Susan M Heggestad has been the recipient of numerous grants, honors, and awards for her work in printmaking, mixed-media, and installation.
After receiving her BFA in Printmaking from the University of South Dakota, Heggestad studied with Harvey Breverman and Adele Henderson at the State University of New York, where she earned her MFA in Printmaking in 2002. While there, she was awarded a competitive Mark Diamond Research Fund Grant for her work in printmaking and installation, which led to her solo exhibition, makeSense, at the Market Street Gallery in Lockport, New York.
Recently, Heggestad was awarded a second Artist’s Grant from the South Dakota Arts Council in 2011, to produce a new body of work in printmaking on fabric and other non-traditional surfaces. Previously, in 2007 she was awarded an Artist Grant to attend the residency program at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. While in residence at the Anderson Ranch, Heggestad produced an extensive body of work in collagraph printmaking, utilizing cut paper. This body of work has been exhibited widely, and has led to the creation of two new bodies of work expanding the dimensionality of traditional printmaking.
Additionally, Heggestad has received several honors and awards for her work in competitive exhibitions, including First Collegiate Handmade Paper Show (Jurors Jane M Farmer and JoAnn Moser), Works on Paper, 2001 (Juror Ray George), MGNE National Monotype/Monoprint Exhibition (Juror Aprile Gallant), The Forge and the Press, Los Angeles Printmaking Society 19th National Exhibition (Juror Archana Horsting), and in 2012, the mixed media award in the 64 Arts, America: Now and Here exhibition (Juror Eric Fischl).
Susan Heggestad has also been a visiting artist or lecturer at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in Buffalo, New York, the Southern Graphics Council International Conference in Boston, Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, North Dakota State University in Fargo, the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Sciences in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the University of Nebraska, in Kearney.