PROCESSA TALKS

In this live episode of Processa Talks, Kiara Cristina Ventura sits down with artist Emmanuel Massillon for a deep conversation on art, culture, and process. Together, they explore Emmanuel’s practice, the stories behind his work, and how his identity and experiences shape his vision as an artist. Later in the episode, they are joined by artist Allen Golder-Carpenter to reflect on the Massillon's performance piece "Cell 72: The Cost of Confinement" at Harlesden High Street Gallery in London, where Allen inhabited the role of an inmate for three days in June 2025.Recorded live at Studio Processa as part of the Processa Social Club series, this conversation unfolds with honesty, laughter, and insight into the realities of navigating the art world as a young Black conceptual artist.About Emmanuel:Emmanuel Massillon (b. 1998, Washington D.C.) is a conceptual artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, performance, and sound. His work critically examines race, identity, and culture—especially as they relate to people of African descent—drawing from his upbringing in inner-city D.C., his Haitian heritage, and lived experience. Rejecting strictly polished aesthetics, Emmanuel often works with raw, tactile materials — found objects, hand-carved wood, cultural memorabilia, even food products — to evoke history, memory, and material storytelling. His visual language channels influences like Jazz, R&B, Rap, folk art, and street vernacular, creating layered narratives that blur formal boundaries. Emmanuel has exhibited internationally, and his work is held in significant collections including the Baltimore Museum of Art, C21 Museum, The Flint Institute of Arts, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Connect with Emmanuel: https://www.emmanuel-massillon.com | @massi___------This episode is part of PROCESSA TALKS, a podcast and curatorial series by Processa—a roving platform founded by Kiara Ventura that supports experimental exhibitions, conversations, and collaborations with Black and Brown artists.Learn more and check out our programs at: processa.artSupport the podcast and our physical space: processa.art/donateIntro & outro beat credit. (non-profit): less is more by Mpsta & El J

In this episode, Kiara Cristina Ventura sits down with multidisciplinary artist Avila Santo to explore the rituals, rhythms, and revelations behind his evolving creative practice. From ancestral memory to the dream realm, Avila shares insights on his latest work, his connection to the spiritual, and the power of art as portal and provocation. This intimate conversation dives into the textures that shape his world—both seen and unseen.About Avila Santo:Born in Los Angeles in 1991, Avila Santo is a multidisciplinary artist of Afro-Brazilian and Jewish descent working across music, sound, and ritual. A graduate of Berklee College of Music with a B.A. in Professional Music and Latin Percussion, he is also a Capoeira professor and an initiated Awo of Isese Ifa in Nigeria. His work, rooted in rhythm and reverence, explores the intersections of diasporic identity, spirituality, and the natural world. Avila has collaborated with institutions like A24, LACMA, HBO, and Sony Music, and is currently a 2025 Music Resident at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. (avilasanto.com | @avilasanto )This episode is part of PROCESSA TALKS, a podcast and curatorial series produced by Processa—a roving platform founded by Kiara that supports experimental exhibitions, conversations, and collaborations with Black and Brown artists.Learn more and donate to support our work at processa.art

In this episode, Kiara Cristina Ventura sits down with multidisciplinary artist Kiarita within their debut solo exhibition home[body] at Hausen in Brooklyn to explore the delicate architecture of intimacy and queer eroticism. Set amid hidden paintings and altar-like assemblies inside found vintage furniture, the conversation touches on how safety and “chosen family” is woven through acts of communion. This dialogue delves into sensual textures, concepts around love & relationships, and the ways rest becomes resistance.About Kiarita:Born in Hackensack, NJ (1999) and based in Brooklyn, Kiarita is a Dominican artist working across painting and sculpture. In home[body]—curated by Usen Esiet (March 6 – August  31, 2025)—their “queering of the antique” and lush, tactile painting technique reveal sensuous moments within the found furniture. Inspired by Audre Lorde's "Uses of the Erotic, The Erotic as Power," the exhibition embraces eroticism “as a resource within each of us,” using intimacy and rest as tools of resistance. Kiarita holds a BFA in Visual & Critical Studies from SVA and is currently a Bronx AIM and New York Van Lier Trust Fellow. Their work has been honored by Rema Hort Mann Foundation and the Sylvia Lipson Allen Memorial Fund.Connect with Kiarita:scintillating.space | @sacralrise------This episode is part of PROCESSA TALKS, a podcast and curatorial series by Processa—a roving platform founded by Kiara Ventura that supports experimental exhibitions, conversations, and collaborations with Black and Brown artists.Learn more and check out our programs at: processa.artSupport the podcast and our physical space: processa.art/donateIntro audio credit (non-profit use) : yogic beats

