Claire Parker is the 2022 scholarship recipient for the Raphael Sassi Memorial Scholarship Foundation (RSMSF). Established in the memory of artist Raphael Sassi to support young artists, the Foundation provides scholarships to sculptors, painters, draughtsmen and classically trained artists pursuing a secondary arts education or study abroad opportunities. Parker, a freshman at the Pratt Institute in New York, is the Foundation’s first recipient.

Parker, who comes from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is an artist who explores issues of environmentalism and advocacy in her work. As a high school student, Parker first channeled her creativity into music and percussion. An assignment from a teacher encouraged her to explore visual journaling as a medium, where she discovered her sketching and painting ability and experimented with composition and technique. Parker began showing her journals at statewide mental health exhibits and the Maryland Arts Education Festival. Journaling led to classes in studio art and design, and later, Parker was also awarded commissions for local Eastern Shore mural projects.

Much of Parker’s work explores a connection to the environment. “I’m very passionate about nature and the environment. I grew up on the Bay, very privileged to live on the water and have that connectedness with nature, so I wanted to put those ideas into art.” Parker’s work was informed by books on the environment and articles discussing climate change, renewable energy and sustainable lifestyles. “There’s a lot of nature and environmental activism in my art,” she said. “Art is a way to cherish the environment, and provides a way to bring us all together around a place we have to sustain.”

Now in her second semester at Pratt Institute in New York, Parker is building her foundational art skills and exploring new mediums and new ways of self-expression. Parker’s activism has developed further during this fundamental first year, and she has created posters for an environmental protest with the New York Public Interest Resource Group. “It was a way I was able to express my artistic interest in social change and activism. Everyone here is very progressive and I’m just able to learn more about the world generally. It’s powerful to be in a place where I can learn so much.”

For Parker, the support provided by the Raphael Sassi Memorial Scholarship is integral to her success in art school and beyond. “As an illustrator, having a degree from Pratt will give me a level of legitimacy for the rest of my career. Pratt has showed me the ways that art can be conveyed in so many forms. It really opens your eyes—art is a universal language everyone can enjoy. It brings people together.”

Parker’s connection to the Foundation and the memory of Raphael Sassi has impacted her experience in art school in other ways, as well. Sassi was well known as a passionate student advocate in the art world, during his college years and later, as an instructor. Parker finds herself following in his footsteps. “I find myself in my classes speaking out for people who are in unjust or unfair situations. There’s a lot of bias, and I will not second guess standing up for other students, to understand and make the environment the best for everyone.” 

Parker’s eyes are firmly on the path ahead, and informed by her passion for art and the environment. “I just want to create. I don’t want to do anything but make art, expand the variety of mediums that I use and my knowledge, while I continue to redefine the world around me.”