Catherine Armbrust

Catherine Armbrust grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas but has enjoyed life in various parts of Missouri since 1989. An alumnus of the University of Missouri, she earned her MFA in Fibers & Sculpture (2012) and BA in Anthropology (1994). Armbrust currently lives in Columbia, Missouri and works as the Director of COMO Mobile Aid Collective, a non-profit focused on outreach to those experiencing homelessness in the area. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the MU School of Visual Studies.

While Armbrust will always have one foot in the art world, she also believes in the importance of community service. Armbrust grew up watching her mother establish the first women’s domestic violence shelter in Little Rock, Arkansas, and do an enormous amount of pro-bono community law assistance. Inspired by her mother’s service, Armbrust worked as a Kitchen and Facilities Coordinator at a women’s shelter in Kansas City in the late 1990’s. For a number of years Armbrust was Director of the George Caleb Bingham Gallery on the MU Campus and taught Fibers at Columbia College and UMKC, while also volunteering 3 years for COMO Mobile Aid Collective. After recently procuring a grant from the City of Columbia, Armbrust is slowly stepping away from the School of Visual Studies and her other teaching duties in order to dedicate herself full time to this emerging non-profit organization.