Tune into the new season of Processa Talks (formerly known at AW CLASSROOM) with an interview with artist Piero Penizzotto, a Peruvian-American artist born and based in Queens, NY. Penizzotto’s practice consists of creating life-size painted papier-mâché sculptures as an ode to the friendships and communities he is a part of in New York and South Florida. This recording is from an artist talk between Piero Penizzotto and curator and founder of Processa, Kiara Cristina Ventura, on October 14th 2023, at Penizzotto's solo exhibition at White Columns in NYC. In tandem with themes within this exhibition, Penizzotto and Ventura discuss themes of home, belonging, migration, and honoring family history.  You can also watch the video of this interview on White Column's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q0TLanPM4I For more info about Processa, visit processa.art .

For this episode of Processa Talks, we have the pleasure of hosting Artist Diana Eusebio and Dr. Omaris Z. Zamora where they discuss Eusebio's solo exhibition, Alchemy: Pigments of Probability, opening at the Art and Culture center in Hollywood, Florida. Alchemy: Pigments of Probability, is a culmination of years of extensive research on the indigenous art of alchemizing plants and natural materials into color. In this specific body of work, she features seven different natural materials native to Miami, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, such as Cochineal, Avocados, Bija (Annatto), Spanish Moss, Indigo, Jagua, and Palo de Campeche (Logwood), often sourcing them directly from the landscape. The imagery in the works is digitally printed onto fabric and combine both archival photos of her past experiences with family and landscape, and imagined photos created with AI to reconstruct images of her family’s history in the Dominican Republic and Peru. Combining traditional practices and modern technologies, Diana explores collective memory processes, constructing familiar archives and textile traditions reflective of her ancestral past and family’s future legacy. The multi-layered process of creating these compelling new pieces is reflective of the complexities of recovering and recording Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean histories. The exhibition brochure includes a text by Dr. Omaris Z. Zamora. -------------- About Diana Eusebio: Diana Eusebio is a Peruvian-Dominican multidisciplinary artist based in Miami. Her artistic practice is centered on color and its cultural significance. She researches natural dyed textiles from Indigenous Latin American and Afro-Caribbean traditions, recognizing their connection to nature and their role as carriers of ancestral wisdom. Eusebio's fusion of ancestral and modern techniques, including dyeing and photography, contributes to contemporary cultural preservation and celebrates the rich heritage and Pre-Columbian knowledge embedded within these communities. Her work is a powerful testament to the enduring cultural tapestry of these regions. IG: @dianaeusebiostudio Website: https://dianaeusebio.com About Dr. Omaris Z. Zamora: Dr. Omaris Z. Zamora is a transnational Black Dominican Studies scholar and spoken-word poet. Her research interests include theorizing AfroLatinidad in the context of race, gender, and sexuality through Afro-diasporic approaches. Her forthcoming book, Cigüapa Unbound: AfroLatina Feminist Epistemologies of Tranceformation examines the transnational Black Dominican narratives put forth in the work of Firelei Baez, Elizabeth Acevedo, Nelly Rosario, Ana Lara, Loida Maritza Pérez, Josefina Baez, Cardi B, and La Bella Chanel. Dr. Zamora pays close attention to how they embody their blackness, produce knowledge, and shift the geographies of black feminism. IG: @trillchi_dominicana ---------------- This interview was recorded by Jason Greenberg. IG: @parallelplay.studio ---------------- Thank you for listening! Follow us on IG @processa.art and for more info visit our website at Processa.art.

