Crown Hill Foundation Announces First-Ever Artists-in-Residence

As the winter snow covers over the cemetery, Foundation staff are planning for the 2025 year. Tours, educational programming, preservation projects, tree care and more await the upcoming year. Just as the calendar turns to 2025, we have our first big announcement … After careful planning and consideration, we are pleased to introduce Jessica Dunn and Michael Moskaliuk, the 2025 Crown Hill Foundation Artists–in-Residence.

Jessica Dunn is a multimedia artist based in Indianapolis, IN. She grew up with a love of painting and cartoons, so naturally she became an animator. Dunn graduated from Herron School of Art + Design in Indianapolis with a double major in painting and sculpture. Caught between 2D and 3D practices, she found her calling in 4D art including experimental animation, performance, and experiential works. Dunn utilizes a wide variety of materials allowing the concept to drive the process. Her work has been featured in music videos, documentaries, exhibits and installations for museums (including Newfields), and more. Jessica also makes films and interactive experiences utilizing all of her passions including sculpture, sound design, painting, and animation.

For this project, Jessica will be working with Michael Moskaliuk, a composer with a background in storytelling and live performance. His work attempts to celebrate and communicate the fleeting emotions and indescribable moments we experience in everyday life. Originally studying animation, Michael became fascinated with electronic instruments, mainly synthesizers, using them to score and add dimension to his first short films. As his interest grew in sound as a medium, he began performing his compositions to live audiences. Using waveforms and vibrations, whether constructed for the screen or conducted live, Michael’s work offers a unique vantage point in which we can appreciate the beauty in the worlds that surround us.

You can learn more about Jessica and see her work at https://www.sesseka.com/.

We asked a few questions to help us better introduce them to you. Here is what they had to say.

So, why do Jessica and Michael want to work with the Foundation and a cemetery as her inspiration? Since 2018, Jessica and her partner, Michael, have frequented Crown Hill Cemetery for picnics, strolls, and weekly running sessions together. Over that time, they developed an interest in creating art while taking a deeper dive into all Crown Hill has to offer. Jessica realizes that Crown Hill Cemetery is more than a place to honor the dead; it is a place full of life.

What are the goals for this residency? The goal of our project is to draw attention to the unexpected ways this cemetery impacts the surrounding communities (both human and wildlife) through a series of audiovisual works culminating as a film.

So, what is an Artist in Residence? Well, an Artist-in-Residence is usually provided with space, resources, and support to work on their art as part of a collaboration with a hosting organization. Artist residencies can be a few days to a year or more long. Jessica and Michael will be with us for the 2025 year.

This residency will produce a new work focused on the cemetery and landscape, provide opportunities for the public to interact with the artists and learn about their medium, and further the mission of the Foundation to preserve and celebrate the architectural, cultural, and natural heritage of the city’s oldest urban greenspace, Crown Hill Cemetery.

What will the final project look like? Well, stay tuned as we highlight their work over the year, with an unveiling later in 2025.