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GUEST SPEAKERS
Each month at the Riverside Art Alliance meetings, we have a different speaker on an interesting topic.
Our featured artists and their area of art:
September 15, 2022
Anna Stump, Creative Entrepreneur
California artist Anna Stump earned a Fulbright to Turkey, has participated in residencies from Mexico to Iceland, and is part of the creative duo Hill & Stump. In addition to exhibiting her paintings in galleries and museums, and sharing her skills with others, Stump is developing an interactive arts center in the community of Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert.
Mojaveland, as currently envisioned, will have several components: a miniature golf course designed by High Desert artists in the spirit of Noah Purifoy, a pedal cart course through murals and sculpture, artist exhibits, native desert gardens, performance spaces, and a restored 1940s homestead that will serve as gallery and meeting place. Eventually the project will also encompass education and design studios to allow children to design and build their own golf holes, pedal carts and other artworks.
Stump’s visionary approach stems from a belief that ‘art saves lives,’ gained from years of working with college students and incarcerated adults. Her goal is to steer artists out of the ‘starvation trap’ and guide them towards scholarship and entrepreneurship. By restoring a neglected homestead on five acres of desert, and encouraging others to contribute their imagination and skills, Stump makes good on her conviction that art is ‘as essential as breathing.’ An arresting mural of a snake that she painted to anoint the site is a harbinger of good things to come.
October 20, 2022
Sant Khalsa: Artist as Activist
Sant Khalsa's artworks develop from her mindful inquiry into the nature of place and complex environmental and societal issues. She will discuss her creative practice - photo works and installations produced over the past four decades with a focus on critical water issues including
“Paving Paradise,” about our Santa Ana River and Watershed and “Western Waters,” documenting retail water stores in the southwest, currently featured in her RAM solo exhibition.
Sant Khalsa is an artist, educator, and activist whose artworks are widely exhibited, published, and acquired by museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nevada Museum of Art, Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, UCR California Museum of Photography, and National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. Khalsa is a recipient of prestigious fellowships and grants
from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, California Humanities and others. She was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Society for Photographic Education Insight Award for her significant contributions to the field of photography (2012). Khalsa is a Professor of Art, Emerita at California State University, San Bernardino. Her second monograph of photographs “Crystal
Clear || Western Waters” is forthcoming from Minor Matters Books in December
2022.
November 17, 2022
Tiffany Brooks
Tiffany Brooks is an accomplished artist in Southern California. She is best known for her title of 'Resident Artist' at Riverside's historic Mission Inn, where she has practiced her craft since 1997.
Upon exploring the Mission Inn, you will encounter many pieces of her frescos and artwork, which fit effortlessly into its ancient walls.
Tiffany has become proficient in the areas of Trompe L'oeil, Murals, Artwork Venetian plaster and many styles of Faux. Her excitement for what she creates puts her clients at ease as she strives to bring their unique project to life.
February 17, 2023
Ed Gomez
Ed Gomez is an artist, curator, and educator located in Los Angeles, CA. His interdisciplinary art practice revolves around the questioning of exhibition practices, institutional framework and historical models of artistic production. His academic research includes border art, alternative art exhibition platforms and concepts revolving around identity and border politics. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and specializes in art and technology with an emphasis on 3D software fabrication and digital art.
In 2006 Mr. Gomez, along with Calexico/Mexicali based artists Luis G. Hernandez, co-founded the MexiCali Biennial (MB). The MexiCali Biennial is a bi-national art and music program addressing the region of the US-Mexico border. Gomez currently serves as a Director and co-President of this non-profit arts organization. This project serves not only as a curatorial program but also as an ongoing art project that questions the overabundance of biennials occurring around the globe and the impact they have on the art community. Since it’s founding in 2006, the MB has collaborated with hundreds of artists and over a dozen arts institutions. The MexiCali Biennial has been featured in numerous publications including the Los Angeles Times, Artillery Magazine, Frieze magazine, and KPCC public radio.
Gomez received a BFA from Arizona State University and an MFA from Otis College of Art and Design.
March 17, 2023
Sue Mitchell
Sue Mitchell is the co-owner of Riverside Personnel. Sue serves on the Board of the Riverside Art Museum and is the founder of “The 52 Project” here at the museum.
Sue had dabbled at taking art classes for 50 years. In 2012, she decided to take a 52 week sabbatical, during her 60th year around the sun, and concentrate on a lifelong dream of becoming an artist. She started by developing and journaling an exhibition concept. This led to her writing an exhibit proposal, and then, following the guideline she found on RAM’s website, she submitted her proposal. Her concept was accepted and her exhibition “52” opened on her 61th birthday.
During the exhibition, she spent a lot of time interacting with visitors and one of the things she discovered was she was not alone in her desire to explore her creative dreams.
Sue’s second proposal to RAM was “The 52 Project”, a user friendly way for busy people to be more artful on a regular basis. A unique feature of the program is that they teach basic proposal writing and all of “The 52 Project” members are able to submit a proposal for a mini exhibit. The submittals are juried and 8-10 proposals are accepted each year.
The 52 Project just started its eighth year. Over 300 people have participated and over 70 mini exhibitions have been juried in and exhibited at RAM.
April 20, 2023
Rebecca Hamm
Rebecca Hamm received her B.A. from California Polytechnic University, Pomona and her M.F.A. from the Claremont Graduate University. Hamm teaches university art courses and is an independent curator for community-based museums. She is a featured speaker nationally and her writings have been published internationally. Hamm is currently Director of Arts for Tierra del Sol Foundation where she advocates for artists with disabilities to advance their own professional careers in the arts.