SPRING 2020 NEWSLETTER
Dear Friend of Studio Incamminati,
  
Studio Incamminati is a community of artists who care deeply about representational art, nature, and the human figure. The human figure is more than imagery or representation: we believe that the art we pursue evokes the human condition in all of its complexity, revealing something profound about us and the world in which we live. We teach our students to see in a way they have not seen before, about light and shadow, about movement and gesture as they express their work on the canvas. Seeing is at the core of our mission.
  
The past several months have been extraordinary for the students, faculty and staff. We have faced the unique challenges of the Coronavirus and the economic turmoil that has followed in its wake. We have faced the fallout of a nation struggling with the persistent wounds of racism and the hurt and anger that so desperately need to be healed. And yet, we have remained strong and committed to our vision. We invite you to take a look at our newsletter below to read more about our response to the Covid crisis, our BFA partnership with Rowan University, the relocation of our studios and offices to the Bok Building and, the very generous gift from Betty Wold Johnson that has helped to make the move possible.
  
We're very excited to make the move to our new home in mid-August. We've spent many hours working with designers, engineers and architects to create a 21st century space for teaching contemporary realist art. Because lighting is so key to our mission, we are working hard to be sure that we have state of the art lighting - both natural and artificial. We look forward to welcoming you to the space in October.
  
As we approach the beginning of our third decade of training artists and creating remarkable artwork, we are outlining ambitious plans for Incamminati. The development of digital content, the revision of our Fellows Program, a Visiting Artist Program and increased community engagement are front and center in our vision.
  
It is truly a remarkable time to be a part of the Studio Incamminati community. There is tremendous energy and great excitement about the future of the school. We hope that you will experience the excitement by talking with a member of the Incamminati community, or by visiting us in our new home. We also hope that you will take this opportunity to support the school and some of the great projects and programs we're developing.
  
Our Italian name, "Incamminati" means looking or moving forward. You can help us move forward by supporting Studio Incamminati through a generous gift of $100, $500, $1000 or $5000, or any amount you choose. Your gift can be made by click the Donate Today button below. Thank you for your continued support and generosity,
  
Sincerely,
James Savoie
President
Dan Thompson
Dean of Fine Arts
Rowan's Glassboro, NJ campus
New Partnership with Rowan University Offers Students Pathway to a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree
In December 2019 Studio Incamminati signed a partnership agreement with Rowan University’s Ric Edelman College of Communications & Creative Arts to offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an Atelier Concentration. This exciting development will enable students to undertake three years of intensive studio instruction at Studio Incamminati and work toward the degree requirements for the BFA by taking additional course work at Rowan University. Students can complete the BFA degree program though multiple pathways, one of which includes undertaking summer classes with Rowan, between academic years at SI with the aid of the Studio Incamminati Summer Scholarship, which reduces Rowan tuition by up to 50-percent for up to six credits (renewable for three years.) 

Students will also have access to Rowan’s amenities such as financial aid packages, post-graduate resources, and on-campus events.
Exterior of Bok Building
Studio Incamminati Designing State-of-the-Art Home in South Philadelphia’s Bok Building
This August, Studio Incamminati will relocate to one of Philadelphia’s premiere art spaces, the Bok Building, at 9th and Mifflin Street – amid an incredible and vibrant arts and culture corridor, and home to some of Philadelphia’s best new restaurants. A former vocational technical school, Bok was built in the mid-1930’s by the Philadelphia Public School District then sold in 2014 to the multi-disciplinary design and development firm, Scout, led by Lindsey Scannapieco. The building occupies one full-square-block and is a hub of creative organizations and spaces, which include: artist studios, furniture makers, jewelers, videographers, architects, fashion designers, product designers, tattoo artists, and more. The building is also home to a roof top bar (Bar Bok) and restaurant (Irwin’s).
The incredible raw space before we begin renovations
Soon to be the largest tenant, Studio Incamminati will occupy the entire 7th floor of the Bok building with nearly 18,000 square feet of studio, workshop, office, and social space with unmatched natural light and plans for additional skylights, ensuring students are given access to unparalleled space in which to create. The school will also have access to a large rooftop terrace overseeing the city! This move will not only allow us to grow the student body and expand our teaching opportunities ​in utilizing outdoor light but allow us to join and contribute to the thriving South Philadelphia art community.