For this bonus episode officially ending Season 1 of the AW Classroom podcast, curator Kiara Cristina Ventura interviews artist Luis Santana for a discussion around his current solo exhibition, "As Time Stood Still," currently at the Mynt Gallery in Chelsea, NY till February 16th, 2022. Here, they speak about photography work in the NFT world, the process behind Santana's work, and his journey in combining the practices art and photography.    “As Time Stood Still,” curated by Luis Santana and co-curated by Kiara Cristina Ventura, is a NFT photography solo exhibition highlighting the works of artist and documentarian Luis Santana. Taking place at the Mynt Gallery, an experimental NFT Lab and art gallery in Chelsea, the exhibition is Santana’s first NYC solo exhibition and NFT genesis drop.  The show centers around 18 pieces from framed black and white photographs to blue mixed media cyanotype works on paper and canvas that are connected to NFTs online.   Follow Santana's work at: @luissantanaaaa on IG & www.luis-santana.com  * Cover image of Luis Santana by Shravya Kag *   ___________   For more information about “As Time Stood Still” and to view the NFTs:  https://luis-santana.webflow.io   __________   Follow Mynt Gallery at @themyntlab and @CryptoFlowerz IG & Twitter __________   Follow us: @processa.art on IG Website: Processa.art  To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at processa.art and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon! Much love.

This 19th episode of AW CLASSROOM features an artist talk in tandem with our past August 2021 virtual exhibition, "Cocinando," led by the curator Kiara Cristina Ventura. This episode was recorded in August 2021 & features 4 of the artists included in the show: Cielo Felix Hernandez, Emmanuel Massillon, Estelle Maisonett, and Nicole Bello. Thinking of the kitchen as a space of gathering, cooking, experimenting, connecting and so on, the "Cocinando" exhibition relates the kitchen to the artist studio. Here, we update ourselves on what these NYC based Latinx artists have been experimenting with and cooking up. Speaking on themes of home, identity, and food via the mediums of painting and sculpture, the artists collectively chop up the conversation, raise the temperature, and serve us fresh perspectives. Curated by ARTSYWINDOW. Artist Bios: Nicole Bello is a Dominican-American artist born and raised in the Bronx. She attended Hunter College and received a degree of The Arts, currently she is working on a Visual Arts Masters degree at City College. Her work deals with themes of identity, sexuality, gender, home, self love and power. IG: @nicolebello__ Cielo Felix-Hernandez is a Puerto-rican transdisciplinary artist, primarily working in oil paint, the figures in Felix-Hernandez oil paintings author their own narratives constructed out of familiar Boricua and Caribbean iconographies.Having grown up between both lands, Felix-Hernandez processes their relationship to land, indigeneity, the historical, and the personal and how those themes affect survival. IG: @cielofelixhernandez Emmanuel Massillon (b. 1998 in Washington D.C.) is an African American conceptual artist who works in several different mediums including painting, photography, and sculpture. With these varying mediums, He explores the complex history of race, identity, culture and it's the relation to people of African descent. Massillon's upbringing in the inner city of Washington D.C. shapes the unique narrative that he strives to convey through his work, which is introducing others to new ideas by creating work from day-to-day life to politically charged topics. IG: @massi____ Estelle Maisonett is a Mexican and Puerto-Rican mixed-media interdisciplinary artist that uses found objects, photography, and sourced clothing to create life size collages that document her experience living in NYC. The interior and exterior spaces she builds are collages of photographs, patterns, and archived found objects she has collected. Creating figures void of the human body, she explores how the assumed figures' relationship to consumer products, location, and material inform sociocultural identity. IG: @elle915 ------------ *This episode is wonderfully sponsored by Flower Shop Collective. * Flower Shop Collective is an art and fabrication studio that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. Their goal is to help artists of all skill levels execute their ideas, learn new techniques and have a safe space to do so, with a prioritization on immigrant artists, artists of color, and women-identifying artists. También les ofrecen todos estos servicios en Español. For more information please head to flowershopcollective.com or @flowershopcollective on Instagram. ___________ Follow us: @artsywindow | artsywindow.com  To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon (@artsywindow) ! Much love

