Previous Shows: 2014: Fresh as Form: Melanie Parke

Melanie Parke was born in 1966 in Indiana where her mother raises horses and her father researches Abolitionist histories. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she studied performance, voice, philospohy and painting. After art school Melanie moved to be near the fond memories of her family cottage in Leland, Michigan where she waited tables and tried to figure out a way to make a life painting. In the early 90’s she proposed 30 artist in residence programs in National Parks and initiated 8 programs that exist today. Every summer she spends several weeks on the remote North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. She lives in the tiny town of Chief, Michigan, population 13, with her husband, Richard Kooyman, who is also a painter.