Mary Ann Merker is a long-time resident of the City of Emeryville and one of the original artists who helped organize and display artwork in the very first Celebration of the Arts. Ms. Merker held three separate grants from the California Arts Council as an artist in Social Institutions and edited a book and video on the experience that was carried by Filmmaker’s Library in New York. Her artwork is in the James S. Copley Library collection in La Jolla California, the Cooley Collection of 20th Century Graphic Art in Peoria, Illinois and the Kaiser Facility Permanent Collection in Vacaville, California and numerous private collections. Among other employment Ms. Merker has been the Chair of a Graduate Art Department, Executive Director of a County Arts Council and recently retired as the Civic Arts Coordinator for the City of Berkeley. Ms. Merker holds a BFA in Painting from the University of Buffalo, an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Hawaii and a Graduate Certificate in Fine Arts Fundraising and nonprofit Management from the University of San Francisco School of Nonprofit Management. Ms. Merker continues to live in the city of Emeryville where she has her studio.