It feels a bit strange to say that this is my last blog as an emerging artist grantee, but at the same time it feels like it comes at the right time. I’ve been in Colombia for almost a week now, and in many ways, it feels like an entirely different world. I’ve already experienced so many things that simply wouldn’t have happened in the US, some good, like spending time with my family, some bad, like a deeply upsetting act of violence I witnessed a few days ago that feels uniquely Colombian to me.
I’m glad to be here during this strange time, thanks to this grant, and to be able to dedicate my time to some of the research I couldn’t do in the US. It feels like a perfect time to end this phase and enter a new one. I’m so grateful to have spent this time working on my writing and witnessing my cohort’s work, with its struggles and satisfying moments, as well as the anticipation of the exhibition in July. Though we haven’t met in person, I have felt deeply connected to their processes, and they have served as a constant source of inspiration for my own.
I’d like to finish this last blog by thanking Creative Pinellas for this opportunity, to my fellow emerging artists, and last, but not least, to my mentor, Roxanne Fay, who has been so generous and accommodating of basically anything I’ve wanted to talk to her about. I know we will continue to chat beyond this, and that makes me very thankful for this past year.
See you at the exhibition!