For the 17th episode of AW CLASSROOM, we virtually sat with artist Khari Johnson Ricks and discussed what it means to have a multidisciplinary practice where one practice informs and supports another. In the interview, Khari speaks to the power of his work and practices being rooted in love, community, relationships, the body, and of course, Jersey Club dance and music.    _________________________   In his own words, here's a bit about artist Khari Johnson Ricks:   "I am an artist and DJ whose work spans a range of audiovisual media and often exists in the public eye. This includes the production of zines, works on paper, performances, murals, and nightlife spaces. I often desire reprieve from the failures of the state and the constant peril black people face. My new work explores fellowship and engages acts of fiction and poetry to capture moments with kith and kin that feel loving. I ask myself what it means to make a family, community, friendship, when the world is so precarious, when the water rises, when death comes, and when all that is visible is capital. While my older work had been in conversation with vernacular movement traditions and martial arts practices like Shotokan Karate and Jersey Club dancing, which act as covert languages for those most targeted for capital extraction, I now explicitly center the fantastical and poetic nature of the Sublime. The works find their dramatic tension in the context of fragility, addressing my subjects’ deep alienation from, and even guilt in the face of, extended moments of peace. In this light, my work become testaments to the irrepressible urge of the imagination to metabolize, to reinvent, and to transcend."  ------------------  Follow his work at: @madebykhari on IG    ___________   *This episode is wonderfully sponsored by Flower Shop Collective. *  Flower Shop Collective is an art and fabrication studio that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. Their goal is to help artists of all skill levels execute their ideas, learn new techniques and have a safe space to do so, with a prioritization on immigrant artists, artists of color, and women-identifying artists. También les ofrecen todos estos servicios en Español.  For more information please head to flowershopcollective.com or @flowershopcollective on Instagram.  ___________   Follow us: @artsywindow | artsywindow.com  To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon! Much love

For the 16th episode of AW CLASSROOM, we virtually sat with curator Claire Kim and discussed what it means to navigate the art world with care and intention. In the interview, Kim breaks down highlights from her current exhibition, Un/Common Proximity, which is showing at James Cohan gallery NYC till August 13, 2021. The group show is a result of her recent fellowship with NXTHVN where she worked alongside all the artist residency fellows. More info on this exhibition here: https://www.jamescohan.com/exhibitions/nxthvn Claire Kim is a Korean-American independent curator and arts administrator based in New York City. She was raised in San Diego, California. Kim is currently the Special Assistant to the President at BRIC. She recently completed a 2020 Curatorial Fellowship through NXTHVN. Previously, Kim has worked in museum education and programming with numerous arts institutions and organizations, including the New Museum, the Asian American Arts Alliance, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. She has curated and consulted for exhibitions in spaces such as at BRIC, MoCADA, The Border Project Space, Mom’s Gallery, and Gymnasium. Kim graduated from the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Management Fellowship in August 2018. She received her BA in English and Art History from Fordham University. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree at Bard. Follow her work at: @mediumrareclaire on IG   ___________  *This episode is wonderfully sponsored by Flower Shop Collective. *  Flower Shop Collective is an art and fabrication studio that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. Their goal is to help artists of all skill levels execute their ideas, learn new techniques and have a safe space to do so, with a prioritization on immigrant artists, artists of color, and women-identifying artists. También les ofrecen todos estos servicios en Español.  For more information please head to flowershopcollective.com or @flowershopcollective on Instagram.  ___________  Follow us: @artsywindow | artsywindow.com  To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon! Much love

