Samantha Butler is an arts organizer and artist with a rich history of producing artist and community-centric programming, especially supporting emerging artists.
Samantha is currently the Program Manager at Surf Point, an artist residency in York, Maine, where she facilitates residencies artists and arts workers, and develops community centered events. In 2018, she co-founded New System Exhibitions and has worked with Maine arts institutions, including SPACE, Running with Scissors, Portland Museum of Art. In 2019, Samantha worked alongside artists from Maine and New Jersey to pioneer the Gardenship Artist Residency program in Kearny, New Jersey. She has served on the board of the Anonimo Foundation since 2022. Prior to her current role at Surf Point, Samantha was the manager of TEMPOart where she led the organization through its annual public art commission. Read about Samantha’s practice supporting creative communities in Maine Magazine.
With an artistic practice spanning various media in the visual and performing arts, Samantha’s artwork is grounded in the heartfelt exploration and abstraction of interpersonal relationships. She has a deep appreciation for artwork that is tactile, architectural, and connects with the human body. She values collaborative and improvisational methods of making, and has worked as a set designer and art director for theatrical and commercial video productions.
Samantha holds a B.A. from Connecticut College, where she studied the representation of gender and sexuality, American Studies, and Studio Art. She lives in Biddeford, Maine with her standard poodle, Daphne.
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