of work with the community support of Highpoint's technical and conceptual expertise.“

Izzy Shinn (they/he/she) is a butch Twin Cities-based printmaker and comic artist specializing in intaglio etching and ink illustration, having earned their BFA from the University of Minnesota. With a focus butchness, lesbian life, and history, their work is tied intimately with themself and their own experiences, showcased through characters and archetypes, exploring the sexual and social stigmatization of women, the body, and the queer subject.

Most recently, they have worked as a summer workshop studio assistant at Penland School of Craft. They have exhibited and sold work in various local venues, such as the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Open Eye Gallery, and the North Suburban Center for the Arts. They have also self-published multiple mini-comics and zines and participated as an exhibitor in the 2022 Minneapolis-based Autoptic Festival.

When asked what they’re most looking forward to in the residency, Izzy said,  “What I'm most excited for is the time and resources to experiment more with intaglio printing methods, specifically multi-plate printing, chine collé, and plate shape variation. I'm also very much looking forward to delving into this newer, more personal facet of my work and exploring how drawing from intimate and archival sources will influence my style and practice.” 

Gidinatiy Hartman (they/them) has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Their artwork is about creating visual representations of the Deg Xinag and other Native languages and is centered around a desire to reclaim their family’s Athabascan language, which was taken from them due to colonization. United by a sense of whimsy and wordplay, their art seeks to make it easier for people to learn Deg Xinag and other Native languages. They aspire to have multiple modes of representation, including visual art, that makes language revitalization more accessible to people.

Gidinatiy said this about the upcoming residency, “I am looking forward to being in a printmaking studio because it gives me the opportunity to use a variety of printmaking methods again. I am excited to continue the same work I did for my BFA, creating artwork related to my Native language: Deg Xinag. Also, I look forward to being more involved in the printmaking community and being able to get feedback and input on my artwork.”

Highpoint would like to thank this year’s panelists Tamara Aupumaut and Heidi Goldberg. Tamara Aupaumut is a multidisciplinary artist and independent curator living on Mni Sota Makoce, also known as Minneapolis. She works in a variety of media, including printmaking. Heidi Goldberg earned her BA from Hamline University and MFA in printmaking and works on paper at The University of Michigan. She taught studio art at Concordia from 1995-2022. Her works have been exhibited in local, regional, national, and international juried exhibitions. She lives and works in the sand hills near the National Sheyenne Grasslands in North Dakota. 


The Jerome Early Career Residency is in its 21st year of programming and is funded with a generous grant from the Jerome Foundation. The program is open to early-career Minnesota printmakers — defined here as artists who show significant potential yet have not received a commensurate amount of professional accomplishment or recognition, regardless of age or recognition in other fields. You can find details about the program, application process, and creative benefits on our website

About the Jerome Foundation –  Created by artist and philanthropist Jerome Hill (1905-1972), The Jerome Foundation seeks to contribute to a dynamic and evolving culture by supporting the creation, development, and production of new works by emerging artists. Based in St. Paul, MN, the Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit arts organizations and artists in Minnesota and New York City.