Craig Voligny was born in Michigan, U.S.A. in 1974. He is a visual artist, instructor and a small business owner. He has also lived in Ohio, Oregon, Alaska, Arkansas, North Carolina and has spent over eight years in Asia. Voligny has an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) in painting from the University of Arkansas and a BFA (Bachelors of Fine Arts) from the Columbus College of Art and Design . In 2010, he was the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright research fellowship in the field of Fine Arts.
As an artist, Voligny has exhibited in more than 30 exhibitions, both nationally in the United States and internationally in Asia at venues such as the Dalian World Trade Center, the Taiwan National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, and the Arkansas Arts Center. To view his work, visit .
In addition to being an artist, Voligny also has a long and distinguished career as an instructor of ESL (English Second Language). In 1999, he began his ESL teaching career as a volunteer at a refugee center in Portland, Oregon. Finding the experience rewarding , he went on to teach in north-east China for seven years from 2000 to 2007. He taught at Changchun University and Dalian University. In 2008, he returned to the U.S. and worked in the International Students and Scholars Office at the University of Arkansas with the task of programming the university extracurricular ESL programs for over 1000 students from over 100 countries. At the University of Arkansas he also taught Drawing I and an Introduction to Studio Art in the art department for two years. In 2012, he began teaching at Beijing Normal University Zhuhai.
As a Fulbright Scholar, he spent 2010 snorkeling and diving over the Kenting Reef off the southern tip of the island of Taiwan. While living in the Kenting National Park, he was an Artist in Residence at the National Museum of Marine Biology where his creative research culminated in a exhibition that examined the reef ecology from a cultural and philosophic point of view .
In 2013, Voligny’s recent work will be exhibited at Roanoke College in Virginia parallel to an exhibit of the Hyperbolic Coral Reef Project, an international community collaboration art project which aims to use art to build awareness of the effect of climate change on coral reefs worldwide. In 2014, in cooperation with the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Arboretum, he will mount a large exhibit that will creatively explore dendrology (the science of trees) and the effects of climatic changes on forest environments.
On another note, Voligny leads a second life as a small business owner in Alaska for 2 months each summer. He owns and operates a commercial fishing operation in the world’s largest and best managed wild salmon fishery, Bristol Bay. The environment he operates his business in is pristine, wild and remote. The resulting product can be found in restaurants and supermarkets from Japan to the U.K..
In his personal time, Voligny enjoys reading history, viewing art, walking and when the opportunity exists, swimming and snorkeling. He is also a passionate lover of cats, travel and new experiences.
