Past Resident

Mary Ellen Childs

Mary Ellen Childs is a composer and multi-sensory artist who creates distinctive sonic worlds influenced by place, sensory experience, and passages of time. She often writes for specific environments or architecture, such as Stone Steel Wood Glass Light, commissioned for the Chicago Architectural Biennial, inspired by and performed in the Farnsworth House, a glass house designed by Mies van der Rohe. Her immersive installation NORTH, based on her time in the Arctic, was presented at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN, and the Weitz Center for Creativity in Northfield, MN. She has been creating a body of work combining the ear and the nose, and recently premiered two sound/scent installations: Aromusic at Proyecto ‘ace in Buenos Aires and Smell Hear at Ryad in Fes, Morocco. 

This residency is supported by Artist Communities Alliance’s (ACA) McKnight Artist Residencies Consortium. This partnership between ACA and the McKnight Foundation supports selected residency program partners in developing fair and just policies, and provides McKnight Artist Fellows with residency opportunities at these partner programs. This consortium aims to support the development of residency environments where any artist can thrive.

Website: facebook.com/maryellen.childs

Image credit:
Laura Bianchi courtesy the Bogliasco Foundation