"Good Neighbor" by Nicole Poole (First Friday)

Artist statement: The work presented in Good Neighbor was inspired by her family’s farm in central Wisconsin, where on September 11th, 1951 it became the site of ‘Wisconsin Good Neighbor Day, Frank Flees Farm Project’ where the surrounding community and county agricultural leaders descended on the small farm to attempt to rebuild it (more or less) in a day. Stories of the project, both good and bad, permeated her childhood visits to the farm. Poole’s work encompasses multiple layers of memory, personal observations, and lessons learned from family relationships and spending time in a much loved place. Nicole Poole is a multi-media artist and creative professional currently working in San Antonio, Texas. Born and raised in the Detroit-Metro area, Poole earned a B.B.A. in Marketing and Communication from Eastern Michigan University before relocating to San Antonio in 2008. In 2018 she earned a B.F.A. in painting and B.A. in art history and criticism from UTSA and is currently pursuing an M.A in art history at UTSA. She has been a recipient of the Mellon Humanities Pathways Fellowship, the Elton Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Art, and the Gloria Galt Endowed Scholarship in Art, and was a resident artist at Clamplight Artist Studios and Gallery in San Antonio, TX from 2018-2020.