I am pleased to announce my acceptance into the Philadelphia Magic Gardens group exhibition Under $100, Under $1000 curated by Chelsey Luster! Expanding across two gallery spaces within Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, this group exhibition showcases contemporary works that are priced under $100 in one gallery and under $1000 in the other.
Exhibition Dates: November 17, 2023 – January 14, 2024
Reception: Friday, November 17, 2023, 6- 9pm
Philadelphia Magic Gardens 1020 South Street, Philadelphia
Join us for behind-the-scenes glimpses of three Fishtown mixed media artists, Henry Bermudez, Michelle Marcuse, and Natasha Zeta as they show recent work and talk about their practices for Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST), a program of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists.
Coming from Venezuela, Henry Bermudez's embrace a hybrid of myths, symbols and religious lore from pre-Hispanic, Judeo-Christian and Afro-Caribbean influences. His work transcends timelines and national boundaries as he merges magical dimensions of symbols with western rationality. This blend of cultural diversities is his autobiographical vision that further defines itself through immersion into societies other than the one he was born into.
Michelle Marcuse's recent work is significantly influenced by the vibrant cultural aesthetics that surrounded her during formative years growing up in South Africa. Through an exploration of the intricate relationship between identity, history, and the shared human experience amidst an ever-changing cultural fusion, she blends traditional craft techniques experienced in her youth with modern aesthetics, prompting questions around fixed identity and shifting narratives in today's society.
Natasha Zeta is a mixed media painter who creates interactive portraiture with broken mirrors, allowing the viewer to step into another perspective. Zeta seeks to amplify narratives from marginalized communities whose stories are vastly underrepresented in our conversations about mental health, often collaborating with nonprofits to paint portraits of trauma survivors to celebrate their journeys of healing.
October 14th - 15th, 2023, 12 - 6pm
1816 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia
I am pleased to announce Nature Nurture has been accepted to exhibit at Lehigh University Art Galleries!
This exhibition explores several themes related to body knowledge: Movement and Sensation; Decoration, Ritual, and Costume; The Social Body; The Body in Transformation; and Extending the Body.
There are plenty of free programs and events that explore the many ways we can care for and understand our bodies and each other through transformative experiences with art.
Exhibition: August 28, 2023 - May 24, 2024
Lehigh University Art Galleries
420 East Packer Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18015
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) is throwing their 40th Anniversary party to celebrate the success of the over 300 artists who have passed through our flagship Visual Artist Fellowship. Gather with artists, our supporters, and many in the Philly art space (including Moore alumni), and view a special art sale (including my work), unique art installations, and artful cocktails with delicious food. Click HERE for more details and to purchase tickets.
Wednesday, June 7th
Atrium, The Galleries at Moore
1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
I am pleased to be one of the emerging artists featured in Collide Magazine and I also shared Point of Entry at their open mic event! Collide is a collaborative project born out of the idea to bring the intimate art of spoken word poetry and open mic culture to a larger stage. It is made by Philly creatives for Philly creatives, with an objective to bring visual creators and writers together in a way that permanently records their stories.
Sunday May 21st, 7pm
Abyssinia, 2nd Floor, 229 S 45th St, Philadelphia
All the Pieces of You & All the Pieces of Me (That Made a Home), 2023
I will be Maelani’s Artist of the Month! Join me as I present Cracked Open and Nature Nurture at this eclectic Germantown venue!
Exhibition Dates: May 14th - June 3rd.
Maelani Cafe 6734 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia
Point of Entry is a series of oil paintings that depicts powerful images of people and their scars or other sites of somatic healing. Each scar is painted on a fragment of broken mirror with a carved line defining the incision of the scar, allowing the viewer to see themselves reflected within.
Point of Entry seeks to amplify narratives from marginalized communities that disproportionately experience mental illness, but whose stories are vastly underrepresented in our conversations about mental health. In light of this mission, the project is collaborating with Women Against Abuse, Philadelphia’s leading domestic violence advocate and service provider and among the largest domestic violence agencies in the country.
This project aims to raise awareness of resources, highlight survivors’ stories beyond victimization and shine a light on how people heal.
I am raising funds independently. Please consider donating any amount towards this project - every little bit will help! Even just $10 would make all the difference.
Thank you so much, and if you cannot donate at this time, please consider sharing it on Instagram and Facebook!’
Honored to be invited to the Gapura Philadelphia Leaders Meet & Greet to connect with other local community leaders, share details on Point of Entry, and hear about BIPOC and community lead projects happening in South Philadelphia and beyond.
Saturday, March 18th, 5pm
Gapura Community Center 1612 S Broad St, Philadelphia
Recently I presented Point of Entry at Twelve Gates Arts and Batikh Batikh’s Community Night led by curator Sarah Trad! SWANA/SA creatives such as visual artists and writers presented their practice for feedback from other artists within the culture.
Thursday, March 16, 2023, 5:30pm
Twelve Gates Arts 106 North 2nd Street Philadelphia
The Asian Arts Initiative Town Hall is a networking event where artists, organizers, and organizations come together to support upcoming artistic projects and break bread over a potluck dinner.
I am presenting my expansion plan of the Point of Entry series!
Monday, March 13th at 6pm
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia
Last exhibition of the year! Check out REMIX at Wanderlife Gallery.
