Mei Chen was one of just six artists selected from a pool of 276 applicants worldwide for the 2025/26 Kala Fellowship, which provides studio access, funding, and opportunities to showcase new work in the Bay Area’s dynamic contemporary art scene.
During her month-long residency, Mei Chen immersed herself in Kala’s uniquely interdisciplinary environment, experimenting across media and techniques. She worked in the print studio, digital lab, and sculpture facilities, developing an innovative body of research that bridges traditional practices—such as mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock printing) and letterpress - with embroidery and ceramics. Her exploration moves fluidly between two-dimensional prints and three-dimensional installation, culminating in a large-scale work (still in progress) to be exhibited in the Kala Fellows’ group show in June 2026.
Equally important, the residency connected Mei Chen to the wider Berkeley arts community, where she collaborated with fellow artists, exchanged ideas with printmakers, and drew inspiration from the city’s vibrant creative culture. Reflecting on the experience, she described it as both “generative and transformative,” opening new directions in her ongoing investigation of materiality, tradition, and contemporary practice.
For her students at AUR, this fellowship represents more than just personal achievement. Mei Chen’s work is deeply rooted in the dialogue between cultural heritage and contemporary expression - an approach that resonates with AUR’s liberal arts mission and Rome’s own layered artistic context. By integrating her new research and techniques into her teaching, she will offer students fresh perspectives on how traditional methods can be reimagined for contemporary art-making, encouraging them to push boundaries in their own practice.
Mei Chen, who joined AUR’s Fine Arts faculty in Spring 2024, is already recognized as an award-winning international artist whose work spans printmaking, textiles, and installation. Her Kala Fellowship underscores not only her standing in the global art world but also AUR’s commitment to bringing students into direct contact with practicing artists at the forefront of their fields.
As she prepares to bring her new insights back into the classroom and studio, AUR students can look forward to a richer, more expansive engagement with the possibilities of contemporary art - guided by a professor who continues to challenge and redefine the conversation between past and present, tradition and innovation.
