2022 Bethany Fellows
Join us in welcoming our Fellows, KM Smith and Cherie Lee to Bethany.
As our inaugural BAC Fellows, they will spend 9 months within our community. The fellowship provides time and support as they develop their creative practice, establish professional relationships, and expand their professional networks. Learn more about KM and Cherie below.
Smith KM
Bio
I am Smith KM, a professional screenwriter out of New York City. I was born and raised originally in Jamaica, West Indies, where I got introduced to ‘Story’ at an early age. Through African folklore such as Anansi tales I found that stories are tools that can embody meaning, morals, and much more in its craft. I have always been an avid reader of all types of genre and authors. I graduated from college with a Master’s in Childhood Education with a special certification in Arts Inclusion, which informs my screenwriting and stories tremendously, the process and the projects. I want my audience to walk away from my work changed in some way, or find it difficult to walk away at all.
Goal
I am very inspired by other professional artists to serve, learn, collaborate and add multi-dimensions and growth to a catalog of stories that speak to the current state of underrepresented communities such as the Black community and Women. Bethany is providing me with a structural blueprint in time and space to successfully achieve my goal, and being surrounded by other artists adds so much inspiration to my existing passion. While at Bethany, I am interested in conducting workshops/classes in the area(s) of poetry, beginner screenwriting, or writing cinematic stories.
Cherie Lee
Bio
I am a self-taught artist who utilizes high speed rotary equipment to reduce genuine Ostrich Eggshells to small-scale, subtractive sculptures appreciating, and testing, the limits of faculty and frailty. I unite substance and subject, gingerly evoking one basic concept: what you have is fragile, no matter it’s strength.
My earliest materials were found objects in nature and readily available household items and resulted in two distinct styles: each notable for what they lack, or what’s been taken away; a concept I hope might foster a more solid appreciation for what is there.
I soon saw where those styles merged, and the intersection created a new path. By 2018 I was focused solely on my preferred medium, the thick and sturdy ostrich eggshell. My current body of work explores how much can be taken away from something without removing it’s integrity.
“However,” I caution, “if the strength of an eggshell allows me to push it to it’s furthest limits, it’s fragility reminds me not to.”
Goal
My intent is to continue with and expand upon my current body of work while remaining open to the influences and collaborations of Bethany’s expansive creative community. Bethany’s sense of place, people and purpose generates an environment conducive to creative exchange and enthusiastic inspiration; coming here is like coming home to yourself, and being pleasantly surprised at what you find there. I am eager to share the new paths my work has taken under Bethany’s influence in the form of metal-work classes and workshops.
Bethany Arts Community Fellowship program is made possible by the Westchester Community Foundation and ArtsWestchester.
Residencies and programs at Bethany Arts Community are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor’s office and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Westchester, Humanities NY and numerous individual donors.