Megan Segre combines her two passions, fine art and social activism, into one endeavor. As an artist, she makes installations and individual artworks out of materials that present and question their own physicality. Her works combine dissimilar materials and investigate how things connect. She is also a community activist who works with the unhoused in San Francisco. The rising number of homeless population has led her to act by cultivating community sewing groups to provide mending services to those in need.
By melding these two passions, Segre explores how art and social issues are co-mingled. She works to create a visual language that focuses on presenting the issue of homelessness with compassion and empathy. Through her art, the public can both develop a greater sensitivity and become aware of the deeper issues surrounding homelessness. She finds installation art to be the perfect medium for expressing her strong opinions.
Segre has lived most of her life in Northern California. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in Political Science and subsequently spent time on Capitol Hill. This learning experience about the political process and activism have informed the political nature of her art. For many years Segre was involved with art institutions, such as the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) and the Di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, where she championed projects to expand the reach of art-related programs to new and diverse audiences.
In 2015, Segre dedicated herself to full-time art making and earned an MFA in sculpture from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 2018. Segre’s art studio is in the Portola area of San Francisco.
Education
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, MFA Student, 2016-2018
Santa Rosa Junior College, AA Studio Arts, 2009-2015
UC Berkeley Extension - Goya Art History Course, 2009
Drawing Workshop Rome, Italy with Peter O’Brien, 2011
Paris College of Art, 2010
Ecole du Louvre, Course on Eduard Manet in French, 2009
BA Political Science , University of California at Los Angeles, 1982
Exhibitions
October 2017-2019 ArtSpan Open Studio, San Francisco, CA
August 2019 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Alumni Exhibition, PA
August 2018 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition, PA
June 2018 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Broad Street Gallery, PA
June 2017 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts 'Prejudices' Exhibition, PA
March 2016 Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, CA
March 2016 Mission Open Studio, San Francisco
January 2016 Village 3rd Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA
March 2016 Mission Open Studio, San Francisco
January 2015 Sebastopol Arts Center, Sebastopol, CA
December 2015 Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, CA
Spring 2015 University of Davis, Ceramics Show, Davis, CA
Spring 2015 Santa Rosa Junior College, Student Show, Santa Rosa, CA
October 2009 Sonoma Arts Guild Repo Show, Sonoma, CA
Awards
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Neil/Rubin Graduate Award, August 2018
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Kathleen Bunkey Frame Memorial Award, August 2018
Santa Rosa Junior College Continuing Student Art Merit Scholarship, Spring 2015
Santa Rosa Junior College Riley Street Art Award, Spring 2015
Activism
Since 2017 Segre has worked with unhoused women in San Francisco, California. She works to create a safe community space for artistic expression at A Woman's Place Drop-In Shelter in the Mission, culminating in an annual exhibition. Segre is a member of the Tenderloin Mending Society where she mends clothing for the local community both in the Tenderloin National Forest and the Lava Mae Pop-Up Villages in San Francisco.
Professional Experience
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA), Sonoma, CA, 2001-2011
Segre was on the SVMA Board from 2001-2004 and subsequently held several positions within the museum. In 2001 she founded and chaired the Arts Rewards the Students Program, a district-wide, multi-cultural diversity art program for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District serving eight schools and nearly 1,000 students.
Di Rosa Contemporary Museum of Art, Napa, CA, 2009-2011
Segre served in the education department at the Di Rosa from 2009-2010 where she promoted educational opportunities and Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) for Bay Area educators and docents.