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
2020 Springbreak Show Independent Artist Finalist, NYC
2019 Foundwork Inaugural Prize Finalist, NYC
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, Columbia, SC
2018 Vermont Studio Center, one-month sculpture residency, Johnson, VT
2018 Merit Grant & Work Exchange Award, Vermont Studio Centers, Johnson, VT
2018 ArtFields Public Art Commission, TRAX Visual Art Center, April 2018, Lake City, SC
2017 ArtFields Juried Panel Prize, <Accept [(Self) + Elsewhere], Lake City SC
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
2020 The Shape of Things, Curated by Wim Roeff, 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia, SC
2019 Alumni Biennale, Bobick Gallery, The University of Georgia, Carrollton, GA
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 Foundwork Featured Artist, Guest Curator: Aaron Levi Garvey, December 2019, foundwork.art
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