multidisciplinary artist, installation, public art, film, community engagement
Film
US THEM WE
Though choreographed interactive gestures US THEM WE pairs homeless residents with artists and arts professional who all closely share the Pioneer Square neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. It is an exercise in seeing, an endeavor to shift contexts, create experiential moments of exchange, humanize polarities, and build transformational connections between individuals and communities.
33 people participated in this extraordinary experience.
US THEM WE was originally shown as part of the community engagement installation project entitled SUCCESSION: The Exchange Project by artist Michelle de la Vega at Gallery 4Culture in Seattle, WA.
Videography, choreography and concept: Michelle de la Vega
Video Assistant’: Hannah Leonardo
Video Editing and Sound Engineer: Dana Jill for Artist Reformation
This project has received generous support from a King County 4Culture Arts Projects Grant, and partial funding from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.
The Dismissed
In Dismissed a woman swallows and regurgitates hundreds of whistles. The whistles are symbols of voice and agency, representing all the words and parts of herself dismissed by a culture of patriarchy.
Sugar Road, excerpts
Women in their 40's and 50's roll down a road of sugar representing their years of experiencing the oppressive culture of requiring them to be sweet and consumable in order to be valued.
The full video loop is 18 min. The immersive installation format covers up to a 30 ft. x 10 ft wall space.
Pleaser
In Pleaser a woman is sitting in a historically traditional nude painting pose. Her back is covered in sugar. A swab taken from a sexual assault test kit slowly wipes away the sugar to write the word Pleaser down her spine.
SOVEREIGN: Race and Land Ownership in Rural Minnesota
Coming Soon: Feature documentary in collaboration with Dr. Eva Barr about the challenges of agricultural land access for people of color in Minnesota. Minnesota is a prominent agricultural state, yet 99% of the land is owned by white people. Owned explores the challenges and importance for BIPOC community to reconnect and steward the land.