Miami Valley artist chosen for Prestigious Artist in Residency in Vallauris, France

Mayumi Makino Kiefer, of Troy, has been chosen to participate in a residency in Vallauris, France. She was selected from among hundreds of artists from around the world. The group will collaborate to produce works of ceramic arts, and individual exhibits as well. She will attend the residency from May 19th through June 27th. The A.I.R. Vallauris accommodates several artists at a given time for a period of one to two months in its residence and studios. A selection committee evaluates applicants based on their artistic experience, merit and project proposal. Over approximately a ten-year period, over 150 gifted artists from 30 different nationalities have participated in the A.I.R. Vallauris program.

Vallauris, (Pronounced Va-Lorie), France is the former home, and regular summer home of Picasso, who left his usual artistic direction to work in the ceramic arts for about 7 years between 1948 and 1955. Vallauris has hundreds of years of history as one of the most productive ceramic arts centers in Europe. The city is home to many of Picasso’s ceramic statues and other works, as well as home to the Picasso College of Art.

Vallauris is located about 3 miles east of Cannes and Antibes, 5 miles west of Nice, near Monaco on the French Riviera, at the base of the Alps on the Cote D’Azure on the Mediterranean Se, and has about the same population of Troy.

Mayumi’s private project will be to create a ceramic bas-relief 3-dimensional tile installation commemorating the artistic exchange between Japan (Mayumi’s birth country) and France through the works of such artists as Toshusai Sharaku and Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. Lautrec was one of the earlier influences of Picasso’s work.

Mayumi is a graduate of Ohio Northern University, and graduated cum laude with a BFA in Studio Arts – Ceramics. While a student at Ohio Northern, Mayumi was a recipient of the 2012 Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (AICUO) Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts (EVA). Mayumi has received commendations from the Ohio House and Senate for her work in the arts, as well as her contributions to the community. Mayumi currently works with the ESL staff at Concord Elementary in Troy, and helps feed hundreds of children through the Artists Against Hunger program, and sits on the Board of the Troy Arts Alliance.