The Kent Cultural Alliance (KCA) continues its third year of the SFW Resident Artist Program with a focus on History. As 2026 is both KCA’s 45th Anniversary Year, and America’s 250th Birthday, the theme of History seemed very appropriate and carries over two residency sessions this year, one in the spring and one in the fall. KCA is fortunate to have the commitment of several local partner organizations to help the artists explore local history.  The Historical Society of Kent County, the Chesapeake Heartland Project, and The Museums of Kent will all work with artists to inspire engaging new artwork. Six talented artists have been selected out of 54 applications from an open call last fall. KCA is ready to welcome the second team of three artists to begin their six week residency on September 21, 2026!

Lynda Andrews-Barry is a multidisciplinary artist whose research-driven practice spans large-scale public art, installation, time-based media, and fabricated sculpture. Her work examines land,infrastructure, environmental systems, and layered histories, translating complex civic and ecological narratives into site-responsive visual systems.  Working with found materials and industrial fabrication processes, Andrews-Barry investigates environmental stewardship, cultural memory, and public witnessing. Her projects often function as visual timelines or spatial diagrams, connecting past and present through mapped terrain, continuous line, and engineered form.

Sylvia Jones lives and writes in Baltimore. She earned her M.F.A. from American University and teaches creative writing at George Washington University and the Bethesda Writers’ Center. Her previous classroom experience includes serving as a lead instructor with Baltimore’s Writers in Schools, teaching university-level composition at the Community College of Baltimore County, and facilitating workshops through the Goucher Prison Education Partnership. She is an Associate Poetry Editor at Black Lawrence Press and a Senior Reader at Ploughshares. Her editorial work also includes reading fiction for The Arkansas International, working as a curator for the D.C. Arts Center Poetry Series, and serving as a panelist and contest reader for Sarabande Books.

Jonathan Monaghan is an artist whose prints, sculptures, and video installations weave together elements of ancient mythology, science fiction, and consumer culture. His work explores the intersections of power, wealth, and technology in the digital age, in an imaginative and satirical critique that challenges viewers to examine their relationship with these forces. Past exhibitions include Sundance New Frontier, The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, NRW Forum in Düsseldorf, and The Palais de Tokyo in Paris. His work has been featured in The New York Times and Vogue Italia. His work sits in numerous public and private collections including The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and the Microsoft Art Collection. He lives and works in Washington D.C.

“The Kent Cultural Alliance is thrilled to build on the success of the SFW Resident Artist Program with three new incoming resident artists this fall,” said Rob Blackson, Director of the Kent Cultural Alliance. “These artists, whose work encompasses poetry, painting and public sculpture will each be addressing the theme of History through their unique artistic perspectives.  This fall season will conclude an entire year of residencies devoted to layers of history lived in Kent County.  Through numerous public events and workshops the SFW Resident Artist Program creates new opportunities for local residents and nationally recognized artists to collaborate with Kent County organizations devoted to civic engagement throughout the county and the Upper Eastern Shore of Maryland.”  In addition to public programs, artists will also present workshops in several Kent County Public Schools.