Meet the new crew at Artspace this summer!
Althea Rao
2019-20 Artspace Artist-in-Residence
MengXi “Althea” Rao calls herself a cultural facilitator. She creates social engagement models to facilitate open and playful conversations around topics that are traditionally associated with shame and negativity, such as inherited privilege, mental illness, gender and sexuality.
Her works empower individuals and help them find reconciliation with their cultures and selves. Originally from China, Althea trained in journalism and film, holds an MFA from Temple University, and was most recently a Halcyon Arts Lab Social Impact Fellow in Washington DC, where her work was featured in the By The People festival. During her residency, Althea will work on a project that explores cross-generational pelvic health through the merging of cutting-edge technology, music, play and collaboration.
Anatar Marmol-Gagne
2019-20 Artspace Artist-in-Residence
Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Anatar Marmol-Gagne holds a Masters of Fine Arts in University of Connecticut’s renowned Puppet Arts program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English-Creative Writing from Hunter College, NY. During her residency, she plans to meld her background in art, dance, writing, fiber and fabrication with her training in puppetry to create an immersive installation that tells the story of DREAMers.
Anatar trained at the National Puppetry Conference at the O’Neill Theater Center, taught children’s puppet workshops, performed in puppet slams and festivals at venues such as Dixon Place in NYC, and curated and founded the Pinned & Sewtured Puppet Slam in New Haven.
Meet our Summer Fellows!
Left to Right: Joshua Allen Aiken, Researcher-in-Residence, Yale Law School/African American Studies; Dymin Ellis, Summer Apprenticeship Program Poet Mentor (SAP ’15 alumni); Hannah Glynn, University of New Haven President’s Public Service Fellow; Soledad Tejada, Yale DSA Fellow; Jack Adam, Yale Yawkey Community Service Fellow; Emil Ernstrom, Yale Yawkey Community Service Fellow; Emily Yue, Harvard Club of Southern Connecticut Summer Community Service Fellow. Pictured below: Molly Jacobs.
Joshua Allen Aiken is Researcher-in-Residence working on the curriculum and development of the forthcoming exhibition, May Day 2020: Learning from the Black Panthers 50 Years Later, alongside the Co-Curators. He is a poet and a graduate student at Yale.
Dymin Ellis is a poet/artist/activist, an alumni of Artspace’s 2015 Summer Apprenticeship Program: The Jerome Project, and an active member of The Word. She is mentoring this year’s teen apprentices as they develop their spoken word performances.
Hannah Glynn is a National Securities Studies major at University of New Haven and is working on rolling out the 2019 City-Wide Open Studios festival, including assisting with Spanish language translations and outreach.
Soledad Tejada is an American Studies major at Yale and is one of the teaching mentors and organizers of The Sounds We See: New Haven, this year’s Summer Apprenticeship Program led by the Echo Park Film Center founders. She is also assisting on the summer exhibition, Collaboration: A Potential History of Photography.
Jack Adam majors in Computing in the Arts at Yale and is helping plan and organize the forthcoming exhibition, Strange Loops, alongside the Guest Co-Curators. He is also helping to manage the Artspace Flatfile’s online presence, and will assist in the conceptualization and curation of a new acquisitions show at mActivity.
Emil Ernstrom graduated from Yale this past spring with a degree in Music and is serving as an organizer of, and teaching mentor for, the Summer Apprenticeship Program. He will be working with the students to create original compositions, recordings and sounds that will accompany their silent film.
Emily Yue double majors in Biomedical Engineering and Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard and is serving as an organizer and teaching mentor for the Summer Apprenticeship Program.
Molly Jacobs is a recent graduate of the Hartford School of Art with a BFA in Printmaking. She is drawing on her expertise with works on paper to help organize Artspace’s Flatfile collection.