The Bridge’s Collaborative Residency artist invite you to their 2018 Collaborative Residency Exhibition Opening at The Bridge’s Belmont art gallery, 209 Monticello Road.

The Exhibition will open September 7th at 5:30 pm and run through the month of September. What we see can be deceptive; it is ephemeral; it’s partial. These three [kick-ass] female artists put down the ocular lens and take up the heart, the mind and the body to celebrate and create art.

About The Collaborative Residency:
The 2018 Collaborative Residency provides an opportunity for 3 artists (Jum Jirapan, Karina Monroy and Aidyn Mills) to utilize The Bridge’s Belmont gallery as a pop-up studio space for the months of July and August, and culminate with a group exhibition in September. This pioneering program emphasizes a strong collaborative element by placing the artists in close proximity and supporting them in the development of a shared vision for taking their art outside the walls of the gallery, while feeding the intrigue and interest of the community, putting a spotlight on creative collaboration, and maintaining our mission to bridge diverse communities through the arts. The three were chosen to represent Charlottesville in this endeavor because of their skills, diverse mediums and perspectives, and for their eagerness to collaborate.

“Imagine MTV’s ‘Real World’ with more collaborative art and fewer hot tubs. This unique residency is a chance for these three fantastic artists to hone their collaborative practice while in the public spotlight.” Says Alan Goffinski, Director of The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative.
“The Bridge is very much a mixed-use space with a ‘front porch’ vibe where you are always seeing familiar faces or meeting someone new. The Collaborative Residents will have a powerful chance to both inspire and draw inspiration from a supportive community.”

About the Artists:
Aidyn Mills is a compulsive creative collaborator. She uses people, places, ideas, art, any relevant element, to design innovative experiences for creative crossovers and exploration. Most recently with the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, she used the arts to engage all kinds of community provocateurs to connect around important social and environmental issues.

Now, she is using the female body as her artistic medium for facilitating new connections and creating new art. With the fundamental belief that “art” is an embodied and dynamic experience that is transformative and transformed, she explores how she can provoke new meanings and experiences of love, with the female body.

Karina A. Monroy was born and raised in Southern California. In 2016 she received her B.A. in art and anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Karina’s upbringing as a daughter of Mexican immigrants has led her to seek a life and career dedicated to the social justice and representation of Latinx communities. Her work has been a process of decolonization and rediscovery of her ethnic identity. Karina’s primary research focuses on definitions and representations of womanhood within Chicano-Mexican culture. Karina is redirecting her artistic process to focus on collaborations between Latinx women through shared storytelling and learning exchanges. Karina has been able to collaborate with Latinx communities within Oxnard, California and Cholula, Puebla by means of her artwork, teaching, and dedicated research.

Karina is new to Charlottesville and is currently working as Program Coordinator for Creciendo Juntos. She hopes that her creative skills and passion for social justice will bring change to Charlottesville. In addition to her community and artistic work, Karina takes joy in the little things in life like cooking, sewing, eating chocolate, drinking tea with her abuelita, and talking to her plantitas.

Jum Jirapan is a Thai-American artist residing in Charlottesville, VA, since 2016. She approaches art as therapy, a way to express her understanding of love and life. Art helps her explore her inner and the unknown world with no sense of limitation in order to find and live her own truths. Jum is particularly fond of painting abstract forms and images using acrylic. This allows her to paint spontaneously without control from her conditioned mind resulting in surprisingly fresh and unique artworks. Jum also thrives in creative environment. Her curiosity motivates her to learn and collaborate with others in which she believes will create something greater than what she
could materialize on her own.

For more information visit
http://thebridgepai.org/2018-collaborative-residency-call-for-artists/

ABOUT THE BRIDGE PAI: The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative is a cultural hub for Charlottesville offering an inclusive space for creative thinking and artistic pursuits while providing resources and methodology for meaningful arts engagement throughout the community. Our mission is to bridge diverse communities through the arts. More information can be found at our website – thebridgepai.org or by following us on Facebook.

209 Monticello Rd Charlottesville, VA 22902 – 434.218.2060 – thebridgepai.org