2026-2027 Distillery Program
THE ARTISTS:
Heather Brown
Heather Brown is an artist and therapist whose work is informed by her background in photography and systemic theory. She works as a therapist at The Center for Relational Change and shares her perspective on family systems theory through presentations and workshops at community and professional venues, including the Summit Against Racism and the Western Pennsylvania Family Center. Heather has historically taught as an adjunct faculty at Seton Hill University in the Marriage and Family Therapy program exploring systemic process at a societal, family and individual level.
Wesley Bull
Wesley Bull is a multidisciplinary artist born in Boca Raton, Florida. In 2022, they graduated with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where they majored in interdisciplinary sculpture. During their studies, they worked across a range of media including wood, metal, printmaking, and digital fabrication. After graduating, Wesley worked at Artisan Glass Works in Baltimore and attended the Pilchuck Glass School, where they gained exposure to glassblowing. Wesley moved to Pittsburgh to work at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, where they are currently a glass educator. Wesley’s independent art practice includes sculptures, painting, stained glass, and glassblowing.
Ricky Davii
Ricky Davii, a mixed media artist from St. Louis, MO. He began his career as a hairstylist in New York in 2010, with work featured in Vogue, Elle, and Refinery29, alongside high level celebrity clientele. In 2019, he founded Slick Crew Studios to champion inclusivity in entertainment, fostering diverse representation behind the lens. In 2024, Ricky became the first Artist-in-Residence for the August Wilson Archive at the University of Pittsburgh, debuting ‘Ev’ry Thing That Glitta, Ain’t’ to explore Wilson’s unreleased works. Through their work, Ricky pushes creative boundaries, crafting art that transcends borders and inspires globally.
Ali Pirl
Alison Pirl is a queer, jew(ish) mixed-media artist, storyteller, and art educator born and based in Pittsburgh, PA. Ali was an art school dropout from RISD Illustration in 2019 and graduated from Carlow University in 2024 with a BA in Art Education and a Studio Art Minor. Informed by her reform Jewish heritage and childhood summers spent in the Vermont wilderness, Ali explores ritual, dream, memory, and ornament with a simultaneously playful and dark hand. Alternating clay, paper, image, and object, Ali transmutes sanctity from ordinary.
Rue Ruble
Big bead baby is the creative project of Rue Ruble. Rue is an interdisciplinary artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by way of Western North Carolina and North Florida. Ruble graduated with a BFA in Studio Arts with a concentration in sculpture in December of 2021 from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. By day they work in Farm Operations in a warehouse in Lawrenceville. Bead weaving is the central medium of their work.
Shruti Shankar
Shruti Shankar is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice marks a deliberate shift from the finality of a product to the meditative rhythms of process. By intentionally slowing down her studio approach, she investigates how strict routines can evolve into meaningful rituals. She constructs systems of self- imposed guidelines, establishing a framework of safety and structure, precisely to identify the moment in which those rules must be broken. She received her BFA from Denison University, along with a minor in Art History and Visual Culture and received her MFA from The Ohio State University in May 2026.
Annesley Williams
Annesley Williams is a queer and disabled textile artist and illustrator. They have a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. From 2015-2025 they held a career as a community educator, working with children and the disabled community. They have worked with Center for Creative Works, Assemble, Little House, Big Art, and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. In 2025, they began their full time career as an artist. They have exhibited at the New England Quilt Museum, and in galleries in NYC, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Portland, Oregon.
THE EXHIBITION:
The 2027 Distillery Residency Exhibition will be on view May 6 – June 26, 2025.