For the 15th episode of AW CLASSROOM, Kiara Cristina Ventura interviews multidisciplinary artist and musician, Albany Andaluz. In the interview, Andaluz speaks about her identities and cultural backgrounds and how they result in multidimensional artworks. She also speaks on her nomadic experience moving to Mexico during the pandemic. Now temporarily based Dominican Republic, the artist ends the interview with an exclusive art performance just for us here at AW!  *FYI there are roosters in the background of this interview so if you hear some cock-a-doodle-dooing in the background it's our rooster friends haha*  .....  Albany Andaluz (b. 1995, Bronx, New York) uses colloquialisms to draw intersections between Caribbean, Latin American, and American experiences. A life-taught artist, her practice reflects a repurposed, multidisciplinary approach with works that resurrect discarded textiles as mixed-media sculptures, paintings, and photographs to allude to the intersections of conflict, migration, and settlement. Andaluz’s practice examines the psychosocial and socioeconomic shifts that happen during the process of acculturation through the intertwining of techniques sourced from craft, fine, folk, low and high-brow cultures. Such work has awarded Andaluz residencies, grants and features with ProjectArt NYC, BronxArtSpace, Joan Mitchell Foundation, Bronx Documentary Center, BronxNet, ArtForum, and Aperture Foundation’s magazine.  Follow her work at: @albanyandaluz on IG or www.albanyandaluz.work  ___________  *This episode is wonderfully sponsored by Flower Shop Collective. * Flower Shop Collective is an art and fabrication studio that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. Their goal is to help artists of all skill levels execute their ideas, learn new techniques and have a safe space to do so, with a prioritization on immigrant artists, artists of color, and women-identifying artists. También les ofrecen todos estos servicios en Español. For more information please head to flowershopcollective.com or @flowershopcollective on Instagram. ___________ Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.comand click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon! Much love

For the 14th episode of AW CLASSROOM, AW intern Abe Centeno interviews Bronx artist and educator, Sofie Vasquez. In the interview, Sofie talks about her journey being an artist from The Bronx, how she developed her skills, and also her part time practice in photographing the NYC wrestling scene.     .....    Sofie Vasquez (b. 1998) is an Ecuadorian documentary photographer born and raised in The Bronx, New York.  Her work has been featured in The New York Times and has been exhibited with the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Bronx Documentary Center, the Ecuadorian-American Cultural Center, The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, the Shirley Fiterman Art Center, the DGT Alumni Association Gallery House, Photoville and En Foco Inc.   She is an alumni of the International Center of Photography's Community Fellows, and is a part of the first graduating class of the fellowship (2018-2020) She was a student at The City College of New York until the COVID-19 global pandemic forced her to pause her studies. She currently works at the Bronx Documentary Center as well as freelances as a traveling documentary photographer.   Follow her work at: @bullsinthebrnx on IG    *This episode is wonderfully sponsored by Flower Shop Collective. *  Flower Shop Collective is an art and fabrication studio that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. Their goal is to help artists of all skill levels execute their ideas, learn new techniques and have a safe space to do so, with a prioritization on immigrant artists, artists of color, and women-identifying artists. También les ofrecen todos estos servicios en Español.  For more information please head to flowershopcollective.com or @flowershopcollective on Instagram. Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com   To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon!  Much love

For this special Vday drop, we are releasing a lovely interview with artist Aya Brown where we talk about her practice and how she paints and draws Black Women she loves. And we also discuss her love for Mary J. Blidge of course.   Aya Brown (b. 1995) is a Black and Japanese artist who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Brown’s artistic practice is focused on documenting unseen people, with an emphasis on bringing visibility to queer Black and brown women. She’s always sought to channel love and care to her community through her work. During the start of the pandemic, she became known for her "Essential Worker" series which consist of portraits of Black and Brown women essential workers in NYC from nurses to postal workers.    Follow her work at:  @ayabrown.tiff on IG   Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com  To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon!  Much love.

