We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Mosholder. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.

Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

My name is Megan Mosholder and I am an artist based in Atlanta.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the pros and cons when you commit to taking a risk.

Initially, I was a risk adverse person. I played it pretty safe, living and working in my hometown, Columbus, Ohio. I taught high school art, had a small studio practice, showed work locally here and there, and lived with my boyfriend and his son in a house that we bought together. I thought, this is my life, and I was generally content.

But then my world exploded: my boyfriend was unfaithful for the third time and the toxic break up fallout made me hunt for new opportunities as far away from him as possible. When I was accepted to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, I took a risky leap of faith: moved away from home to live by myself and work on a second Masters, an MFA in painting, with the end goal of becoming the artist I always wanted to be.

As my education progressed, I continued to make risky choices: I maxed out my student loans to attend a study abroad program in Southern France. There I met my mentor, who pushed me outside my comfort zone, and encouraged me to work outside the four walls of my studio building[ sculptural installation. When I asked her for an internship in NYC, she gave me a verbal yes. Six months later (and maxing my student loans yet again), I had all my belongings crammed in my CRV to permanently relocate to Brooklyn, where I would finish my graduate work remotely. My mentor hadn’t confirmed my internship, but I decided I was going anyway. I was halfway to New York when I finally got the confirmation from my mentor that yes, I could start the internship on Monday.

Post grad school, I did it again: pared down my belongings to four boxes that I shipped home, the rest of which I carried on my back to two different artist residencies over a period of five months. During that time, I built three major art installations, work that that went viral, but also drained every last penny I had. When it was over, I didn’t have a job or the money to move back to Brooklyn. This is how I ended up in Atlanta: mom and dad let me live with them until I could find my next opportunity.

Realizing that the best way to build my CV was find more art opportunities across the world, I was constantly traveling. Atlanta artist George Long called me the human pinball. I would often arrive in cities like Beijing, Berlin, and Sydney with no money and a suitcase full of art supplies, instant oatmeal and trail mix to sustain me until I received my stipend. These crazy ventures were hard and scary but ultimately invaluable and a springboard for my career.

Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a visual artist who reacts to the social-political landscape through site-responsive installations. My three-dimensional drawings, often enhanced by light, emphasize obscured elements within recognizable places correlating symbolism with lived experience.

I am a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design with an MFA in painting, and I boast numerous awards from institutions such as the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences. I am commissioned by leading corporations and included in public art programs, museum exhibitions, and art fairs. Interest in my installations led to international interest in my work, evidenced by my inclusion within the European Cultural Centre’s 2022 Personal Structures exhibition presented during the Venice Biennale and an artist residency in Sydney, Australia (2017). These works speak to the power of site-specific work to make a lasting impression upon the viewer.

My large-scale installations also express my tenacity. Following a September 2018 car accident where the gas tank ruptured and ignited, trapping me inside, I endured burns to over sixty percent of my body. While the event left indelible marks, it also provided new heights for me to reach.

I continue to create installations that relay my devotion to my work and the communities I engage. Currently, I reside in Atlanta, GA, and have worked as a full-time professional artist for thirteen years. I also continue to redefine my career and have recently added Consultant to my repertoire. I have been advising companies such as RangeWater Real Estate on their public art programs and art acquisition, successfully establishing myself as a subject matter expert in the field of public art and art acquisition.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I am a burn survivor and an amputee.

September 2018, I was running. I had just relocated back to Atlanta in May after deciding to leave the Tulsa Artist Fellowship (TAF) early. Broke and living at my parent’s house, I threw myself into my work and applied to everything in a desperate attempt to get out from under this situation. By September, I had multiple opportunities: I started teaching at Kennesaw State University; I moved out of my coveted TAF studio to give another fellow the space; I was invited to participate in a group exhibition at the Textile Art Center in Brooklyn; I was working on a large, site-specific piece entitled, “Haven,” (2018) in Madison, Wisconsin; I was installing work at a Renaissance Hotel in Atlanta for Studio 11 Design. All this in one month. Needless to say, I wasn’t sleeping.

I have learned that when you are exhausted, your body will shut you down and make you sleep, which is exactly what the police think happened. I was driving home from work and fell asleep at the wheel. My car vaulted a concrete barrier, flipped, and the gas tank ruptured and ignited. The car was wedged upside down with me trapped inside, gasoline dripping allover and lighting my body on fire. If it were not for the courageous Officer Oscar Escarcega jumping inside my flaming car to pull me out, I would have died.

One month later, I woke up from a medically induced coma in Grady Hospital’s Burn Canter. I was in the hospital for a total of four and a half months. Initially, I couldn’t speak or hold a pen, which was incredibly scary. However, I eventually regained my strength well enough to sit up in my bed and go to work: making CAD drawings, ordering supplies, talking with clients, and managing a group of assistants, who were helping to build a permanent artwork for me across the street.

Almost six years later, I am still “recovering.” I am largely wheelchair dependent, have had 36 surgeries with more on the horizon, and I deal with chronic pain. That’s the bad part. The good part is I am stubborn and not a quitter, and I have worked through all of it. I have taught at KSU and have built over ten installations, some of which are four-stories tall, like “Ad Astra,” (2022) for the Microsoft Art Collection. I have traveled all over the world for work to Venice, Barcelona, Athens, NYC, and LA. Most recently, I have accepted a position as the manager of the Artisans Building Communities program at RangeWater. I’m getting stronger, and I refuse to give up my ability to walk unassisted.

All good things come from work and manifestations will come true if you laser focus on your goal.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As a newly disabled person, I have had to pivot hard to thrive. I am largely independent and live on my own, struggling daily with basic needs in an inaccessible apartment. I have learned that being disabled is incredibly expensive, which is why I decided to start looking for a job with a regular, reliable income. I even went back to school at Georgia State University to work on an Instructional Design graduate certificate in 2023.

Again, hard work pays off, and May 2023, I started working as a consultant for RangeWater’s Artist-in-Residence program, recently rebranded as the ABC program. This position allows me work remotely. I use all my skills to find creative solutions while also finding work and often bartered, two-bedroom apartments for artists to live and work. My job also provides me with the security I need to thrive as an artist, which means I can afford to relocate my studio and living space to the Goat Farm Art Center Because here’s the thing: I was born an artist. Making work is not a choice, it’s a necessity. My plan for the rest of 2024 is to work in my new studio, investing time in the studio practice that will allow me to grow and further my career as a professional artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://meganmosholder.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmosholderart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistMCM/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-mosholder-491bb03/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mcmosholder1?app=desktop

Image Credits
Profile pic: William Twitty Megan painting string – photographer unknown “Trial by Fire,” 2019, David Batterman “Ad Astra,” 2022, David Batterman “Untitled (Box),” (2020), Brock Scott “Ad Astra,” 2022, David Batterman “Leteralle,” (2022), Auston Robinson “Gradated Spectrum.” (2023), Fredrik Brauer “Gradated Spectrum.” (2023), Fredrik Brauer “Skylark,” (2020), photographer unknown “Davidstern, ” (2019), David Batterman “Lui Na Greine (Window of a Sunset)” 2021, Alisa Innocenti