Melanie VanHouten is the founder and artistic director of Josephine Sculpture Park (JSP) in Frankfort, Ky. She received an Master of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Minnesota in 2002 and Bachelor of Fine Art in studio art from the University of Kentucky in 1998. Melanie has taught all levels of sculpture and exhibited her work internationally.
She is an interdisciplinary artist combining sculptural processes and methods with contemporary approaches through site specific installations, community events and large earthworks. Her sculpture has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Minnesota Museum of American Art, Phipps Center for Art, Wis., Franconia Sculpture Park, Minn., and the Coalbrookdale Historic Site, Telford, England.
Melanie returned to her hometown of Frankfort, Ky. in 2008 to begin building Josephine Sculpture Park, a 26-acre s park that operates as a nonprofit arts organization and provides unique, daily opportunities for the public to interact with artwork and the artists who create it. JSP provides community arts education while conserving Kentucky’s native, rural landscape. As founder and artistic director, she manages exhibitions, programming, fundraising, events and advertising for JSP. It is free and open 365 days per year from dawn until dusk.