Guggenheim Fellowship Awarded to Renowned Printmaker and CFA Professor of Art, Lynne Allen
Now, in the program’s 100th year, six Boston University researchers and scholars have received the honor
Photo by Michael Rotiroti
Guggenheim Fellowship Awarded to Renowned Printmaker and CFA Professor of Art, Lynne Allen
Now, in the program’s 100th year, six Boston University researchers and scholars have received the honor
This article was first published in The Brink on April 17, 2025. By Andrew Thurston
EXCERPT
For a century, Guggenheim Fellowships have given the nation’s most distinguished scholars and artists the freedom and funding to let their interests and creativity take flight. Now, in the program’s 100th year, six Boston University researchers and scholars have received the honor.
BU’s 2025 Guggenheim Fellows are artist Lynne Allen, writer and scholar Louis Chude-Sokei, space scientist Merav Opher, physicist Anders W. Sandvik, historian Bruce J. Schulman, and historian Quinn Slobodian. Each plans to use the honor to drive an ambitious—and, in one case, out of this world—project.
BRINGING ARTISTIC VISIONS TO LIFE
Fine artist Lynne Allen’s work has been shown in some of the world’s premier galleries and museums, from New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. A renowned printmaker who uses a variety of media and techniques, she plans to use her Guggenheim Fellowship to expand her use of textiles and step into new realms, including native quill and beadwork.
“These are practices I’ve long been interested in but haven’t had the time or resources to pursue fully,” says Allen, a College of Fine Arts professor of art, printmaking, and chair of the print media and photography MFA program. “I’ve been dreaming of ways to push my ideas into new territories. And with the freedom to travel and dedicate focused time to this exploration, I can finally bring those visions to life.”
The Guggenheim’s philosophy of supporting research and creative work without constraint aligns perfectly with how I approach my practice,” says Allen. “That kind of freedom—to explore without limits—creates the conditions for real growth.
A winner of two Fulbright scholarships, Allen calls the latest honor empowering, transformative, and humbling: “I’ve never felt so deeply seen or affirmed in my work,” she says. Her recent collections include a series of etchings and woodcuts exploring climate change and endangered species, and “Liar Liar,” etchings commenting on treaties between the US and Native American Nations.
Harvey Young, CFA dean, calls Allen “one of the world’s most exciting professional printmakers—innovative and endlessly inspiring, she leads by example and models excellence as an artist, educator, and colleague.”
see the full list of RECOGNIZED bu researchers & scholars
BU’S MFA PRINT MEDIA & PHOTOGRAPHY PROGRAM
The Print Media & Photography MFA emphasizes photographic and printmaking practices within a contemporary art context and is an ideal incubator for artists to engage multiple studio disciplines in the development of their work.
Interdisciplinary by its nature, it reimagines conventional methods and allows students to refine and expand their practice. A select program within a robust MFA environment, it strives to encourage inquiry, experimentation, and an inventive approach.