A three-year, $250,000 grant from the Richard C von Hess Foundation will support artists who will teach alongside Franklin & Marshall College faculty, hold public lectures and events, and exhibit their work for the campus and Lancaster community.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to Tom Cook and everyone at the Richard C von Hess Foundation for their generous support of our new artists-in-residence program,” said F&M President Andrew Rich. “Starting this fall, artists-in-residence will be sharing and exhibiting their craft, guiding and challenging our students, collaborating with our talented faculty, and adding their mark on the creative and thriving arts community that is synonymous with the city of Lancaster. They are an incredible asset to our students and the community.”

The artists in residence supported by the grant will bring perspectives and expertise to complement that of F&M's visual arts faculty, expanding variety and flexibility in course offerings and building mentorship and advising connections for current students.

Mixed-media artist Amy Boone-McCreesh and photographer Idalia Vasquez-Achury have been selected for the residency. Over the next three years, they’ll teach classes and independent studies, exhibit their work in the College’s Winter Visual Arts Center and Phillips Museum, and develop connections within and beyond the Department of Visual Arts.

Associate Professor of Visual Arts Magnolia Laurie (left) advises Yaruusan Altankhuyag '26 in F&M's Winter Visual Arts Center.

Embedding Boone-McCreesh and Vasquez-Achury within the F&M community holds enormous potential for both the artists and the College, says Magnolia Laurie, associate professor and department chair of visual arts at F&M. Students will learn skill and technique in the courses they take with the artists in residence, but they’ll also have opportunities to complete independent studies and solo work that challenges them in unique ways. And while faculty can connect with peers who share similar interests and appreciation for the discipline, they’re also sharing access to F&M’s resources, facilities, and programs that otherwise might be inaccessible to solo artists.

That building of community, both on- and off-campus, is a core aspect of the grant structure; in addition to active collaboration with faculty and students, a major goal is expanding exhibition attendance to include Lancaster residents.

“The Richard C von Hess Foundation’s generous support for our artists-in-residence program will help us to deepen the connection between Franklin & Marshall and our home city of Lancaster. We will both enhance our student experience and further open the doors of our Winter Visual Arts Center to our neighbors,” said Sunita Kramer ’92, F&M’s provost and dean of the faculty. “This is a tangible expression of our long-standing commitment to and relationship with Lancaster, affirming we are a welcoming, accessible hub for knowledge and the arts where creativity, curiosity, and connection can thrive.”

Laurie agrees, noting that the extensive exhibition history of Boone-McCreesh and Vasquez-Achury means F&M will benefit from patrons familiar with their work, but who may have never visited campus.

“One of the defining elements of these residencies is hosting exhibitions, and because our artists are relatively regional (Baltimore and Philadelphia), we have the opportunity to engage with communities within and beyond Lancaster,” she said. “We’re bringing these professionals to campus, but we’re also bringing their communities with them, and we’re hoping they’ll consider creating work that is based around communities here.”

Boone-McCreesh and Vasquez-Achury will begin their residencies on campus this fall.

Meet F&M’s 2026-2028 Artists in Residence

Amy Boone-McCreesh is a mixed-media artist whose solo and group exhibitions have been featured in galleries and institutions across the country. The Baltimore-based artist has taught visual art for two decades, including appointments at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Dickinson College, and Towson University. She also served as visiting assistant professor of art and art history at F&M during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Boone-McCreesh has completed residencies and fellowships at Hamiltonian Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA; and at Loghaven, in Knoxville, TN. She is a two-time recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award and has been named a finalist and semi-finalist of the Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize. She earned a master of fine arts from Towson University and a bachelor of fine arts from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.

In addition to teaching drawing and design, Boone-McCreesh will serve as advisor and mentor for F&M students completing independent studies.

 

Idalia Vasquez-Achury is a lens-based media artist whose solo and group exhibitions have been featured in galleries and institutions around the world. The Colombian-born, Philadelphia-based artist has taught photography at multiple institutions, including appointments at Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University and at Arcadia University.

Vasquez-Achury has completed residencies at the Tilt Institute of Contemporary Art and the Fitler Club in Philadelphia. She is the winner of the 97th Annual at The Print Center and the Blake Bradford Fitler Club Artist-in-Residence Award, and her work is held in the collections of The Forman Initiative and Temple University’s Charles Library. She earned a master's of fine art from Temple University and a bachelor of arts from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI, after transitioning from a career in graphic design.

In addition to teaching introductory and advanced digital and analog photography courses, Vasquez-Achury will serve as an independent study faculty advisor.