CMS Artist in Residence Program
The Claremont MakerSpace Artist In Residence (AiR) Program is designed to empower New Hampshire and Vermont based artists with tools, training and space to create compelling new work. The program originally launched in 2018 and was supported by the NH State Council on the Arts. After a dormant period since 2022, CMS relaunched the AiR Program in October 2024 through a sponsorship by Maine Oxy and the Northern Borders Regional Commission. The NH State Council on the Arts awarded CMS a Community Engagement grant in the fall of 2024 to fund the program throughout 2025, with 4 quarterly residencies. In 2025, residencies will run during the following periods:
- Winter: February 3 to April 18 – Photographer Jeff Dietrich
- Spring: April 28 to July 14 – Textile Artist Berkley Heath
- Summer: July 21 to September 26 (IN PROGRESS) – Printmaker Sarah Breisch
- Fall: October 6 to December 12
Each CMS Artist In Residence receives a $1000 stipend towards the creation of new work at the CMS, three months of unlimited membership, ten weeks of a dedicated studio space, and training to use new tools. There is also gallery space in the building where artist work can be exhibited and available for sale to the public. While in residence, the artist is required to teach at least one public class for any skill level in any medium, as well as engage with a local high school class as a role model for the arts. Each residency runs for ten weeks and is valued over $1800.
2025 Summer Artist in Residence: Printmaker Sarah Breisch
Printmaker Sarah Breisch was selected as the 2025 Summer Artist in Residence and she will work in studio from July 21 to Sept 26. Meet Sarah to see some of her prior work, and learn about her residency plans during the Meet the Artist event on August 14th from 5pm to 7pm.
Sarah’s Artist Statement: I find time for artwork in the margins between work and family life. Inspiration creeps out of small things; the delicate tracings of a beetle’s gnawing over dead wood, the patterns on a sparrow’s wing. I am fascinated by patterns; of seasonal changes, camouflage, and the cyclical nature of growth and decay. The medium of linocut allows me to explore and express the patterns and details I see in nature and in life. The medium is paradoxically graphic, predictable and unyielding, while also being spontaneous, reproducing in infinite diversity. No two prints are ever exactly alike.
Read the press release announcing Sarah’s summer residency and Berkley’s closing spring exhibit here.
Summer 2025 Artist in Residence Sarah Breisch, with her work Golden.
To learn more about Sarah’s work, see her Rabbit Dog Fine Arts website or follow her Facebook page.
Prior Artists in Residence:
Jane Kolias, Recycled Metal Artist, Oct – Dec 2024 sponsored by Maine Oxy and Northern Borders Regional Commission.
Jo Ann Clifford, Metal Artist, June – July 2021
Eric Diven, Fine Woodworking, Jan – Feb 2021
Earnest Montenegro, Sculptor, Apr – May 2019
Allison Zito, Multidisciplinary Artist, Jan – Feb 2019
Other Artists in Residence include: Anna Frederick – Urban Art Nov – Dec 2018, Amity Ollis – Upholstery Feb – June 2020, and James St. Martin and Brian Phaneuf – Skeeball June – July 2021.
The CMS Artist In Residence Program is supported in part by:
