Studio Artists
Featuring Our Current In-Studio Artists, Scholarship Opportunities & Memberships
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Meagan O’Brien is an artist working from Revere, MA. She loves storytelling, traveling (though learned to love to be at home during the pandemic!), and bright, joyful colors. After receiving a BFA in Design from Alfred University she quickly began building relationships with many kinds of clients. She has worked with city agencies, start-ups, and corporations over the last decade. Recently you can find her on a ladder or lift completing large scale community murals, or at her iPad making commercial illustrations.
Current In-Studio Artists
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Maria Fonseca is a contemporary portrait photographer specializing in women’s portraiture and luxury photoshoots custom-designed to enhance your innate beauty. She is an Arlington-based Award Winning Portrait Photographer dedicated to helping women reconnect with their innate beauty by capturing their elegance and strength in stunning imagery. She launched Maria Fonseca Photography with a mission to bring women on a transformational journey through a luxurious portraiture experience resulting in museum-grade images to remind them every day of their value.
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Allison Rabin is a proud member of the Medford Sewing Group and an Art Therapist currently working in Salem, MA. She began making art around the young age of 4, when her local grocery store hosted coloring contests in her hometown of Evanston, IL. After her husband developed an allergy to paint and glue following a bout of COVID, she sought out her own studio space at Arts Collaborative Medford to continue creating paintings and collages. Allison is a passionate painter and a member of Drawn Together in Salem, which gathers virtually every week. Allison is a multidisciplinary artist who currently enjoys using found material to make collages and mosaics. Since 2020, she has been collecting sea pottery which she finds on beaches on the North Shore.
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Christine Willis has always created. Her childhood in upstate New York was filled with all manner of creative pursuits inspired by her family and her proximity to nature.
Christine continues this approach with a modern, multidisciplinary studio that incorporates textiles, block printing, pattern-making, ceramics, weaving, and photography. Christine is most inspired by travel and nature and her artwork is centered around energy and the cycle of life, using symbols and signs to memorialize her lived experiences. She has traveled the world, finding inspiration in the colors, textures, and patterns of everyday life from India to Thailand to Mexico.
Christine earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from Lesley University. She loves big earrings, bandanas, and anything handmade, vintage, or heirloom. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, two children, one cat, one dog, and three fish.
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It has been my longtime dream to create one of a kind wearable art jewelry.
Lotus, because true beauty starts from within. When we find our core, what makes us truly happy and what makes our souls joyful we bloom. Sometimes that takes a long and winding journey, through the deepest darkest mud.
Star, because once we see the wonder in ourselves, then we see the wonders of our endless possibilities. Like the stars in the sky, we shine.
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I paint to understand myself, while also to understand others. I find that what we make can be a reflective period in the present and future tense. Creating has always been a cathartic experience for me. Being eager to grasp at feelings I couldn’t quite put words to - I could put paint to. I tend to use my mediums by picking subconscious narratives. I feel more connected when I don’t give it a linear narrative but leave it up to connect and call to the viewer on its own; then separating myself to be my own viewer. It helps me find peace in vunerability, coping with intense emotions while also having a silly and colorful feel - the goal for me is to truly express and offer the viewer a safe place to feel deeply alongside others.
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I create because of the community that it brings. Art is such a universal language- as someone who wasn't very vocal as a child it felt like such a connection. An invisible string that made me feel less lonely. I have wanted to extend that kindness since. I have painted in a way to say " I'm here and this is why you should care" to keep a hope out that it resonates with someone like me.
I hope to work on larger scale projects and have some guidance with showing and promoting my work. I want to achieve more large scale projects. I have been trying hard to apply for large scale murals or public works but I feel I lack the examples or communication on how I would be able to achieve it. I hope I can get my work out of what I feel is still a bit of a juvenile phase and work towards evolving and pushing it further.
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My paintings explore color and movement while paying homage to the natural world. My process is organic and for me, my paintings are about the act of creating as much as they are about the finished product. When I start a painting I am inspired by something specific - a color, object, or texture - but as the painting develops it takes on a life of its own and tells me what needs to happen next. The finished painting rarely looks anything like what I initially envisioned, but it is the journey and surprise ending that gets me excited to start the next painting.
I am a Lowell, MA native but currently live in Medford, MA with my husband, two little girls, and dog Matilda. My studio is located in the Jerome Street Studios in Medford, MA (visitors are welcome by appointment only).
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Taryn Johnson is an illustrator and animator based in Somerville, MA. She brings a playful appreciation of nature to her work through bright colors, joyful shapes, and a touch of imagination. With each project, she hopes to spark curiosity and wonder for our planet and the life that lives here.
Taryn graduated from Hampshire College with a BA in digital media, animation, and a splash (literally!) of marine biology, which continues to influence her work today. After beginning her career at FableVision Studios, she transitioned to full-time freelancing in 2015, specializing in illustration and animation for children's publishing and digital media.
When not creating art, Taryn can be found exploring the outdoors—hiking, skiing, or surfing along the New England coast. Her deep love for the ocean and nature continues to inspire and influence her creative projects.
To collaborate or discover more of Taryn’s work, visit tarynjohnson.com or follow her creative journey on Instagram @tarynosaurus
Former Studio Artists
ACM Studio Artist Application
We welcome you to apply for a studio space!
Available Studio Space - STUDIO ROOM 208A
Studio 208A is available as a shared studio to be occupied by three artists.
To apply for a studio space, please complete the application that follows. This is a 13 question application that we estimate to take about 1 hour to complete, plus a short 5-minute self identification survey.
We will consider applications on a rolling basis and will get back to you within four weeks or less of your submission to let you know if you qualify for an interview. If your needs fit our availabilty, we will set up an interview (via Zoom) with you. We will give you our decision within about two weeks of the interview. If we accept you, we will give you a Sublicensee agreement to sign and return within a week, along with two months rent. You will be able to move in when we have a signed contract and your payment clears, at which time we will contact you so you can pick up a key for your studio and get a quick building orientation.
We will ask you for some information you may want to prepare ahead of time:
Average hours per week you expect to use the studio
Two non-familial personal references
Skills/contributions you would be willing to share with our artistic community
3-5 representative images of artwork you might make in an ACM studio space
Louise Musto-Choate Scholarship
Louise Musto-Choate was a multitalented artist and Medford resident who was deeply involved in the arts community. She was also one of the primary forces behind the formation of Arts Collaborative Medford (ACM). We have set up a scholarship fund in Louise’s memory to support an artist who needs financial assistance to afford studio space. Part of ACM's mission and the goal of this scholarship is to uplift and empower voices that can be overlooked due to inequitable power structures in our society. The right candidate will be an artist in a vulnerable financial position, seeking support to grow their practice.
The LMC Scholarship Will Provide:
A 60 sq foot studio space* for 12 months at no cost; 24/7 access to the building
An annual stipend of $350
A place in the ACM community, to learn alongside other artists
Connection to mentorship and network contacts that are dependent on your artistic goals
The co-creation of a final capstone project of choice, designed with you to help meet a specific milestone
Please Note: *The studio space is located on the second floor, which is wheelchair accessible via lift
