MONSON — For the first three weeks of August, one group of students from three University of Maine campuses gathered in Monson for a special seminar residency.

The story begins in February 2021 when former University of Maine at Farmington [UMF] professor Kristen Case attended an art residency at Monson Arts. While there, she said that time felt different and that she had the sudden ability to do a different kind of work. With all the daily challenges of life’s responsibilities removed, Case could discover what her mind was capable of. “This is what college should be,” she thought to herself, and many of her best students immediately came to mind.

Former UMF professor Kristen Case co-teaches students on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the UMF Monson Arts residency in Monson. Photo courtesy of Marc Glass

She realized that so many college students have so much on their plate, whether it be financial burdens, full time jobs, family responsibilities, or mental health issues. Case said that it is rare today for students, especially first generation and Pell Grant-eligible students to experience college as she believes it should be.

“Many students don’t get to find out what their minds are capable of,” she said. “And what they are capable of as artists and thinkers and creators. That’s just unbelievably tragic.” She fears that if students can’t explore the capacity of their own minds and abilities at this time of their lives, that they never will.

As soon as she finished her time at Monson, Case pitched the idea of a student residency course to the Libra Foundation which, to her surprise, loved the idea. Together they brought it to Monson Arts and the planning began. Case knew from the start that this experience had to be completely free for the students. For them to have the space and time to really delve into their projects and own minds, it would have to be as close to a regular residency experience without responsibilities unrelated to their personal projects. 

Students of the first UMF Monson Arts seminar get together for a photo in Aug. 2022 in Monson. Submitted photo

Monson Arts covered the cost of room and board for students to stay three weeks at a time other residencies weren’t happening. That left Case with $14,000 in tuition to come up with. For that first year, the seminar was funded by a grant won by The Mountain School, but now it is thanks to the generosity of private donors that the funds were able to be raised, some even covering the cost of individual students’ tuition. In the summer of 2022, Monson Arts hosted the first UMF Monson Arts seminar.

Since then, Pell grant-eligible UMF students have applied each year to attend the Monson Arts seminar. This is the third consecutive summer that Monson Arts has hosted UMF students in their studios and this year other UMaine students had access to the course. The seminar is a fully funded opportunity that offers one class worth of college credits to students after completion.

USM student Crystal Reynolds works on her project on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the UMF Monson Arts seminar in Monson. Photo courtesy of Marc Glass

Starting next year, the Monson Arts seminar will be hosted by the University of Southern Maine [USM] instead of UMF and applications will be open to all Pell Grant-eligible students in the UMaine System. This will make the program a lot more competitive, but it will give many more students the chance to experience this magical experience. The Mitchell Institute has already pledged to cover the cost of any Mitchell Scholars who are accepted into the Monson Arts seminar.