The 2023 Youth Curatorial Fellows are currently organizing and producing the 3rd Annual BRIC Youth Contemporary Art Exhibition: The World, Reflected In Your Eyes on view beginning May 2023. If you’re interested in participating in the Youth Curatorial Fellowship, information about the program can be found here.
2022-2023 Youth Curators
Xiwen Mark
Curation is a platform for the imagination to fly and expand. Anything is a reflection of ourselves, our views; the artwork and the exhibition as a whole. Therefore curation for me is where creation creates new creativity. I believe curation would be like a butterfly effect that changes the world little and little, countlessly and limitlessly. Any mind and idea can be a piece of thought, both questioning, criticizing, or enjoying. I want people to collaborate, find their selves in the public, then expand beyond. I look for those who have unique perspectives of own voice, and dedicated work to fully present.
Alondra Salas
I curate art of all types, from people with all kinds of backgrounds. I prefer curating things like Poems, Visual Art, Music and Photography. I like looking into the way peoples’ minds and perspectives work, and how those things show themselves in their artwork. I curate work by starting with an Open Call- when writing said open call, I like when it’s vague, but with one powerful sentence that drives the theme of the Open Call. After that, I’d ask for help and input from peers to help sharpen our view for the gallery by deciding on the final, most definite theme after seeing all of the submissions. If all goes well, the rest goes just as smoothly. I curate artwork because I appreciate the opportunity curation gives me, to see and evaluate artworks from different perspectives and mindsets. I curate because I love seeing the way individuals read and process prompts, before submitting artwork. I curate because I love the curating process.
Diana Fedenko
I am a creative advocate, passionate about providing young up-and-coming artists with opportunities to engage in today’s social and political debates through the use of art. I consider art as its own language and a tool that can influence the way people perceive the world and the issues our society is facing at the moment. When looking for artworks to be included in The World Reflected, In Your Eyes, I am really looking for inspiration, artworks that speak to me and I know will speak to the public. If I get an immediate rush of emotions the second my eye catches the artwork, it’s an automatic YES. I want to curate art, in any form, that is unique, creative, and communicates a strong concept to the viewer. At BRIC, we carefully review each submission as a team of collaborative minds, where we each express our thougths and find where our ideas intersect.
Jeremiah Lewis
Honestly, I come off as an extremely quiet person… and it’s true…I am quiet. But I’m still a chill person to be around. I think. And I feel like curation is organizing ideas and thoughts in a way that other people would be able to connect, understand, and appreciate. Meaning enjoying the art, the way it ties into whatever idea is being conveyed, and how it’s shown in the pieces of art as a whole through the organization. I feel like creativity to me is not just being able to think of and make something no one hasn’t seen before, but being able to portray it in a way that could bring more attention to the artwork, or certain parts of it, or even show a message, depending on what the art is really going for.
Kaitlyn Velasquez
I tend to describe myself as more in my own head, whether it be thinking of the things I can do in my own art or wondering if a piece I did wasn’t to my liking. I also tend to be more quiet, usually not surrounded by those who share my ideas and waiting for someone to share my interests. I always used to work by myself, however working with a group isn’t so bad when you get used to it. Curation is a way to see the art of other people while also drawing inspiration for yourself. Curation opens doors for you, whether it be observations or inspiration. I curate to not only see the art of others around me and see what inspires them, however to help me with my own art to allow me to improve and fear less. I would like to curate shows based off of more wild or abstract ideas. I think it would be fun to just watch as artist take a prompt and twist it in a fun or interesting way.
Samuel Edwards
Hello, I am Samuel, but you can also refer to me as sam. I would say that I am a very dedicated person when it comes to the things that I enjoy. Be it, creating films or simply talking with the people that I love. Curation in my eyes is the ability to let artists express themselves however they want. To show how they feel, to give awareness to a topic in their life, and many others, the possibilities are endless. When curating, I usually create films. The films I create relate to the topics and things going on in my life. Such as the immense pressure that I faced at one point in my life, or even just a dream that I had. Anything that stands out to me I like to make real. This is why I curate, to bring awareness and expression to my life and others lives.
Erickson Hernandez
Erickson Hernandez is a 2022- 2023 Youth Curatorial Fellow currently organizing and producing the 3rd Annual BRIC Youth Contemporary Art Exhibition: The World, Reflected In Your Eyes on view beginning May 2023.
Brandon Ray Edwards
Brandon Ray Edwards is a 2022- 2023 Youth Curatorial Fellow currently organizing and producing the 3rd Annual BRIC Youth Contemporary Art Exhibition: The World, Reflected In Your Eyes on view beginning May 2023.
Shelby Maricheau “LACY”
The art I make is expressive, Afrocentric poster making. I use acrylic paint and Adobe Express for the poster designs. Well for starter, the art I paint is more of my expressive side. For how life is like for me and people around me. Telling stories from different perspectives. Then with my digital work it keeps in with the times for my social media audience and for other musical artists. I curate a lot of paintings. Why because from every stroke of how they use shading you can see the emotion they were feeling while making it. I would love to see a lot of work by young artists and how they show their growth within. Every artist has a Voice. And we are the stage for them to speak.
