Acme Studios — #10 Maria Joranko, 2023 Goldsmiths MFA Award

Supporting Artists since 1972


#10 Maria Joranko, 2023 Goldsmiths MFA Award

50 opportunities for 50 years

“Without access to the studio, I would honestly be so lost in London.”

Maria Joranko is a Latinx/American mixed media artist+performer, dancer, musician, and researcher specifically interested in examining how healing, transformation, and change can be presented as possibilities within an arts context.

Maria was selected for the 2022/23 Goldsmiths MFA Award by a panel including Phoebe Cripps - Curator at Goldsmiths CCA, and the artist Clémentine Bedos, from a shortlist of six MFA graduate artists from Goldsmiths, University of London. She currently shares a studio as part of Acme’s Early Career Programme.

The Goldsmiths MFA Award is a partnership between Acme, Goldsmiths, University of London and Jane Hamlyn. Aiming to provide a bridge between art school and professional practice, the award includes a generous bursary, rent-free studio space and a mentoring programme. Recipients of Acme’s Early Career Awards Programme work from shared studios in order to encourage an environment of peer support and critical dialogue.

It gives me a chance to have a secure space where I can work and be supported by Acme as I learn about the cultural and artistic landscape of London and the UK. I'm hopeful that this will be a new shift in the ways that I work and in the scale of my projects. Maria Joranko

Maria’s first impression of the studio is that it is “a place with really warm energy that feels like the perfect incubator.” She sees it as a place to “begin many new collaborations with other artists and spaces.” and is already working on her upcoming projects at Arthouse Wakefield, Slash Arts, and Below Grand NYC, and at San Mei as artist duo Titaness with Tiffany Wellington.

“As someone new to the UK, Acme's support has been invaluable while trying to learn about the city while having access to a beautiful working space. This enables me to keep pushing myself and build lasting relationships with my studio mates and mentors.”