Alchemy Art Center Artist Talk Series at SJIMA: Maria Michaelson, Ananya Bernardo, and Vince Cuadra

Alchemy Art Center, in partnership with the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, is hosting an artist talk series featuring visiting and local artists. The 2022 Artist Talk Series is hosted at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, located at 540 Spring St. Please join us on Sunday, July 31 for an evening of discussion and work presented by visiting and local artists. Light refreshments will be served.

Maria Michaelson is a San Juan Islander, and founder of Alchemy Art Center. After growing up here on the island, she attended California College of the Arts. During her 20s she practiced interactive community art and spent 2 years living in Africa learning bronze casting, before returning to the island to focus on ceramic figurative sculpture. Hear her story, and the origin and inspiration behind Alchemy during her artist talk!

Ananya Chiara Bernardo (she/her) is a visual artist from Silver Spring, Maryland who is currently exploring different mediums. She mostly works with silkscreen prints but is learning mediums like textiles, collage, ceramics, and digital art. Her work uses bright colors to delve into personal growing pains as a means of expression.

Vince Cuadra is a queer-trans Costa Rican -Argentinian multimedia artist born and raised in the magical city of Miami. He creates playful and colorful work primarily focusing on identity, queer joy, nostalgia, social issues, and documentation. He makes art using a variety of media including clay, collage, painting, photography, video, and soft sculpture.

Ananya Bernardo and Vince Cuadra are living and working at Alchemy Art Center this summer as part of the Artists in Community Program. This program brings young and emerging artists from all over the country to share their skills, learn, and create art, while engaging in the SJI community.  Learn more at alchemyartcenter.com.

Artists in Community is made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtsWA, the San Juan Island Community Foundation, Tulalip Charitable Foundation, and by donations from community members.