For the 12th episode of AW CLASSROOM, we interview Jamaican-Canadian artist Tau Lewis about her self-taught journey and how she intentionally creates doll-like sculptures to embody spirit and connect to her ancestors.    Tau Lewis (b. 1993, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) employs arduous methods such as hand sewing, carving, and assemblage to build intricate sculptural portraits and quilts. A self-taught artist, her practice is rooted in healing personal, collective, and historical traumas through labour. The materiality of Lewis’ work is often informed by her surrounding environment: she constructs out of found, gathered, and recycled materials from Toronto, New York, and outside of her family's home in Negril, Jamaica. The transformative act of repurposing these materials recalls practices of resourcefulness in diasporic contexts; upcycling is a recuperative act that reclaims both agency and memory. The portraits themselves reference both individuals in Lewis’ community and imagined ancestors.  Lewis will be included in 2021 exhibitions at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell; Prospect 5, New Orleans; Haus der Kunst, Munich; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.     Follow her work at:  @taulewis on IG   Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com   This episode was edited by AW intern, Abe Centeno.    To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Or join us on patreon!  Much love.

Today on AW CLASSROOM we center Carrie Mae Weems, "The Kitchen Table Series," 1990 and this work is important in the history of contemporary art, especially in the world of photography. Throughout the decades, Weems highlights and uplifts the narratives of black women in America.   The notes for this episode were wonderfully put together by AW intern, Abe Centeno.   AW CLASSROOM is a series of talks and art history classes highlighting the work of artists and creatives of color. Find out more at ARTSYWINDOW.COM.   To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. You can also become a patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/ARTSYWINDOW   Follow us on the gram: @artsywindow  Tiktok: @artsywindow   Much love!

For the 10th episode of AW CLASSROOM, we center David Hammons' work "Bliz-aard Ball Sale," Cooper Square, New York, 1983.  The notes for this episode were wonderfully put together by AW intern, Abe Centeno. To see the full notes, research, and images for this episode, become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ARTSYWINDOW. AW CLASSROOM is a series of talks and art history classes highlighting the work of artists and creatives of color. Find out more at ARTSYWINDOW.COM.   To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. You can also become a patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/ARTSYWINDOW  Follow us on the gram: @artsywindow  Tiktok: @artsywindow   Much love!

For the 9th episode of AW Classroom, founder of AW, Kiara Cristina Ventura, takes us through works by artist Dread Scott. Particularly, we dive into how he changed US Law and uses the flag as a medium to make a statement about the historical foundation of the US and the overall discrimination against the black community within the US. AW CLASSROOM is a series of talks and art history classes highlighting the work of artists and creatives of color. Find out more at ARTSYWINDOW.COM. To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Much love! We recently made a patreon to support our work: https://www.patreon.com/ARTSYWINDOW Follow us on the gram: @artsywindow Tiktok: @artsywindow

For the 8th episode of AW Classroom, we talk to young art historian and curator Antoine Girard.   Arts professional and a cultural strategist, Antoine Girard is passionate about the arts and social change. Professional and scholarly interests include black visual culture, and inclusive engagement strategies. He earned his B.A. in Art History from Howard University. He began his work in the museum field working with The Broad and CAAM and most recently The Underground Museum.  His work in the museum field has garnered support from institutions such as The American Alliance of Museums, and the Western Arts Foundation, where he was recognized as an Emerging Leader of Color. Antoine lives as an independent museum professional and curator, and thought leader based in Southern California. His upcoming curatorial work will be seen at Jeffrey Deitch Projects in Los Angeles.    To keep up with his work, follow him on IG: @ _ajgirard   Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com   To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Much love!

