Red Emma’s

Centering on the social and environmental landscape of Appalachia and the South, their artwork is focused on labor as both an action and a movement, working-class visibility, and the power of handmade objects. This work ranges in medium and scale. Using regional craft techniques, Mo transforms used domestic materials as a means to investigate place, class, and the politics of disposability.

Mo Kessler received a BFA in Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2007 and an MFA in Studio Art from Western Carolina University in 2021. They were the Watson-Brown Southern Studies in Arts & Letters Fellow for 2023-2024. Their art has been exhibited across central Appalachia, the South, and the Midwest. Currently, they teach at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of South Carolina Upstate. They are the founder of the Art & Labor Study Group and a proud member of MICA's Part-Time Faculty Union.