For more information about The Bok Building visit buildingbok.com.
Leona Shanks, Aria , oil on linen, 16 x 14 inches
Johnson & Johnson Matriarch Presents Studio Incamminati with $1,000,000 Gift
Longtime friend, patron of the arts and donor, Betty Wold Johnson has given Studio Incamminati a gift of $1,000,000 to fund the studio’s move to its new home in the Bok Building in South Philadelphia. Johnson, who resides in Hopewell, NJ, is the widow of Robert Wood Johnson III and mother of Robert “Woody” Johnson, owner of the New York Jets. She has supported many arts organizations in New York, Princeton and Philadelphia. Johnson has been a friend and supporter of SI for many years and this gift is indicative of her belief in our mission and the quality of the artistic education developed by founders Nelson and Leona Shanks.

SI's newly appointed President, James Savoie remarked that, “This gift provides an unprecedented opportunity for the school to design and construct a world-class facility, which will combine unobstructed northern light with a state-of-the-art lighting system to create a premier space in which to educate young and emerging artists.” 
Studio Incamminati welcomes new President James A. Savoie
After being appointed by the Studio Incamminati Board, Savoie began his tenure as President on March 16 th , bringing with him a strong background in art education with nearly 30 years in higher education. He has held leadership positions at the University of the Arts, where he was Associate Provost, Philadelphia University, and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has an impressive record of accomplishment including creating new programs and developing partnerships. We are excited to welcome James to the Studio Incamminati family and look forward to the initiatives and growth we strive to experience under his tenure.
“To be joining the community of artists and scholars at Studio Incamminati is exciting and inspiring for me. Meeting some of the Studio’s faculty and students I was struck both by the singular commitment to the Studio’s vision and the diversity of perspectives and backgrounds. To lead this school into its third decade will be a great honor. Together, with the Studio’s faculty, I hope we will continue to honor the vision of the school’s Founders while pushing our students to move beyond their limits, developing and expressing their own voice as contemporary artists.” – James Savoie
The COVID-19 Crisis Disrupts Instruction, but Incamminati Continues in Virtual Studios
On March 16th, the school suspended in-person instruction in response to the citywide stay-at-home and closing of all non-essential business orders. Faculty took the next week to strategize their move to virtual teaching. Led by Dean Dan Thompson and Operations Manager Dan Mahlman, classes resumed March 23rd for all levels of instruction. Faculty and students have risen to the challenges of the isolation imposed by the coronavirus crisis and the move to online teaching and learning.

When asked about her thoughts on this unprecedented time, Instructor JaFang Lu said, “No one signed up for this. Yet, I find my life under quarantine bears a resemblance to my experience as a painter. There’s a lot I can control in painting and there’s a lot I can’t. Learning to proceed with any amount of courage that I can summon despite doubt and uncertainty and then be accepting of the outcome (knowing that I try to rise to the occasion) is all that I can do.”

A Level One student wrote, “I want to thank you and let you know that I think the effort you and your extraordinary faculty have made to offer us classes online has been exceptional. I’m beyond pleased by the quality of each class, the resources the teachers have provided, and the quality of the feedback on my assignments.”

President Savoie and Dean Thompson, committed to the health and safety of the SI community, have discussed a hybrid model of instruction following the reopening of the city. “I could see faculty continuing to meet their class as a whole in the virtual environment and meeting students individually or in small groups in-person,” Savoie remarked, adding, “we will continue to observe the safety precautions set by the CDC and the State and local health authorities.”
Bo Bartlett
Studio Incamminati Board Helps Ease Coronavirus-imposed Isolation
Three weeks into state-imposed isolation, Studio Incamminati’s Board members stepped up to help bring the community together. On April 8, Board member and artist Bo Bartlett graciously offered an informal virtual tour of his studio space and Q&A for Studio Incamminati faculty, staff and students. The event was met with excitement and many took advantage of the opportunity to ask Bartlett about his career as a successful artist.

