O.M. France Viana is a multimedia artist, working in photography, painting, collage, video, performance and installation. Her artworks interrogate the semiotics of color, spirituality and consciousness, and Filipino American and Venezuelan identity.
Trinh Mai is a second-generation Vietnamese American artist living and practicing in Long Beach California. Her connection to the refugee and immigrant experience has heavily guided her practice. With deep respect, she binds these inherited stories into something we can all witness and begin to understand. This presentation includes information on her family’s personal immigration/refugee experience, escaping war, healing, and the artwork that helps document history, honor storytelling, and incite healing in the aftermath of war. Trinh Mai will continue to work with MCLA students for the remainder of the month including two workshop sessions and another presentation.
Since May, MCLA’s Gallery 51 has highlighted and showcased talented artists from the Berkshire community and across the globe during our live virtual Featured Artist segments. Shasha Dothan (b. 1987 Tel-Aviv) is a Brooklyn-based artist working with video, installation, poetry and sound. She creates immersive experiences that connect fragments of her personal history with the history of Israel. Dothan received an MFA from University of California Los Angeles (2018), and a BFA from Shenkar College (2013). Exhibitions include the Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan; Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Petah Tikva; Blum & Poe, Los Angeles; Human Resources, Los Angeles just to name a few. She was an artist in residence at Mass Moca, Byrdcliffe and Vermont Studio center. To learn more about her practice, visit her site at https://shashadothan.com/ .
On September 24, MASS MoCa curator, Denise Markonish, and artists, Adriana Corral and Vincent Valdez, continued a discussion from the 16 on the books that have most influenced the artists’ work. They talk about what books the three are currently reading related to the topic of immigration, the mortality rate, and history of mortality associated with migration over the southern US border.
Since May, MCLA’s Gallery 51 has highlighted and showcased talented artists from the Berkshire community and across the globe during our live virtual Featured Artist segments. Anina Major joined us in August to discuss her practice, answer questions in real time, and provide a studio tour through the video call. Anina is is an artist who works to cultivate moments of reflection and a sense of belonging. Her work draws from anthropological research and oral histories to challenge postcolonial ideology and advocate for critical dialogue around developing cultural identities. The work unpacks the emotional complexities inherent to the transcultural dialogue that surfaces when mapping the migration of traditions versus foreign influences. To learn more about her practice, visit her site at http://www.aninamajor.com/.
