24/26 homes May has inhabited, 1994-2021

Maddie May (b. 1994, Grand Rapids, MI) is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist. Working across textiles, sculpture, print, scent, and sound, their practice investigates Midwestern class and turbulent histories through lived experience and socio-economic conditions. Informed by an upbringing across 26 homes, their work examines the emotional residue of domestic space, where objects carry intimacy, discomfort, and aftermath.

May holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. She has exhibited nationally, including solo shows at Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago, IL), Wittenberg University (Springfield, OH), and Comfort Station (Chicago, IL), and group exhibitions at Vox Populi (Philadelphia, PA) and Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts (Grand Rapids, MI). They are a recipient of a 2023 City of Chicago DCASE Grant and have attended residencies at The Residency Project (Pasadena, CA) and MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA).