The CAN Foundation Announces 2026–2027 First Patron Artist-in-Residence, Wil Swink

Wil Swink is a Virginia-based visual artist whose practice developed from a lifelong relationship with art, first as an admirer and collector and later as a maker. Born in Williamsburg, Virginia, Swink began formally exploring his own artistic ideas in 2011 while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. What began with the creation of a portrait soon led to his first public exhibition and the beginning of an ongoing studio practice.

Since then, Swink has presented solo and group exhibitions throughout Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Utah, including exhibitions at Westbeth Gallery in New York City, Southampton Arts Center, Artworks Trenton, and Colonial Williamsburg. In 2022, his work received third place in the juried Viewpoints exhibition in Montclair, New Jersey. His practice and story have also been featured in several documentary projects, including Swink (2013), The New Native (2017), and Curate 757 (2025).

Swink approaches art as an exchange between artist and viewer, resisting fixed interpretations in favor of allowing meaning to emerge through observation and experience. In 2026, he joins CAN Foundation as an Artist in Residence in Newport News, Virginia.

The CAN Foundation First Patron Artist Residency is made possible by a partnership with City Center at Oyster Point and a Community Support Grant from the City of Newport News.

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