Vin Grabill
Associate Professor, Emeritus
Cinematic Arts
grabill@umbc.edu
Vin Grabill creates and exhibits works in digital media and video art formats. He received a B.A. degree in Studio Art from Oberlin College in 1971 and an M.S. degree in Visual Studies from the M.I.T. Center For Advanced Visual Studies in 1981. After teaching Video Art at the Massachusetts College of Art from 1984-1988, Grabill joined the faculty of the UMBC Department of Visual Arts in 1988 teaching video art. He served as department chairperson from 2008-2015 and Graduate Program Director from 2001-2008, and he retired in 2020.
Grabill’s digital prints and video art works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In addition to individual projects, Grabill collaborates regularly with performing artists, choreographers, and poets in an attempt to find new solutions for the presentation of live arts utilizing live and recorded aspects of the video medium.
Grabill has been active in community initiatives throughout his career. He co-founded and served as president of the Association of Maryland Area Media Artists, Inc (AMAMA), a non-profit membership organization that served the needs of independent media artists from 1989-1996. Grabill has also served on advisory panels and juries with the Maryland State Arts Council and The Contemporary Museum, Baltimore. From 1994–1998, Grabill coordinated the educational mission of Baltimore Youth Television (BYTV), a program administered by the Maryland Institute College of Art designed to involve Baltimore City middle school children in video production. Grabill maintains his long and ongoing interest promoting the M.I.T. Center For Advanced Visual Studies through exhibitions, celebrations, and publications.