Mo Kessler (they/them) is a queer Southern sculptor, installation artist, and community organizer.
Centering on the social and environmental landscape of Appalachia and the South, Mo’s artwork is focused on labor as both an action and a movement, working-class visibility, and the power of objects made by hand. This work ranges in medium and scale. Mo uses regional craft techniques and the transformation of used domestic materials as a means to investigate place, class, and the politics of disposability.
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Education
2018-21 – MFA in Studio Arts – Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2003-07 – BFA in Sculpture – Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Teaching
2022 – Fundamentals of Design 2, Adjunct Professor, NOVA Woodbridge, Woodbridge, VA
2022 – Drawing 1, Adjunct Professor, NOVA Woodbridge, Woodbridge, VA
2021 – Fundamentals of Design 1, Adjunct Professor, NOVA Woodbridge, Woodbridge, VA
2021 – 3D Design (Online), Instructor of Record, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2020 – 3D Design (Hybrid/Online), Instructor of Record, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2020 – LIVLAB, Co-Instructor, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2019 – Intro to Sculpture, Instructor of Record, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
Teaching Assistant
2019 – 2D Design, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2018 – Intro to Ceramics, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2005-07 – Intro to Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
2005 – Drawing & Illustrating the Figure, Maryland Institute College of Art Pre-College, Baltimore, MD
2004-07 – Foundations & Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2023 – CHEAP WORTH, Frostburg State University, MD
2022 – Exercises in Dependency, University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, SC
2020 – Lapwork and Leftovers, Kitchenshop, Dillsboro, NC
2008 – Artifacts, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC
Two-Person Shows
2021 – Whatever Coming and Going Is, Revolve, Asheville, NC
2009 – Winter Art Show Richmond Studio Project, Richmond, KY. – Group Show
2007 – Selected Works The Garage at Biltmore, Asheville, NC
2007 – Layered Insights The Dripolator Coffeehouse, Asheville, NC
2009 – Richmond Gallery Hop Curriers Music, Richmond, KY
2006 – Repercussions Load of Fun Studios, Baltimore, MD
Group Shows
2022 – Building Community, Building Power: Art as Resistance, Swords Into Ploughshares Peace Center and Gallery, Detroit, MI
2021 – NOVA Faculty Show, NVCC Woodbridge, Woodbridge, VA
2021 – Fiction of the Real, Ramp Space, Asheville, NC
2021 – WCU MFA Group Show, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC
2021 – MFA Thesis Exhibition, WCU Fine Arts Museum, Cullowhee, NC
2020 – Hope Is A Horizon Revolve, Asheville, NC
2020 – Still Relevant Happy Gallery Chicago, Chicago, IL
2020 – ArtFields Lake City, SC
2019 – Next Wave IV, MFA Candidacy Exhibition Revolve, Asheville, NC
2019 – Appalachia Futures West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
2019 – STREET/ART Push Gallery, Asheville, NC
2019 – SoundWave Bascom Art Gallery, Highlands, NC
2018 – Rad and Unexpected Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2018 – Queering The Mountains Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2011 – Dirty Laundry Occupy Greensboro, Greensboro NC
2007 – All Member Juried Exhibition Greensboro Center for Visual Arts, Greensboro, NC
2007 – The Summer Salon Greensboro Center for Visual Arts, Greensboro, NC
2007 – Commencement Exhibition Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore MD
2006 – Just off the Path Hyattstown Mill Arts Project, Hyattstown, MD
2006 – Wondering Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
2004 – Freshman Exhibition Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Residencies
2022 – Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT
2020 – Founder, Shelter In Place (SiP), Online Residency
2004 – Elsewhere Living Museum, Greensboro, NC
Curation
2020 – SiP Residency Online Show, shelterinplace.art
2011 – Occupy Art Fest, Occupy Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
2008-09 – Curator & Gallery Director, Dripolator, Asheville, NC
2008 – Guest Curator, Survivor’s Art Show, Our Voice Organization, Asheville, NC
Public Art Projects
2019-20 – UKKU, Arts in Embassies, US Department of State permanent artwork commission for the US Embassy, Niamey, Niger, Western Carolina University School of Art and Design/Workingman Collective, Collaborating Artist for Courtyard Sculpture. Completed Fall 2021. 185K commission budget.
