New MFA Community Arts Director

The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is delighted to welcome artist/activist/gamechanger, Unique Mical Robinson, as the new program director for the Community Arts MFA program.

Unique Mical (pronounced “My-Kell”) Robinson is a proud Baltimore City native. Unique has performed spoken word poetry for over 20 years throughout the US, and Havana, Cuba. She began her career as a Community Organizer in Brooklyn, New York with VOCAL-NY (Voices of Community Activists and Leaders), and later, as an Academic Mentor in Oakland, California with Moving Forward Education. Since returning to Baltimore in 2015, Unique has worked consistently as a Poetry Teaching Artist, and in administrative roles for various non-profits, including DewMore Baltimore, Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center, AFRO Charities, & The Lyric Baltimore. Unique received the Emerging Teaching Artist award from Arts Every Day in 2017, The Grit Fund Grant in 2019, and an Artist Recovery Grant from Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) in 2022.  She received her MFA in English from Mills College in Oakland, California, and a BA in Creative Writing/Black Studies from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Unique has two poetic book releases: flicked/forgotten/FREED (2014), and Four Wings & A Prayer: A Charm City Churn (2019). She later expanded into music, releasing blkottonkandy’s EP, vesica piscis (2019), Tha 27th Letter, Vol. I (2019) & II (2020) (as kLefta*maniak), 2021’s GETCHA LIFE! EP (a collaboration between kLefta*maniak and MRDJXZ), and 2022’s Cosmic Drama (as Tha Noisy NEIghbor). Learn more about Unique’s work here.

Since 2016, Unique has taught Critical Theory and Creative Writing Workshop courses in the Humanistic Studies at MICA, and has served Co-Facilitator for MICA’s Community Gathering series, with MICA’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Unique also serves as a member of her alma mater Hampshire College’s Writers Advisory Council, and was the Chairperson of 2022 Baltimore Pride. 

Recently, Unique graced the cover of Baltimore Magazine’s GameChangers Issue, which included a profile highlighting the impact Unique has made in Baltimore.

About the Community Arts MFA at MICA
The first MFA of its kind in the US, this Community Arts graduate program was founded in 2011, building on the success of the MA in Community Arts, which launched in 2005, also the first of its kind in the nation. Today, the Community Arts MFA prepares students to use their artmaking in and with community to contribute to social justice, community development, activism, and education. The program features two real-world pathways, one with longstanding community partners, and another for defining new community-based residencies. The Community Arts MFA program, as part of Graduate Studies at MICA, is committed to achieving greater equity and diversity and encourages applications from Black, indigenous or First-Nations people, people of color, women, and LGBTQ individuals, including those who identify as gender non-conforming or transgender. 

Round one applications to the Community Arts MFA are due by January 19, 2022. Interested candidates should contact the Office of Graduate Admission at gradaute [​at​] mica.edu and view the application procedures here.

About Graduate Studies
Graduate Studies at MICA brings together a vibrant community of more than 300 graduate students who are pursuing degrees in one of 14 different graduate programs encompassing art, design, education, community, research and scholarship. As a dynamic network of specialized programs, each of these graduate programs creates a distinct learning environment for students to advance their practices and contribute to the discourse of their respective fields. Graduate Studies provides opportunities for graduate students across these programs to come together through shared coursework, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, events, and activities.

About MICA
Acknowledged nationally as a premier leader in art and design education, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is deliberately cultivating a new generation of artists—one that is capable of seamlessly integrating innovation, entrepreneurship and creative citizenship with contemporary approaches to art, design and media.

MICA is redefining the role of the artists and designers as creative, solutions-oriented makers and thinkers who will drive social, cultural, and economic advancement for our future.

As the oldest continuously degree-granting college of art and design in the nation, MICA is located in Baltimore, deeply connected to the community. It is a leading contributor to the creative economy regionally and a top producer of nationally and internationally recognized professional artists and designers. Visit the College’s website here.