Digital Space as Safe Space Panel Talk - Hosted by Latinx Project at NYU.   For this episode of AW CLASSROOM we feature the recording of the official Cyber Healing virtual panel talk led by founder of AW and curator Kiara Cristina Ventura joined by featured artists Florencia Escudero, Moréna Espiritual, Chloe Piñero, Gina Goico, and Catherine Feliz. The conversation centers around the featured works in the exhibition, how the digital world has informed their work, and served as a safe space to explore.   -------------------------- CYBER HEALING, curated by Kiara Cristina Ventura of ARTSYWINDOW, is an exhibition that explores how Latinx and Afro-Latinx artists are healing via feminine energy and digital space. As many of us during the COVID-19 pandemic are deepening our relationships with the digital world, this exhibition raises our contemporary connectivity with the online and social media world to the surface and dissects how we have collectively curated and sourced from online spaces to create discourse, educate, empower, and serve us. Therefore, the digital world of healing has come into fruition within the last decades to be used a tool and has quickly bloomed during 2020 with more creatives seeking to aid one another and themselves.    -------------------------- CYBER HEALING, Sept 4 - Dec 1 2020 - features works by Fannie Sosa, Florencia Escudero, Moréna Espiritual, Chloe Piñero, Gina Goico, and Catherine Feliz. Ranging from video to mixed media to sculpture, the exhibition raises themes speaking to visibility, feminism, queerness, reclamation of the body, decolonization, spirituality, and ultimately how these themes educate and serve healing processes. This exhibition is presented by the Latinx Project at NYU. Follow us at @artsywindow --

Mel Luna and AW Founder, Kiara Cristina Ventura, sat down in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Larissa De Jesús Negrón ‘s solo exhibition "Moving On" 2020 to talk about artistic process, abstraction of identity, and her unique journey.   Melanie Luna (IG: @ohmeluna ) is a young Dominican conceptual artist who is working with the figure in a unique way —stripping the figure of their skin thus stripping them of certain parts of their identity. She is constantly thinking of meshing the worlds between science and fiction with her playful scenes that bring the viewer to imagine what is at play. Follow her work at:  @ohmeluna on IG Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Much love!

For the episode #5 of AW CLASSROOM, we virtually sit with curator and founder of the Mare Residency, Tiffany Auttrianna Ward, who focuses her work on artists of the African Diaspora and those of marginalized communities.   To support our podcast and the work we do, please donate to us at artsywindow.com and click the "donate" tab. Much love! Read here to learn more about our guest:  Tiffany Auttrianna Ward is an independent curator and cultural producer based between Baltimore and New York. In 2019 she founded Mare Residency, a roving residency with a focus on supporting and connecting artists of African descent between the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. In its inaugural year Ward partnered with SunSpot sTudios to host Baltimore-born artist Jerrell Gibbs and Dominican-American artist Raelis Vasquez in a two-week residency created to highlight and connect artists to the city of Baltimore. Recent awards include the Intercultural Development Grant, MICA/MFA Graduate Merit Scholarship, Leslie King Hammond Graduate Fellowship, and the MICA Graduate Research Development Grant. At MICA, she served as a Graduate Studies Curatorial Fellow and the student representative in the Vice Provost Search Committee. During the past ten years, Ward has centered the stories of the African Diaspora through her academic and professional pursuits, which have taken her to Brazil, Puerto Rico, and throughout the continental United States. From 2015-2018, she ran a bilingual Portuguese and English online journal, Cores Brilhantes—a contemporary online space for Afro-Brazilian art. Since founding the journal, she has also been a contributing writer for AFROPUNK and Sugarcane Magazine as well as assisted artists from across the diaspora with public relations and marketing support. She is a 2020 MFA Curatorial Practice graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She received her BA in History from Manhattanville College in 2011 with a focus on African Diasporic Studies.    Follow her work at:  @auttrianna and @mareresidency on IG   Follow us: @artsywindow artsywindow.com