Locks Gallery artist Jane Irish recently received the Alfred and Trafford Klots International Program for Artists Residency in Léhon, France. The residency invites Irish to a five week program beginning May 15th, 2011. In addition it provides artists with notable resources including Painting French rooms, WWII landscapes and beautiful churches.
In 1989, Isabel Klots founded the Artist Residency Program in Rochefort-en-Terre in memory of her father-in-law, Alfred Klots, and her husband, Trafford Klots, both artists, and of their hospitality to other artists.
In 1995, Maryland Institute College of Art began to administer the program. The "Friends of Rochefort" was established in 1998 to support the program as its focus and reputation expanded. Through the generosity of the Friends and of Isabel Klots, MICA has established an endowment fund for the Residency Program.
Through 2010, the Residency Program was housed on the grounds of the Château that Alfred Klots created in the early 20th century from medieval structures remaining on the site of an ancient castle destroyed during the French Revolution. Now, because the Château requires extensive renovation and is no longer habitable, MICA has moved the Residency Program to Léhon, another extraordinary medieval village in Brittany.