Join us for an afternoon celebrating the 2023 Professional Artist Fellows in the closing of “Energy in Motion”, the 2023 Professional Artist Fellowship exhibition, along with welcoming the incoming 2024 Operating I & II grantees, Community Project grantees, and the new Professional Art Fellowship cohort.

AGENDA:

Check In | 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM
Open Conversation with Griselda Suarez | 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Professional Artist Fellow | Brandis Rodriguez
Brandis Rodriguez is a visual artist who uses a variety of mediums ranging from drawing and painting to embroidery and textiles. Her work examines themes of grief, ritual, womanhood, hauntings, healings, and evanescence. Inspiration and symbolism from the Victorian Era are an important part of her work, in particular, folk, domestic, and mourning art.

Professional Artist Fellow | Emily Dyer
Emily Dyer, soprano, has been praised as a versatile singing actor who is equally comfortable on both operatic and musical theater stages. Emily has participated in renowned Young Artist Programs, including Aspen Opera Theater Company, OperaWorks, and Songfest. She is passionate about bringing opera and musical theater to children, and has delighted in collaborating with the Pacific Symphony in its endeavor to produce child-friendly opera performances.

Professional Artist Fellow | Arminé Iknadossian
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Arminé Iknadossian’s family fled to California when she was four years old to escape the civil war. After graduating from UCLA, Iknadossian earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Antioch University. The author of All That Wasted Fruit (Main Street Rag), Iknadossian’s work is included in XLA Anthology, Whale Road Review, Southern Florida Poetry Journal, MacQueen’s Quarterly, and The American Journal of Poetry.

Professional Artist Fellow | Gary Alvarez
Independent filmmaker from SELA, Gary Alvarez has been calling Long Beach home since 2003. Gary is interested in stories inspired by social justice, space exploration, the open road, baseball, and rock and roll. He is a trained screenwriter/director who also produces, shoots, and edits videos as the founder of One Stone Productions, a multimedia company specializing in film, photography, music, and art.

Professional Artist Fellow | Toria Maldonado
Toria Maldonado is a a multidisciplinary visual artist from and currently based in Long Beach, California on Tongva land. The intersection of their Mexican-Japanese American lineage and non-binary trans identity are reflected through figurative portraits and digital illustrations. Toria’s work often depicts vulnerable and intimate settings that underlie their need for connection with others; coping with grief, trauma, and loss are consistent bases in their practice.