Past Resident Artists
Amir Campbell
Amir received a 2021 Mural Arts’ Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists. In 2001, Amir was part of the Cheyney University’s delegation that traveled to Durban, South Africa, with the United Nations for the World Conference against Racism, Bias, and Stigma. Read more at Amir Campbell: Cheyney University Showed Me My Purpose, 5 February, 2021. Amir has completed portraits and paintings for celebrities, politicians, and historical figures, including Jamie Foxx – Actor and R&B Artist, Portrait; Spike Lee - Legendary Filmmaker, Portrait; Sheryl Lee Ralph - Actress and Aids Activist, Portrait; Governor Ed Rendell, Portrait; Dr. Sonia Sanchez – Legendary Poet, Led the Black Arts Movement, Portrait; Congressman Curt Weldon, Pennsylvania, Portrait; Congressman Chaka Fattah, Us Congressman, Portrait; Wallace C. Arnold – Former President of Cheyney University, Portrait; Judge Elkin Tolliver – District Court Justice, Portrait; Ahmir “Questlove”Thompson – Drummer for “The Roots”, Portrait.
Yixuan Pan
Yixuan Pan was born and raised in the land of fish and rice, Hunan, China. Growing up speaking Mandarin Chinese, then having traveled and moved frequently, Pan has decided to keep being confused about language. Her lack of knowledge has become the creative fuel that powers her curiosity and explorations. By dislocating language from its context and form, her work questions the linguistic structures people learn and unlearn. Pan employs various approaches—dumpling making, poetry composing, swimming pool exercising, lollipop casting, soap bubble blowing, music therapy operating, window cleaning, love letter whispering, anti-choir practice, and more—to imagine an alternative space for cultural hierarchy, the comfort of identity, power dynamics and transparency. She is the author of It -A Skillful Amateur's Records on Glass. Pan wants to be a cook when she grows up.
David Guinn
David Guinn is an artist based in Philadelphia PA. A graduate of Columbia University in New York City, he was originally trained as an architect. Since 1998 David has painted over 35 murals throughout Philadelphia and other cities worldwide including Amman Jordan, Montreal, Quebec, New York, Washington DC, and Chicago. His work has been noted in books, newspapers, magazines, on television, and radio, including, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Spin Magazine, La Presse, Montréal, and WHYY TV Philadelphia. His smaller scale paintings have been shown in galleries and museums including The Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia PA), and Woodmere Art Museum (Philadelphia PA), The Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design, and The Rosenwald-wolf Gallery at University of the Arts (Philadelphia PA). He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including an being a finalist for the prestigious Knight Arts Challenge 2013, a finalist for the Pew Foundation fellowship in the Arts 2012, and being awarded an Independence Foundation Fellowship and a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Fellowship in the Arts. In 2012, David founded Freewall, an outdoor space at 1214 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, dedicated to promoting innovative mural art.
Kelly Cave
Kelly Cave is a working artist born and raised in Princeton Junction, New Jersey. She received her BFA from Syracuse University with a degree in Fiber and Material Studies with Minors in Sculpture and Visual Culture. She completed her MFA at the University of Cincinnati, in the sculpture department and then served as Artist in Residence in sculpture at Northwest Missouri State University. She has attended residencies at Salem Art Works, Franconia Sculpture Park, and the Scottish Sculpture Workshop. These opportunities, in combination with her teaching experience, have been a catalyst for her interest in travel and desire to connect with people. Today, Cave is the sculpture shop technician at Princeton University and continues being a traveling and teaching artist that resides in Philadelphia.
