Raised in rural West Michigan, Margherita Hill’s childhood was marked by caring for her cancer-stricken mother alongside her siblings in a single-parent household. Despite these challenges, Hill managed to balance school and family responsibilities. “I’m not sure how I balanced that and went to school,” she reflected. “But it’s all we knew. It was our normal.”
Art became a refuge for Hill after her mother’s passing during her freshman year of high school. “For me, painting and drawing were the way out,” she expressed. This passion led her to an early college program, where she thrived both academically and artistically. There, she met a professor from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, guiding her towards the University of Michigan (U-M).
Hill will soon graduate with a degree in art and design from Stamps, having enriched her college experience with study-abroad programs and a supportive artistic community. A pivotal moment was studying in Siena, Italy, where medieval and Renaissance art history intertwined with her creative endeavors. “I got a lot of practical painting experience,” Hill noted.
Returning to Rome through Helicon Haus, she engaged deeply with the art community, planning exhibitions and managing social media. Hill’s role as a research assistant for Professor Irina Aristarkhova allowed her to contribute to an archive on subRosa, a cyberfeminist art collective.
Her artwork at U-M often explored themes of grief and family, as seen in her BA senior show, “Path Forward,” which examined her evolving relationship with her sister. More recently, Hill’s project on social welfare and food assistance was inspired by her family’s reliance on such support.
In Ann Arbor, Hill cherished local experiences like indie films at the State Theatre and exploring Kerrytown’s farmers market. Post-graduation, she plans to move to Chicago, aiming to work in art education or advocacy before pursuing a master’s degree in art administration or art history. Hill anticipates missing U-M’s studio spaces and the vibrant creative community. “I’ve definitely become a better artist because I’m surrounded by all these really talented people,” she shared.
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