Incubator Studio Program

Grow your studio practice in a vibrant, affordable residency space.

About the McGuffey Art Center Incubator Program

The Incubator Studio program began over 10 years ago as a way to give emerging artists a place to grow in their studio practice. The members of the studio are chosen through an application process and have use of the space for one year. The Incubator artists gain experience during that year by being in McGuffey Art Center and meeting other artists, sharing their own skills, working on projects in the building and creating within quality studio time. There are opportunities to go on field trips, attend art openings, meet visiting artists, follow studio tours and engage in critiques during the year. Other opportunities include grant applications, art show open calls, collaboration work, etc. that may further their artistic endeavors.

The goal of the Incubator Studio Program is to promote the progress of up to 6 emerging artists, by offering them an inexpensive studio space for 1 year (July 1 - Jun 30), during which they will receive support, encouragement, advice, and inspiration from the membership at McGuffey Art Center. As an incubator member, artists will be an integral part of the McGuffey Art Center community and will work on a committee doing tasks such as hanging artwork, hosting openings or creating marketing materials.

Renting an incubator studio requires less of a time and financial commitment than a full McGuffey membership (10 hours a week of studio time is required instead of 17.5 for full membership) and can be worked around a full-time job. During their time in the program, incubator artists will be encouraged to develop a body of work and move on to the next step in their journey as an artist. These artists will have an opportunity at the end of their residency year to showcase their works in a group show on the first floor of McGuffey Art Center.

The applications for 2025-26 Incubator Program will be available January 27-March 10

Meet the 2024 -2025 Incubators

Christine Benninger

Chrissy is returning to her studio practice after a 30 year hiatus during which she prioritized survival over her physical and creative needs.

Today, Chrissy’s work is about expressing her reality of living with an invisible illness while exploring what it means to be an artist in her 50's. She uses watercolor and its free flowing characteristics to represent the physical and emotional symptoms of living with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. While using her art to heal, her ultimate is goal is to spread awareness about the prevalence of autoimmunity and its impact on one’s existence.

When she’s not painting at her home studio or the Incubator studio, she’s working, spending time with her partner, or playing with her grandson, Xavier.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM

Katie Knight

Katie Knight has been making art since she was 3 years old and doing commissions professionally since she was 18. The act of creating art can be a meditation in the present or an escape from the circumstances of reality; either way, the artist loses themselves and re-emerges with a new understanding.

Katie invites viewers to immerse themselves into her landscapes, animal portraits, and abstracts to experience the intangible, and to gain what they need within that moment - whether this be presence, or escapism. She strives to create paintings that are accessible to a wide range of people - and hopes to inspire viewers to better understand and appreciate art. Acrylic paints, water-mixable oil paints, and watercolors are currently her main media.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM

Dean Lhospital

Dean is a photographer who lives in Charlottesville with his wife, two sons, two dogs and cat. Hailing from the Midwest, he enjoys composing photos of natural settings, street scenes, and other impromptu scenes of beauty, vitality, and authenticity.

He has won more than a dozen awards in international photography contests in both amateur and professional categories, including the IPA International Photography Awards, ND Photo Awards, ReFocus Photo Awards, and the Fine Art Photography Awards.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM or WEBSITE

Gabrielle Miller

Gabrielle Miller is a painter and fiber artist born in New Jersey. In 2024, she received her BFA in Studio Art at James Madison University. Post-graduation, she is eager to immerse herself in the artistic community at Mcguffey Art Center while continuing to exhibit her work throughout Virginia.

Gabrielle primarily works with oil paint and hand-stitched embroidery, exploring an intimate view of female identity and feminism. Her art often features self-portraiture, animals, and food as symbols to explore self-image, desire, and sexual autonomy. She straddles the line between the beautiful and the grotesque. Gabrielle currently lives and works in Virginia.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM

Paul Norton

Seeking to find clarity of expression through the marriage of past and present, concept and craftsmanship, Paul Norton seeks a multimedia practice which integrates both contemporary and traditional ways of artistry. After receiving his BA from Bennington College in 2023, Norton has dedicated himself to studies in draftsmanship, classical sculpture, metalworking, poetry, performance art, videography, and mememaking.

His recently-developed techniques of drawing reach from the murky depths of the abstract to rediscover the figurative underpinnings of form-making.

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM

Audrey Parks

Audrey Parks grew up on Broadhead Mountain Farm in Albemarle County. She is a graduate of the Area Program in Poetry Writing at the University of Virginia, where she also studied Arabic Language and Literature.

Audrey co-hosts Carry the Zero on 91.1 WTJU. Her poetry is driven by place and by play, which Arji Cakouros calls "the spontaneous exploration of sensation."

TO VIEW MORE: INSTAGRAM