Harper (she/her) is a paper-based artist living and working in Iowa City, IA.

She primarily works with handmade paper, book forms, printmaking techniques, and collage. Her practice is grounded in a desire to treat physical objects and their embedded histories with tenderness. Themes of collecting, remembering, and preserving are integral to her work, manifesting in both holdable, intimate objects and large, site-specific installations.

Harper graduated from Coe College in 2022 with a BA in Studio Art, emphasis in Printmaking, and was awarded the Marvin Cone prize for most outstanding body of work. She worked with the Cedar Rapids Public Library to develop an ongoing artist residency program, and served as the inaugural artist-in-residence. Currently, she is an MFA candidate and Iowa Arts Fellow at the University of Iowa Center for the Book. She lives with her wife, who is a constant source of inspiration, feedback, and kindness.

EDUCATION
  exp. 2026   MFA in Book Arts, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
          2022   BA in Art and History, emphasis in Printmaking, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2024-25   Papermaking Studio Assistant, University of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, IA
          2023   Summer Course Instructor, Grant Wood Area Education, Cedar Rapids, IA
2021-23   Art Educator and Open Studio Instructor, Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, Cedar Rapids, IA

WORKSHOPS
           2024   Cyanotype Printing on Kozo, Assistant to Heather Steckler for North American Hand Papermakers, Denver, CO
          2024   Collage Social, Workshop Instructor for Public Space One, Iowa City, IA
          2024   Cyanotype Printing, Workshop Instructor for Public Space One, Iowa City, IA
          2024   Recycled Papermaking, Workshop Instructor for Public Space One, Iowa City, IA
          2023   Book Binding, Workshop Instructor for Cedar Rapids Public Library, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2022   Papermaking, Book Binding, and Collage, Workshop Instructor for Cedar Rapids Public Library, Cedar Rapids IA
          2022   Pysanky: Ukrainian Egg Decorating, Workshop Instructor for CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, IA

AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
           2025   UICB Director’s Fellowship, University of Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, IA
           2025   MFA Summer Fellowship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
          2023   Iowa Arts Fellowship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
           2023   Summer Residency, Public Space One, Iowa City, IA
          2022   Inaugural Artist Residency, Cedar Rapids Public Library, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2022   Marvin Cone Art Prize, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2020   Robert and Joan Kocher Prize in Art, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA

SOLO & DUO EXHIBITIONS
          2025   r.s.v.p., I Thought of You Today, solo show, Iowa City, IA
          2024   Public Space One, HOLD ON/LET GO, with Heather Steckler, Iowa City, IA
          2024   K. K. Merker Gallery, University of Iowa, Dear you, dear me, with Emma Folsom, Iowa City, IA
          2023   On View Gallery, Passages, solo show, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2022   Cedar Rapids Public Library, Neighborhood Artist, solo show, Cedar Rapids, IA
           2022   Marvin Cone Gallery, Coe College, Compendium, BA thesis show, Cedar Rapids, IA

GROUP & JURIED EXHIBITIONS
          2025   Craft Alliance, Cut/Fold/Press, juried show, St. Louis, MO
           2025   Site:Brooklyn, Paper, juried show, online
          2024   Anderson Academic Commons, University of Denver, New Altitudes, juried show, Denver, CO
           2024   Willard Hall, Kansas State University, Lunch Club presents: The Leftovers, group show, Manhattan, KS
          2023   Northern State University, nice; 01, juried show, Aberdeen, SD
           2023   Public Space One, Infinite Weave, group show, Iowa City, IA
          2023   Midwest Nice Art, mint condition, juried show, online
          2022   Atlas Science Center, Arnold Grummer’s Paper on the River, juried show, Appleton, WI
          2022   CSPS Hall, Broadening Their Focus, group show, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2022   CSPS Hall, Pysanky, group show, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2022   Cherry Building & CSPS Hall, Honoring the Human Form, group show, Cedar Rapids, IA
           2022   Student Gallery, Coe College, Collectivity, group show, Cedar Rapids, IA

CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
          2024   Public Space One, Reading Rooms: DIY Publishing In and Through Iowa, Iowa City, IA
          2024   K. K. Merker Gallery, University of Iowa, Luminosity, Iowa City, IA

MURALS & INSTALLATIONS
          2025   Beadology, Beads, beads, beads, mural, Iowa City, IA
          2024   City of Cedar Rapids, Monarch, collection truck mural, Cedar Rapids, IA
          2023   Public Space One, Surreal Cereal, site-specific installation, Iowa City, IA
           2023   Graduate Hotel, We Are All Students, mural, Iowa City, IA
          2023   Public Space One, Interconnection, participatory installation, Iowa City, IA
          2019   Good Neighbor Society, Sentimentality, mixed-media installation, Manchester, IA
          2017   UICCU BenchMarks, Pysanka, bench mural, Iowa City, IA
          2016   UICCU BenchMarks, Bees on Mars, bench mural, Iowa City, IA

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
          Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
          Mid America Print Council
          Coe College Presidential Legacy Collection, Cedar Rapids, IA
          Manchester Public Library, Manchester, IA

PUBLICATIONS
          The Daily Iowan, “‘HOLD ON/LET GO’ teaches the value of personal effects,“ interview and exhibition feature, Iowa City, IA, November 3, 2024.
          KCRG, “Cedar Rapids rolls out garbage trucks featuring Iowa artists,” public art feature, Cedar Rapids, IA, March 6, 2024.
          Press-Citizen, “Pushing the Envelope,” exhibition feature, Iowa City, IA, January 27, 2024.
          OPEN+, “Artist in Residence,” interview, Cedar Rapids, IA, September, 2022.
          The Gazette, exhibition announcement, Cedar Rapids, IA, January 27, 2022