Charlotte Lacoste named Spring 2026 artist in residence at Claremont MakerSpace

Charlotte Lacoste’s new residency at Claremont MakerSpace will bring more than studio time to the Sawtooth Building. The program is set to add public classes, a Meet the Artist event, an artist exhibit and professional development, all of which can send more foot traffic into downtown Claremont and give nearby businesses another reason to benefit from the city’s growing creative corridor.

Claremont MakerSpace named Lacoste as its Spring 2026 artist in residence on April 17, after launching the application process on March 23 and closing it April 6 at 5 p.m. EDT. The residency was made possible in part by support from the League of NH Craftsmen through its Craft Education Program Enhancement Grant, which Claremont MakerSpace said it received in March. The League says those grants are designed to strengthen craft education programs and can cover up to 50% of a project’s total cost.

The residency gives Lacoste a $1,000 stipend, three months of unlimited membership, ten weeks of dedicated studio space and training on new tools. Claremont MakerSpace has said the artist-in-residence program is meant to give New Hampshire and Vermont artists time, space and community connection while also expanding public programming at the organization’s home in the historic Sawtooth Building. In a city still working to build downtown momentum, that matters because each class or open event can help turn a nonprofit workshop into a destination for residents, visitors and shoppers.

Lacoste is already part of the local arts scene. A March 20 MakerSpace post said she was a new member to CMS and to Claremont and noted that she was painting a hive mural at The Apiary on Pleasant Street, where some of her work is also for sale. Her artist bio says she moved from Florida to New England in 2020 and works in oils, gouache and watercolors, often on landscapes, figures and surrealist themes. She also won a 2025 Ewing Arts Award in 2D Visual Arts.

Claremont MakerSpace itself has become part of the city’s redevelopment story. TwinState MakerSpaces, Inc. renovated the Sawtooth Building and celebrated the MakerSpace’s grand opening in summer 2018. Since then, the organization has framed its work as helping anchor Claremont’s economic and cultural revitalization, making this residency both an arts appointment and a small but concrete investment in downtown life.