On May 1st, Steven A. Bennett, SI Board member and co-founder of the Bennett Collection, a collection of figurative realist paintings of women by women artists, engaged faculty and students in a wide-ranging virtual discussion of his collection, art collecting in general and, the life of the artist. A recording of the Bennett lecture will be available to the public soon.
Three Formidable Women Join Studio Incamminati’s Board of Directors
Monica Bean
Born in Chicago and raised in New Jersey, Monica is a Studio Incamminati alumna and contemporary realist painter who lives and works in her studio in Princeton, NJ. Because Monica’s studies and expertise span multiple mediums, her palette takes many forms. In addition to interior design, drawing, and painting, she is also an ardent practitioner of horticulture and the culinary arts. In 2015, she expanded her studies abroad to Italy, took up part time residence and pursued her passion for nature and the desire to paint en plein air. Over the course of several years she studied with Maddine Insalaco and Joe Vinson, artists and experts in the field of early open-air painting. Throughout the Tuscan and Roman countryside, she developed her skills in the tradition of early open-air painters.
Sonia Nofziger Dasgupta
Sonia Dasgupta is currently Vice President of Commercial Strategy at EnviroKure, a successful company that developed proprietary technology which transforms natural fertilizer into biostimulants and biofertilizers. Prior to EnviroKure, Sonia divided her career between the agriculture and pharmaceutical industries. Her track record includes leadership roles at three startups and more than 20 years developing effective commercial strategy for major agricultural and pharmaceutical companies. She now lives in Philadelphia where she is active in local civic and cultural organizations, serving on the board of the oldest botanical garden in the US, as past president of one of the leading contemporary dance companies in the country, and is currently on the board of a Ugandan orphanage.
Chantelle Fitzgerald
Chantelle Fitzgerald is the Founder of leadership development firm Mindset Strategies, LLC, which has worked with major Fortune 100 companies, major financial institutions, small businesses, school districts, and nonprofits. She holds an MBA in Nonprofit/NGO Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in French with Secondary Certification from Muhlenberg College. Chantelle has also held Board positions for PHL Diversity, Equity Project in Kensington, and IMPACT Philadelphia, among others. She currently hosts online program Mindset on RVNTV.TV, where she interviews industry leaders about challenges they face, and the “mindset” needed to push through.
ALUMNI NEWS
(L-R) Flight and Kay and Lily , Kerry Dunn
Instructor and Alumnus Alisyn Blake returned to Chestnut Hill College as an Adjunct Faculty Member. She is teaching two classes weekly of Intro to Drawing Techniques on Tuesdays and Thursdays to Undergraduate students.

Instructor Kerry Dunn has been selected to demo as a faculty artist at the 22 nd Annual Portrait Society of America Conference in Orlando, FL in August.

Dunn has also shown at Stanek Gallery in Philadelphia alongside Gary Weisman and Deborah Fine for "Three Voices".
(L-R) CM , JaFang Lu; Students painting during Michela Mansuino's class
Alumni Barbara Zanelli presented 17 works in the 47th Annual Fine Art Show & Sale at The Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova, PA.

Instructor Michela Mansuino continues to teach color and form studies classes for the Youth Program at The Arts of Great Falls in Virginia.

Instructor and Fellow Wendy Wagner ’s red chalk works Eva and An Eloquent Silence , were included in the 13th Biennial National Art Exhibition at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda, FL.

Instructor JaFang Lu held a demo in December at Florence Academy of Art in Jersey City, New Jersey.
(L-R) Damian Smith paints Lincoln Financial Center; Prepping, Robin Frey
Fellow Damian Smith was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer about his painting of the Lincoln Financial Center.

Instructors Robin Frey and Natalie Italiano and Alumni Jen Bowen and John Flavin all had work in the 20 Year Celebration show at Rutledge Street Gallery in Camden, SC.
Studio Incamminati exists to meet the express needs of students eager to learn the aesthetic and philosophical techniques and principles of humanist realism. Visit studioincamminati.org .