artist bio

Brittany M. Watkins is an interdisciplinary artist based in the Southern United States. Born and raised in Carrollton, Georgia, where she remained, until relocating in 2013 to attend graduate school at Florida State University (FSU). During this time, she served as the treasurer of The League of Graduate Artists and became instrumental in establishing multiple artist-run spaces and pop-up exhibitions. In addition to her contributions to the local art community, Watkins received departmental honors for her installation work in 2014 via the Sculpture Area Award and again in 2015 for artwork that places weight on social justice issues (The Jim Boone Endowed Art Scholarship). Since obtaining her Master’s Degree of Fine Art in 2016, Watkins has held several solo exhibitions, participated in artistic collaborations, in addition to curating and jurying group shows. She received the Juried Panel Prize ($25,000) in ArtFields 2017 for her installation titled: <Accept [(Self) + Elsewhere] and was later invited to create a public art installation as a featured artist at TRAX Visual Art Center during ArtFields 2018. Mentionable residency participation and grants include a merit grant to attend The Vermont Studio Center in May 2018, followed by an eight-week invitational solo-residency with an honorarium and solo show at 701 Center for Contemporary Art. Solo exhibitions and large-scale installations have also been displayed at The University of West Georgia’s Bobick Gallery (Carrollton, GA), M.Chapel Projects (Sarasota, FL), 621 Gallery (Tallahassee, FL) and The Museum of Fine Arts at FSU (Tallahassee, FL). Watkins served as the president and exhibitions coordinator of 621 Gallery in Tallahassee, FL from February 2018 to May of 2019 while teaching Contemporary Art & Design and Digital Foundations at Florida State University. She recently completed a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences and has work on display at Park Ave. Studios in Savannah, GA. GUT/CUT is a duo-show with artist Kelly Boehmer on display through June 2019. Watkins is scheduled to exhibit in MINT Gallery's Installation Exhibition in October of 2019 as she continues to book shows through 2020.

AWARDS, RESIDENCIES, & COMMISSIONS

2019   Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences, two-week residency, Rabun Gap, GA 

2018   701 Center for Contemporary Art, Awarded six-week residency, solo show,

            $1650 honorarium, Columbia, SC, August-September 2018

2018   Vermont Studio Center, one-month sculpture residency, May-June 2018 

2018   Merit Grant & Work Exchange Award, Vermont Studio Centers, May 2018 

2018   ArtFields Public Art Commission, TRAX Visual Art Center, April 2018

2017   ArtFields Juried Panel Prize, <Accept [(Self) + Elsewhere], Lake City SC, $25,000.00

2016   International Sculpture Competition Nominee 

2016   Jim Boone Endowment for The Arts, Florida State University *Weight on social justice issues, Tallahassee, FL

2015   Sculpture Area Award, Departmental Scholarship, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

SOLO EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS

2019   Untitled Installation, MINT Gallery, Atlanta, GA October 2019*

2019   GUT/CUT, with Kelly Boehmer, Park Ave. Studios, Savannah, GA, May-June

2018   701 Center for Contemporary Art, Brittany M. Watkins, September-October 

2018   621 Gallery, & Co. with Tenee Hart, Tallahassee, FL, May 

2018   ArtFields 2018: Featured Artist, Public Art Commission, Lake City Creative Alliance, April 

2018   M.Chapel Projects, Something to Have, Sarasota, FL, January 

2017   Pólar Festival, [ S O U R C E ] site 2, Stöðvarfjörður Iceland, 2017

2017   Tallahassee Glassworks, Object Relations with Gisela Fernandez, Tallahassee, FL 

2017   <Accept [(Self) + Elsewhere, 2017 ArtFields Competition, Lake City, SC

2017   Space2; Space Removed, @the SH/ed/, Tallahassee, FL

2016   Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University MFA Graduating Artist, [The-Space- Between], Tallahassee, FL

2016   SOUP experimental, Lucia; Not-Self, Main Gallery, Tallahassee, FL

2014   Working Method Contemporary, Intimate Spaces, Looking Into; HER, Tallahassee, FL

2013   Kibbee Gallery, Juried Alumni & Faculty Exhibition, Untitled from An Internal Existence, Atlanta, Georgia

2012   Bobick Gallery, An Internal Existence, The University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019   MINT Gallery's Installation Exhibition, Atlanta, GA October 2019*

2019   Museum of Fine Arts, Faculty Show, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

2018   621 Gallery, The Art of Resistance, Curated by Cynthia Hollis, Tallahassee, FL

2018   Museum of Fine Arts, Faculty Show, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

2017   Nasty Women Exhibition, Knockdown Center, I am Name Brand; A Role, Brooklyn, NY

2017   Nasty Women Exhibition, SMALLS Gallery, I don’t even wait, said: Trump, Tallahassee

2016   Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, Phyllis Strauss Gallery, Juried Exhibition, "I am Name Brand; A Role," Tallahassee, FL

2015   Aqua Art Miami, International Contemporary Art Fair, Miami, FL

2015   Rape Culture, Mattress #1, Working Method Contemporary, Tallahassee, FL

2015   More Than A Body, I am Name Brand; A Role, Oglesby Union Gallery, Tallahassee, FL

2014   Tallahassee Mural Project, (in collaboration with Elise Thompson) The Plant

2013   All Florida Ceramics Invitational, South Gallery, Florida State College at Jacksonville

2013   The Dean’s Advisory Board Show, Working Method Contemporary, Tallahassee, FL

2012   Juried Exhibition, Bobick Gallery, The University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA

2011   25th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Douglasville Arts Center, Douglasville, GA

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

2019   CREATE! International Art Magazine, Issue 13, Curated by Margaret Winslow

2018   Free Times: Art Review, Installation Invites Visitors to Explore the Psyche; Inner Reality, Tom Mack,

            October 3, free-times.com/arts

2018   Free Times: 8 Days a Week, Brittany M. Watkins, Columbia Craft Ocktoberfest…, Sep. 26

2018   Playlist: Features, Volume 3, Issue 4, Unrivaled Displays, Lindsay S. Buchanan, Pages 4-5

2018   Artfields 2017 Catalogue, 2017 Winners + 2017 Accepted Artist, Page 284

2017   Florida State University College of Fine Art News, Art Alumna Brittany Watkins, ArtFields 2017 Juried Prize Winner, June 

2017   The Times Georgian, Local Artist Wins ArtFields Competition, May 17, 2017, A11

2012   The West Georgian, “Brittany Watkins Molds her Future,” Emily Deaver, Volume 64- Issue 11, artists perspective