7 Questions for the 2026 Artists in Residence
We are thrilled to announce Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina, and Taylor Simmons as the 2026 cohort of our Artist-in-Residence program. They are the first cohort to work out of the Agnes Gund Artist in Residence Studios in our new building. By way of introduction, we asked them seven questions to learn about their work and their processes for making it.
(L-R) Derriann Pharr. Photo: Derriann Pharr; Simonette Quamina. Photo: Cody Hanu; and Taylor Simmons. Photo: Anthony Hilliard
In one to five words, what are the themes of your work?
Derriann Pharr Transformation, hybridity, girlhood, harmony, and safe spaces.
Simonette Quamina Narrative, memory, transformation.
Taylor Simmons Myth, superstition, sentimentality, embodiment.
In three to five words, how would you describe the sensory experience of viewing your work?
DP Rhythmic, saturated, tender, and rugged.
SQ Moments of discovery.
TS Hazy, textural, alive.
Derriann Pharr, 2025. Photo: Derriann Pharr
Without naming other art or artists, what are a few influences on your work?
DP The burbling sounds of creek water in rural Alabama; the color mechanisms of bird plumage and insect wings; my grandmothers’ homes, which were palaces of my girlhood; my sister.
SQ My childhood, my love of plants, layered surfaces and shaped edges, mark-making.
TS Memory, style, effort. The space between humor and coping.
What is your favorite thing in your workspace?
DP A tear-away from an old magazine that reads, “Do you like yourself?”
SQ A bamboo spoon I use for printing in the studio. I’ve had it for over twenty years.
TS A printed-out meme from The Simpsons that says, “Remember…you are Taylor Simmons,” to ground me when the studio starts to spiral.
Simonette Quamina. Photo: Cody Hanu
What is your favorite title—not one of yours—in any medium?
DP I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes), Nina Simone.
SQ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, Wallace Stevens.
TS Fabled Brute, Uche Okeke
Where do you go when you’re stuck?
DP In my practice, I rarely feel stuck. My outcomes require that I remain open to redirection. In life, I reset in either a bath or beside a body of water. It gives me grace to try again.
SQ I use the time to clean my studio, leave, then return in the hopes that I can see the work with fresh eyes.
TS For a ride on my bike in any direction.
Taylor Simmons. Photo: Anthony Hilliard
How do you begin?
DP Usually in loops. I draw large, circular marks on paper until I meet the figure’s eyes, adding and retracting until a form reveals itself. A conversation begins; I play the same song on repeat for hours in the background; we get lost together. Both the figure and I are learning about one another, sharing stories about ourselves through experimentation with materials.
SQ Sometimes it begins with a simple conversation or a dream . . . I always keep a small sketchpad next to my bed just in case an idea comes in the middle of the night.
TS I find a thread and start pulling.