Based between Southern California and Southern Oregon, Michele is an executive-level arts leader, contemporary painter, and speaker whose work bridges rigorous institutional administration and deep creative practice. She currently serves full-time as the Executive Director for an arts organization, navigating non-profit governance, strategic planning, and donor cultivation to champion sustainable, community-centered cultural ecosystems.

Her formal art development began in Northern Michigan and has since been shaped by extensive global travel and evolving life experiences. She earned a BFA in Studio Art with a minor in Art History, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Southern Oregon University, followed by an MFA in Painting with Honors from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Michele's scholarly and creative inquiries focus on the historical contributions of women artists and the evolution of self-portraiture. An experienced presenter, she regularly speaks at conferences and institutions on cultural leadership, the business of the arts, and artistic advocacy. She is currently a doctoral student in the Visual Arts PhD program at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA), grounding her executive leadership in an extensive understanding of creative production. Her artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and internationally, reflecting a multifaceted career dedicated to elevating the cultural sector through both leadership and creation.

EDUCATION

Institute for Doctoral Studies in Visual Art, Portland, ME - PhD in Visual Arts: Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Art Theory / 2025- Present

Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA - Master of Fine Arts in Painting

Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR - BFA Studio Art

Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA

Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI - AA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026 Intangibles, Deschutes Gallery, Medford, OR

2025 Will You Remember Me? Gallery 163, Port Orford, OR

2022 I Am Not Her(e), Thorndike Gallery, Ashland, OR

2021 Definition of SHE, Thorndike Gallery, Ashland, OR

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026 WALLRIDE, Rogue Gallery & Art Center, Medford, OR

2026 The Pursuit of Happiness, Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR

2025 Mommy Dearest, Not Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA

2025 Faces & Figures, Covet Art Gallery, Oceanside, CA

2024 Open Studios, Lacoste, France

2024 Beach Signs, Gallery 163, Port Orford, OR

2023 The Women’s Room, Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, OR

2023 Small Works, Las Lagunas Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

2023 Literally, A Figurative Art Show, Shockboxx Project Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA

2023 Invitational Watercolor Show Siskiyou Arts Museum, Dunsmuir, CA

2023 Figures and Faces, Las Lagunas Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

2022 Small Works III!, Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2022 A Celebration of Community, ARTspace Gallery, Lake Oswego, OR

2021 Open Studios, Thorndike Gallery, Ashland, OR

2020 COVID-19 Art Show, DooGallery, Atlanta, GA

Private Collection

Tetherow Resort, Bend, OR

Media/Publications

kelton Magazine, Volume 18. Cover art and featured artist.

EVENTS & CONFERENCES

Speaker, Creativity Conference, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR /2025

Speaker & Panel Host, Not Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA / 2026

GRANTS & RESIDENCIES

IDSVA Art in Theory Seminar and Residency, Athens and Venice /2026

IDSVA Art in Theory Seminar and Residency, Madrid and Marrakech /2026

IDSVA Art in Theory Seminar and Residency, Italy and Germany /2025

The Centre for Applied Jungian Studies, Cape Town, South Africa, Self-Portrait Intensive /2025

The Haines & Friends Visual Arts Grant Program /2024 and 2022

Lacoste Artist Residency, Lacoste, France /2024

ARTIST ALLIANCE Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Summer Residency Program /2022

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

2025 American Society for Aesthetics Mentorship

2023 Robert Courtright Endowment for Art

2020 Artist featured in a collection SAATCHI ART

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Society for Aesthetics, Member

College Art Association/CAA, Member

SECAC Member

Backboxx Society, Member

South Bay Artist Collective, Member

LinkedIn

© 2026 MICHELE ALLEN ART