2018-20 – Du Quotidien, Arts in Embassies, US Department of State commission for the US Embassy, Niamey, Niger, Abdou Moumouni University, Niamey Niger/Western Carolina University School of Art and Design/Workingman Collective Collaborating Artist for Interior Art Work Installation. Completed Fall 2021. 100K commission budget.
2019 – Glue: Celebrating the Unseen Women of Appalachia, panel discussion and community engagement event through Z Smith Reynolds Inclusive Public Art Grant, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, NC. Co-Organizer.
2019 – LIVLAB Townhalls 1 & 2, community engagement event through the Z Smith Reynolds Inclusive Public Art Grant, Sylva Public Library, NC. Co-Organizer2019 Draw Sylva: Community Sketchbook Project, Sylva, NC. Collaborative Artist.
Lectures & Public Engagement
2022 – Workshop, Making with what you have, University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, SC
2019 – Visiting Artist, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC
2019 – Panel Moderator, WCU LivLab Presents Glue: Celebrating the Unseen Women of Appalachia, Cherokee, NC
2019 – Presenter, Art & Organizing: Expanding What is Possible through Changing the Frame, Graduate Research Symposium, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2017 – Panelist, Women in Greensboro: Communicating for Social Change, Harriet Elliott Lecture Series, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
2016 -Keynote Speaker, Food + Equity + Co-ops: a recipe for a food system that works for everyone, Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2016 -Presenter, Breaking Down the Silos, CommonBound Conference, Buffalo, NY
2014 – Panelist, Stories from the Front Lines, Hard Times Are Fighting Times Conference, Durham, NC
2008-10 – Independent Portfolio Consulting. Richmond KY, Asheville NC, Greensboro NC
2008 – Guest Art Critic, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC
Media Publications
2022 – Dinner Bell Magazine vol. 3, Featured Artist
2021 – God Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise Zine, Featured Artist
2020 – Dinner Bell Magazine vol. 2, Featured Artist
2020 – Power Clash, “Remote Residencies with Mo Kessler of SiP Residency”
2020 – Reject Collective, Issue 1, Featured Artist
2019 – Blue Ridge Public Radio, “Memories Appalachian Women Are Worth Preserving”
Awards
2021 – Windgate University Fellows Scholarship, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2019 – Windgate University Fellows Scholarship, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2018 – Graduate Scholarship, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
2003 – Academic and Merit Scholarships, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Grants Received
2022 – BG&E Small Business Grant, Lead grant writer for Paradise Labs, $20,000
2020 – Graduate Summer Research Grant (individual), Western Carolina University, $3,000
2020 – UNC Systems Undergraduate Research Grant, Lead grant writer for LivLab Artist Collective, $12,000
2020 - Campus Theme Grant, Western Carolina University, Lead grant writer for LivLab Artist Collective, $1,000
2019 – Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design’s Catalyst Grant, Lead grant writer for LivLab Artist Collective, $5,500
2018 – Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Inclusive Public Art Grant, Semi-finalist, Lead grant writer for LivLab Artist Collective, $5,000
Professional Affiliation
2020-2021 – Advisory Board Member, 100 Days in Appalachia,
2020-2021 – Founder, Shelter in Place Online Artist Residency, shelterinplace.art
2019-Current – Member, College Art Association
2018-2021 – Founding Member, LIVLAB Artist Collective, Cullowhee, NC
2012-2018 – Board Member, Beloved Community Center, Greensboro, NC
2016-2018 – Founding Board Member, Greensboro Radio Project, Greensboro, NC
2015-17 – Board Co-Chair, Central Carolina Worker Justice Center, Greensboro, NC
2011-2017 – Founding Board Member and Vice President, Renaissance Community Cooperative, Greensboro, NC
2011-2012 – Founding Member, Youth & Student Coalition for Police Accountability, Greensboro, NC
2009-10 – Founder, Richmond Studio Project, Richmond, KY