1. (Who) I am…
I, Martheya Nygaard (she/her/hers), am a dance artist with my BFA and MFA in Dance interested in creating dance resources and art on and offline. I am the Co-Creator and Managing Director for kNOwBOX dance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts service organization, and the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of mixtamtous, a multidisciplinary art collective. My work is rooted in cultivating “distortion” as an aesthetic philosophy, challenging and expanding notions of contemporary dance, by creating dance resources and content for both on and offline. I am passionate creating art that challenges those involved to think outside of the box. I have taught and presented work nationally and internationally in Canada, Mexico, Prague, and across the USA. I have published articles in Journal of Dance Education and Dance Education in Practice.
2. (What) I create…
I am passionate about the use of digital technology as it relates to art making and sharing. I seek to explore the digital ecosystem as it relates to art via dance making, curating, writing, and service as evident in my work with kNOwBOX dance, mixtamotus, and other communities.
3. (Why) I do this because…
I make art in order to aid in the expansion of, and challenge audience possibilities of interpretation. I do this by integrating collaboration and technology. My artmaking is focused on conversing with my aesthetic philosophy of distortion: to find beauty in the ugly, grotesque, and complex. Through that, I challenge western balletic conventions and expand notions of what audiences expect when viewing dance via the stage, the screen, alternative venues, installations, and the digital space. I create unique choreography (Distortion Methods) deconstructing the body, twisting the body, and challenging movement patterns that produce a movement vocabulary that is uncomfortable, unnatural, and grotesque, providing the audience with an expanded subject matter that challenges the possibilities of what dance can look like. Not limiting vocabulary to clean lines and balletic inspired movement, I seek to connect to the long-standing tradition of creating art that challenges audience possibilities of interpretation by thinking outside of the box. I seek to challenge the audience of dance to re-engage with what it means to experience dance as an art form. This aesthetic experience provides a space for the audience to understand other perspectives, which is why creating art that expands the possibilities of interpretation is valuable. My aesthetic philosophy of distortion provides a framework for making art that expands the audience’s possibilities of interpretation.
"Jin is a jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter from Chicago IL by way of Springfield MO. A musician of two decades he uses looping and jazz harmony to express and improvise. He also writes lyrics that touch on race, class, and matters of the heart."
Ernie Bedell Sr. Is a Black/Realist artist who creates cultural, informational awareness. His works reflect such statements because it’s a way to reveal, express and expose his cultural heritage.
I am a self-taught painter and business owner, running my art business, Ashley Laren Art. I choose to inspire others through my artistic journey. I specialize in abstract landscape paintings inspired by my own and others’ travels across America. I also extend this art style into jewelry making and candle painting. I create because I love adventure and creating art. The Colors I encounter as I travel through American landscapes inspires me and I choose to interpret my experiences on the canvas.
Artist Statement
I am interested in the way cultures use the human body as a canvas and also a symbol of identity. In this body of work, I am examining the relationship between the physical form of the human body and surface embellishment, drawing connections between diverse cultures and my personal history. My process begins with constructing hand-built and wheel-thrown forms, then altering them by carving linear patterns on its surface. I use my work as a metaphor to investigate the delicate balance and tension between Ghanaian and Western traditional and contemporary culture.
Biography
Teddy Osei is a ceramic sculptural artist and an educator whose work explores the delicate balance and tensions between traditional and contemporary culture of Ghana and the Western world. He
uses clay as his primary medium in conjunction with performance and video art in engaging traditional and contemporary cultural discourse. He received his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Arts majoring in ceramics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana in 2018 and an MA in Art from Eastern Illinois University. He is currently an MFA candidate at the Department of Art + Design, Missouri State University. He is the recipient of several awards and has exhibited his works internationally and nationally in Ghana, KNUST Ceramic Gallery, China, Changchun International Ceramic Museum, Brick City Gallery (MO), NEHMA (UT), Obelisk Home Gallery (MO), Corolla Gallery (MO) among others. He currently has three of his ceramic sculpture vessels in the permanent collection of Changchun International Ceramic Museum.
1. (Who) I am. . .
I am a Bangladeshi immigrant poet and photographer. I have been writing and taking pictures for a few years. My focus in photography usually encompasses the dramatic and the poetic
2. (What) I create. . .
I create images using ideas and collaborations with others. I tend to celebrate everyday life, small details just as much as I try to do in poetry. My goal is to look at simple moments of our lives with the magnification made of subtly dramatic angles.
3. (Why) I do this because…
I photograph mainly to make a statement and create resonance in our everyday life, striving to create something that becomes memorable despite the challenges from a fleeting world trapped in capitalism and harsh power dynamics.
1. (Who) I am…
Jonathan I go by J or J Byrd. I’m originally from Cincinnati Ohio. I moved to Springfield back in 2011.
2. (What) I create…
Music, poetry, discussions, thoughts. I create thousands of thoughts.
3. (Why) I do this because…
I’ve been banging on pots since I can remember. I’ve wanted to be a musician and artist. Now, I want to use my voice to help amplify those who came before me and those who are here now in our demands for justice and dismantling systems of oppression.
1. (Who) I am…a movement artist.
2. (What) I create…to express my inner dialogue. My choreographies are the external of internal processing of emotions.
3. (Why) I do this because…movement practices have been inherent in the how, the when, the why, the what in my life.
Coming soon!
Coming soon!
Coming soon!
