MVAAC selects first Artist-in-Residence

MVAAC Artist-in-Residence, Sarah Fitzgerald

MOUNT VERNON-LISBON -- The Mount Vernon Area Arts Council (MVAAC) Board of Directors recently approved Sarah Fitzgerald as its first Artist-in-Residence. Fitzgerald, a Mount Vernon resident, has been focusing on her own artwork since retiring in 2021 from teaching art at Washington Elementary School. 

“MVAAC received some excellent applications,” said MVAAC board member Dr. Tiffany Carr who brought the idea to the arts council. “We selected Sarah because she has a lot of good ideas for involving the community in art. We know from her work with elementary students that she’ll come up with ways to draw attention to the importance of art in Mount Vernon and Lisbon.”

According to Carr, Artist-in-Residence programs are intended to help artists professionally as well as provide the community more involvement with the visual arts. 

The Artist-in-Residence is recognized with an annual stipend of $500 and a materials support amount of $250 per annum. In addition, MVAAC will provide a complimentary booth at the September 23 Lincoln Highway Arts Festival. 

Responsibilities of the Artist-in-Residence include creating and displaying an original piece of art and organizing at least one community outreach program to celebrate the visual arts. “Residencies are meant to foster shared ideas and new ways of interacting between the host community and the artist,” says Carr. 

The Artist-in-Residence complements the Mount Vernon Poet Laureate program that MVAAC initiated in 2019. 

Established in 2004, MVAAC is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization whose mission is to increase the knowledge, understanding, cooperation, appreciation and practice of the arts in the Mount Vernon-Lisbon area.