The Cranbrook Academy of Art, an educational community in Bloomfield Hills, has announced that Mark Newport, artist-in-residence and head of the fiber department will leave the academy at the end of 2022-23 academic year to focus on his studio practice.
Since 2007, Newport has been teaching at the Academy of Art as an accomplished artist. He currently has work featured in the exhibitions Garmenting: Costumes as Contemporary Art at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and Catching the Moment: Contemporary Art from the Ted L. and Maryanne Ellison Simmons Collection at the St. Louis Art Museum.
“During Mark’s tenure, he has continued to advance the reputation of the Fiber department at the Academy, helping to secure its legacy as one of the most influential programs in the country,” says Paul Sacaridiz, the Maxine and Stuart Frankel director of Cranbrook Academy of Art. “Through his work and teaching, he has expanded the ways we think about craft, art, and design while broadening our understanding of fiber as a material-based practice.”
Newport came to Cranbrook from Arizona State University, and previously taught at Western Washington University, the Kansas City Art Institute, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
As the Academy’s 11th fiber artist-in-residence since the department was launched in 1932, Newport has mentored hundreds of students who have gone to become leaders in the field.
“As a colleague, he has played a vital role in shaping the academy, and we are profoundly grateful for the rigor and thoughtfulness he has brought to every decision we have made,” says Sacaridiz. “He is a truly gifted educator and mentor, beloved by his current and former students, and we hope he continues to share those insights with all of us as moves on to his next chapter.”
An international search process will be announced later this summer to secure Newport’s replacement. Coordinated by the Academy Director, a search committee will be formed with representation from current artists-in-residence, administrative staff, and alumni from the Fiber department.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Kansas City Art Institute and master’s degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
