Invited to attend Studios MASS MoCA/Assets for Artist in Residence

A new initiative from MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists Program offers artists and writers opportunities to...

Get inspired. Be productive. Focus on the future.

Hai, I’m Alysia from Sunny So Cal! 21 years & I’m Mexican, French & Spanish

Exploring the selfie, and its increasing prevalence in our culture, led me to realize that there are subthemes within how people examine or present identity such as ethnic, gender, or religious identity. Selfies are an expression of one’s identity, however contrived or imagined it may be. For this reason my artwork calls attention to the ways in which new technologies allow individuals to actively voice their opinions through self-portraiture.

Coming across the campaign entitled "Reclaiming the Latina Tag", in which the founders goal is a dedicated blog to reclaim the said Tag. "Because we do not belong to your hypersexualization and fetishization" said Founder Xochitl.
My portrait paintings represent a journey in my continuous search to make connections with the people around me and in the place I live. Exploring my identity produces a visceral exchange of personal and political identity while cultivating an awareness of “otherness.”

In this residency not only will I have the time to Paint more Amazing #Latina Portraits I will be in an environment of support in which i will pick the brains of Professionals in the Art world to help me realize and Present #Latina: Reclaiming the Latina Tag. One of my hurtle is how i will incorporate, in the art or art display, the text written by every participant who posts a selfie on the Tumblr Blog.

I’m a first gen chicana who just finished her first year of uni. I’ve never been so proud of myself and I owe all of my success to my parents