Reception: December 9th 6 - 9pm
Wanderlife Gallery, 2231 S 13th St, Philadelphia
November 4th - December 3rd
Reception: November 4th, 6 - 9pm, Panel at 6:30
Wanderlife Gallery, 2231 S 13th St, Philadelphia, PA
RSVP Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/point-of-entry-x-safe-horizon-atp-art-exhibition-tickets-423832704027
Point of Entry is a series of oil paintings depicting people’s scars and sites of somatic healing. Each intimate portrait is painted on a piece of broken mirror, allowing the viewer to see themselves reflected within. Together these pieces allude to being part of a larger, imperfect mosaic of community and invites the viewer to glimpse into a life outside their own and see a part of themselves.
Point of Entry seeks to amplify narratives from marginalized communities that disproportionately experience mental illness, but whose stories are vastly underrepresented in our conversations about mental health. In light of this mission, the project is collaborating with Safe Horizon, a non-profit organization that provides services to victims of crimes. Since 2001, the Anti-Trafficking Program (ATP) has provided trauma-informed intensive case management, psychotherapy, and legal assistance to trafficking survivors.
This project intends to enrich community discussions of trafficking while also portraying stories of how people heal, illuminating how we connect with others and hold space for their experiences. Butterflies created by trauma survivors and visitors will be intertwined throughout the exhibition, representing the color and resilience we possess. Vulnerabilities are universal yet idiosyncratic; more, they are seeds from which beauty creatively emerges.
Special thanks to Safe Horizon for their support of this project. We would like to thank the Puffin Foundation and ArtisPHL for their support of this project.
Krista Svalbonas and Natasha Zeta are pleased to present Cicatrix, an exhibition on how we ground ourselves after trauma. Drawing from personal stories, each artist illustrates acts of defiance, resilience, and growth despite devastation. Whether caused by upheaval from geopolitical warfare or from our own internal struggles, this collaboration explores the idea of a fractured identity and how we heal from our experiences to create a new path as well as preserve and honor the memory of where we have been.
September 19th - October 22nd
CFEVA Philadelphia Open Studio Tour: Sunday, October 22nd
Allens Lane Art Center, 601 W Allens Ln, Philadelphia, PA 19119
So excited to tell you that I have been awarded a $1,500 grant from the Puffin Foundation! The Puffin Foundation provides grants to artists who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy. This will go towards our Point of Entry Exhibition this Fall.
I am so happy to announce I’ve won the the ArtisPHL Grant for $1,000! Thanks to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority’s Fund for Art and Civic Engagement, and with support from the Knight Foundation, I am able to secure a Point of Entry exhibition in November at Wanderlife Gallery.
“We hoped that the second group of ARTISPHL would continue to use this opportunity to express themselves and represent their communities,” said David Thomas, CEO of PHDC. “These inspiring submissions allow us to rediscover the power of our communities and ourselves through art.”
I am honored to announce I am one of four Center for Emerging Visual Arts Fellows!
The Visual Artist Fellowship, the cornerstone of CFEVA's artist services, offers a customized platform on which emerging and mid-career visual artists in Philadelphia and its surrounding region can experience career growth, experiment with big ideas, and reach new levels of excellence within their practice.
Through a competitive process, CFEVA asks applicants to demonstrate a history of artistic excellence, a proven track record in project completion, and a clear plan for CFEVA’s proposed role in accomplishing their career goals. This year four Fellows and four Finalists were selected by CFEVA's Board of Artistic Advisors. See Advisors HERE
I am amazed to be chosen for this important opportunity. Thank you to all of those who have helped me along the way, and I’m excited to see what the future brings.
My work will be featured on the big screen at CFEVA’s Feel the Love Happy Hour at The Trestle Inn. Please stop by to help fundraise and friend-raise for Philadelphia nonprofit the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, providing opportunities and funding to local artists. Featuring Happy Hour Specials, our How Deep is Your Love cocktail, Philly Soul Hits and much more, 20% of all bar sales during the event will go directly to support the mission of the nonprofit.
My art will be projected on a big screen at the event, so keep an “eye” out!
Thursday, June 2nd, 6-9 PM
Trestle Inn 339 N 11th St, Philadelphia
At long last, I am finally launching the Point of Entry exhibition in November 2022 at Wanderlife Gallery in November 2022. First conceived of in 2020, I am excited to be this close to finally making a public exhibition of Point of Entry a reality. I have been working hard these last few months getting ready for it - interviewing, painting, grant writing, connecting and sharing.
I am raising funds independently. Please consider donating any amount towards this project - every little bit will help! Even just $10 would make all the difference.
Thank you so much, and if you cannot donate at this time, please consider sharing it on Instagram and Facebook!’
The Asian Arts Initiative Town Hall is a networking event where artists, organizers, and organizations come together to support upcoming artistic projects and break bread over a potluck dinner.
I am presenting my expansion plan of the Point of Entry series! Click here to see the presentation!
This is a virtual event! RSVP Here to join on May 19th!
I am pleased to announce that my Point of Entry project was a finalist for the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, a grant for feminist artists from the United States and Canada!
There are hundreds who apply and only around twenty winners and fifteen finalists, so it is definitely a feat to get so close!