Melanie Mowinski

About me

Melanie Mowinski is an artist, activist, educator, and Professor of Art at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts whose interdisciplinary practice spans book arts, printmaking, collage, drawing, design, and walking-based performance. Rooted in a deep engagement with paper, text, place, and human connection, her work explores the intersections of art, activism, embodiment, and community.

Mowinski is the founder and director of PRESS: Letterpress as a Public Art Project, an initiative that merges traditional letterpress practice with public engagement, collaborative learning, and social dialogue. Through exhibitions, workshops, print exchanges, performances, and community-based projects, PRESS has become a platform for creative participation and collective reflection.

Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including exhibitions in Italy, Morocco, Ireland, England, and across the United States. She has participated in residencies ranging from Denali National Park in Alaska, to the Camino de Santiago in Spain and Green Olive Arts in Morocco, experiences that continue to shape her interest in walking, wilderness, ritual, and creative resilience. Recent collaborative projects such as Women Walking to Water investigate cold water immersion, conversation, and embodied creative practice as forms of connection and care.

Mowinski is the author of Collage Your Life (Storey Publishing, 2022), a creative guide to collage as visual storytelling and self-expression. Her artist books and printed works are held in numerous public and private collections, including the Library of Congress, Tate Modern, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Yale University.

A recipient of the 2025 Mid-Career Award from the Guild of Book Workers, Mowinski brings together teaching, making, and social practice in ways that invite attentiveness, participation, and meaningful exchange.

Office hours
spring 2026

Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 - 2:30pm