Park Welcomes 2026 Resident Artist Bruce Willen
On February 11, 2026, the Park Upper School welcomed Bruce Willen as the Diana Lee Fox ’75 Resident Artist. Bruce is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and musician. His work intersects art, civic design, urbanism, play, and experiential design.
The Diana Lee Fox ’75 Resident Artist program was started in 1981 to honor Diana’s memory. Through the Fox family’s generous support, Park is able to bring an accomplished artist to campus each year to present to Upper School students, to work closely with students in workshop settings, and to participate in a gallery show.
In his Baltimore-based studio, Public Mechanics, Bruce focuses on works for public and cultural spaces and he has led high-profile projects that have shaped the visual language of Baltimore and beyond.
His Ghost Riversproject in Remington is a public art project and walking tour that invites the community to rediscover hidden streams and histories that run beneath our feet. Learn more here.
Among accolades he has received, Bruce is the 2025 recipient of the Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize — part of the Baker Artist Awards — the largest art prize in the mid-Atlantic. “Bruce Willen’s work transforms, enlightens, and connects,” said Connie Imboden, President of the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund. “Through projects like Ghost Rivers, Bruce reveals the invisible histories and overlooked ecologies of our public spaces, inviting us to engage with our city in more meaningful ways. His practice is deeply creative and generously rooted in community, curiosity, and a sense of place.”
Bruce is a founding member of the influential post-punk band Double Dagger, subject of the 2013 documentary film If We Shout Loud Enough. He composes and performs music and sound art; recently he has created several new silent-film scores. Bruce also designs websites, way finding systems, and art installations that engage with public spaces and meaningful histories.
While at Park for his residency, Bruce presented to the Upper School at assembly, sharing insights into his life and work as an artist and responding to students’ questions. In the afternoon, Bruce worked with Upper School students in creating a “Quotidian Museum” — a site-specific installation that explores the hidden or overlooked on the Park campus. And his work, including an adaptation of his “Library of Lost Gloves & Lost Loves” is featured in the World Builders 2 exhibition in Park’s gallery spaces. World Builders 2 runs until February 26.
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