Locally grown in Southern Appalachia, Morgan Bakaletz (b. 2000) is an artist originally from East Tennessee. Bakaletz holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from East Tennessee State University and is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Bakaletz has recently shown in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Boston, Massachusetts, Joplin, Missouri, Bristol, Virginia, Lubbock, Texas, and Oxford, Mississippi.

Bakaletz’s work explores Appalachian resilience and survival, drawing parallels between endangered species and rural communities often left behind by systems of power. At the center of her practice are the Foofs, an invented varmint species that embody adaptation and life lived in the margins. Through printmaking, comics, and installation, she builds a speculative world rooted in Appalachian Futurism.

You may find her in the woods…