Claire Kiester is a fiber artist, printmaker and educator from Chapel Hill, NC. She completed her BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2021 and now resides in Charlotte, NC. Claire uses printmaking and crochet techniques to reveal embedded personal memories hidden in everyday objects. Her work champions accessibility, often featuring recycled materials. She works to educate and inspire young artists within the discipline of printmaking.

    Her work has been featured in galleries and events such as The McColl Center, Frank Gallery, The Compound Gallery, The Charlotte International Arts Festival, and The LeRoy Nieman Center. Kiester was a part of the inaugural class of Project Protege. There, she worked with a group of emerging and established artists to create original work as well as curate an exhibition fighting for social change in her community. Her latest series is currently on view during her debut solo exhibition at the Sertoma Art Center in Raleigh, NC.

    Kiester currently works as a teaching artist at Studio 345, an afterschool program for at-risk youth, and an artist in the greater Charlotte community.







Education

2018 - 2021         School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bachelor of Fine Arts
2014 - 2018         Chapel Hill High School

Residencies/Fellowships

2023                    Blumenthal Fellow - Blumenthal Performing Arts and the Charlotte International Arts Festival, Charlotte, NC
2022                    Project Protéjé - Charlotte, NC

Solo Exhibitions

2023                   Tasty, The Sertoma Art Center - Raleigh, NC

Exhibitions

2023                    Scaffold, Artspace - Raleigh, NC - Juried Exhibition
2023                    Unconventional, The Arts Factory - Charlotte, NC - Juried Exhibition
2022                    BRUSHED, Compound Gallery - Emeryville, CA - Juried Exhibition
2022                    FRESH, Artspace - Raleigh, NC - Juried Exhibition
2022                    Raconteuse, Project Protège - Charlotte, NC
2021                    The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Undergrad Exhibition, SAIC Site Galleries - Chicago, IL
2020                    Imprints: Past & Present, Vacant Museum - Virtual Exhibition
2019                    Art Bash, The LeRoy Nieman Center - Chicago, IL
2016                    Rubbish II Runway, Frank Gallery - Chapel Hill, NC
2014                    Arts Focous, The Arts Center - Carborro, NC - Juried Exhibition

Public Art

2023                    Crispy, Uproar Festival of Public Art, Orange County, NC
2023                    !CON, Charlotte SHOUT! - Charlotte, NC
2022                    100 Tiny Things, Charlotte Internation Arts Festival - Charlotte, NC

Grants

2022                    HUG Micro Grant (Helpful Unfettered Gift), Charlotte is Creative

Articles/Publications

2021                    Okay Cool Magazine, Issue #4
2021                    Polemical Zine, Issue 15: Memory Vol.1
2020                   Artist Spotlight: Claire Kiester’s Pickle Screen prints

2020                   Storied Stitches Volume 10






Contact Me



︎ ckiester@nc.rr.com


︎ clairekiester__art


︎ (919)525-4439