Kelda Martensen
Semifinalist
Callan/McNamara Award
Kelda Martensen (b. 1980, Tacoma, WA) has a BA from Willamette University, Portland, OR, and an MFA from Washington University, Saint Louis, MO. Her printmaking and book arts projects have been exhibited in numerous spaces including the Bellevue Art Museum, WA; the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR; SOIL Artist-Run Gallery and J. Rinehart Gallery, both Seattle, WA. Martensen’s works are in numerous collections, including the City of Tacoma, King County, WA; Google; Microsoft; University of Missouri–Columbia; University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee; Washington University, St. Louis; Willamette University; and the Washington State Arts Collection. She has had artist residencies at In Cahoots; Pine Meadow Ranch; Pratt Fine Art Center; Cité des Arts, France; and AADK Centro Negra in Spain. She has collaborated on over 15 large-scale murals and public projects, has been an artist-educator and mentor for over 20 years, in addition to curating exhibitions and exchanges nationally. Martensen is tenured faculty member at North Seattle College, WA.