ANGELICA ELIZABETH JONES - Artist in Residence
Angelica Jones is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Baltimore, Maryland. Her works often utilize the capabilities of various mediums to create images of Black figures. Growing up in High Point, North Carolina, Angelica was surrounded by Black History - She was raised near the birth of the Sit-In Movement and was brought up enveloped by a tight-knit community of Black women. As a painter primarily working in portraiture, she infuses the “mundane” experiences of the people around her with the dream-like qualities. Angelica’s work serves as an open archive that documents experiences of her community and personal battles with poverty, mental health and marginalization.
Connection and community drive her practice and as her subjects are often queer black people who I’ve found camaraderie in throughout the years. She places black figures in works that honor their hurt, power, and personhood. This desire has traveled with her to Baltimore, and her art continues to act as a space to find ways to navigate our current realities - that has meant exploring escapism, glamor, connection and most recently, grief. Her work has been exhibited in various group shows in Baltimore, D.C and North Carolina.
SOPHIE MAGUIRE - Artist in Residence
Sophie Maguire is an artist and landscape architect. Her practice focuses on storytelling, intimacy between the human & nonhuman, landscape as theater, and the meaning of resiliency. Sophie works through many mediums including, but not limited to, cooking, drawing, collage, embroidery, performance, writing and, most recently, small metal work.
As a designer, Sophie has worked on projects (built and unbuilt) for institutional campuses, public parks, residential sites & gardens, forest restoration, set design and public art installations. Sophie currently practices landscape architecture under the name Princess Pine with longtime friend and veteran gardener, Emily Drury. The studio's practice focuses on ecological horticulture and design of rural landscapes throughout New England.
Currently, Sophie teaches in the department of Landscape Architecture at Morgan State University. Sophie is currently at work on an experimental performance/installation about the cultural history of ‘invasive’ plants (coming in 2025).
SERENITY SMITH-- Artist in Residence
ANIMATION LOVE AFFAIR -- Artist Collective In Residence
Animation Love Affair is a newly established collective of Baltimore-based animators. Graduating together from MICA’s animation program in 2024, they learned from each other’s unique approaches to the medium. With goals to create alternative ways to explore the craft outside of industry, the group slowly developed Animation Love Affair.
These misfit animators work on personal projects, collaborations, and animation-centered events. The collective are currently studio residents at the Crow’s Nest but have long distance paramours across the USA. Together, they spread the love of animation as a practice, throughout the beautiful city of Baltimore & beyond.
YOUNG, GIFTED, & GREEN -- Activists In Residence
Our roots began as a programming initiative within Thursday Network—Greater Washington Urban League Professionals led by LaTricea Adams, Founder, President, and CEO of Young, Gifted and Green.
Our movement started at the heart of the (still ongoing) Flint Water Crisis. We had a passion for change that we simply could not ignore: a city’s water source. Our first project was to support the Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals Chapter by bringing in donations in preparation for a Flint Service Trip, where we helped bring in over 170 water donations.
Although proud of our efforts, we realized that water donations are simply not enough. Real change would only happen by getting to the heart of the issue. Lead poisoning has been an ongoing issue for those, especially in underserved communities. Now that our organization is expanding to involve more issues, our mission is the same. We will not stand by and simply ignore environmental issues impacting our communities.