Episode Two: Biophilia

In this episode bio artist and sculptor, Lauri Lynnxe Murphy and photographer, filmmaker and producer Jonna McKone muse about nature, bugs, trees and changing landscapes, touching on the lingering effects of colonialism on our environment.

Art Moves is a new podcast by PlatteForum where resident artists and community members talk about what means the most to them within their practice, in a space where art meets social change.

To make a donation or learn about upcoming exhibitions, visit our website: https://platteforum.org/

Learn more about Lauri Lynnxe Murphy: https://www.laurilynnxemurphy.com/
Learn more about Jonna McKone: https://www.jonnamckone.com/

Cover Art by Destany Rodriguez

Art Moves | Episode 2: Biophilia

Alejandra Abad talks about her upcoming exhibition at PlatteForum, reveals her creative process and asks ArtLab interns what traditions they would like to see passed down, as they imagine a collective future together through her upcoming exhibition. 
Alejandra Abad was born in Venezuela and partially raised in Florida. She is an interdisciplinary artist with a penchant for dense, fantastical landscapes through abstraction and light. Her style is informed by her studies in Architecture at Florida Atlantic University and in Film, Video, and New Media at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received her BFA. In 2018 she received a fellowship at CU Boulder, in Spring of 2021 she will have earned an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices. Currently she is part of the 2020-2021 Engaged Arts and Humanities Graduate Student Scholars cohort at CU Boulder. 
Her recent projects feature conceptual and collaborative pieces that work to break down the barriers between artist and audience. She creates honest and symbolic narratives in a visual language that depicts fragmentation, mythology, and folklore that reflect her identity and values. Her installations use analog and digital processes – including painting, animation, sculpture, audio, projection, etc. – to make immersive environments that investigate wellness, community, equity, empathy and imagined futures.

Art Moves is a new PlatteForum podcast where resident artists and community members talk about what means the most to them within their practice, in a space where art meets social change.

To make a donation or learn about upcoming exhibitions, visit our website: platteforum.org/
To learn more about Alejandra visit her website: https://alejandraabad.com/

Cover art by Destany Rodriguez

Art Moves | Episode 5: Collective Futures

Jonathan and Letishia Kelley, talk about what it was like to document the Minneapolis uprising and the protests at the 2020 Fourth of July GOP rallies at Mount Rushmore. They discuss the skewed media portrayal of the events, Lakota protest tactics and the beauty of seeing all kinds of people come together for the good of all.
They will be sharing their collection of photographs and video in an exhibition titled, “Portraits of Change” November 5th at PlatteForum in Denver, CO.
As a creative husband/wife duo Jonathan Kelley (Afro Indigenous) and Letishia Kelley (Diné), are storytellers that aspire to create narratives that evokes awareness, unity, and collaboration. As lifelong learners, researchers and students of the visual arts, the emotional connections to their motives lead them to capture the most intimate moments. The themes that they choose come from a place of intuition and an impulsive desire to partake in the unique stories that unfold around them. The beauty and the essence of their body of work is truly based on the unique characters and creative storylines from an internal point of view. As Filmmakers, Music Producers, Editors, Photographers, Creative Writers, and Community Activists they use complementary perspectives which produce thought-provoking, candid, dramatic and authentic forms of self-expression.
Letishia Lynn Kelley (Diné) was born and resided on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Northern Arizona until she was 18 years of age. She attended the University of Arizona and Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ where she studied Psychology and Native American Studies. Having a long affinity for film, particularly Star Wars and Documentaries, Letishia decided to pursue Photography and Filmmaking along with other creative passions. As an Indigenous Leader, Letishia is the CEO of iiCreatives which is a Creative Agency Co-Founded with her husband and creative partner Jonathan Kelley. Letishia’s 1st photo exhibition titled “Portraits of Change '' will be opening at PlatteForum in Denver, CO on November 5, 2021.
Jonathan Kelley (Afro-Indigenous) was born and raised in Oakland, CA. He spent some of his youth living in Orlando, FL after his parents divorced at a very young age. He graduated from Johnson and Wales University (Denver, Colorado) with a degree in Business Administration in 2002 and in 2016 he returned to Denver, CO with his creative partner Letishia Kelley to be a contributor to the blossoming art, cultural, innovative, and creative community in Colorado. In 2017 he graduated from the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) Leaderships Arts Program. Upon graduation he served on the Board of Directors for PlatteForum, a youth arts organization and on November 5, 2021, his 1st photo exhibition “Portraits of Change” will open at PlatteForum.
Website: www.thinc-inc.com
Instagram: @iicreatives_


Art Moves is a new PlatteForum podcast where resident artists and community members talk about what means the most to them within their practice, in a space where art meets social change.

To make a donation or learn about upcoming exhibitions, visit our website: platteforum.org/
Cover art by Destany Rodriguez

Art Moves | Episode 6: Portraits of Change

Our current Artist in Residence, Annette Isham, takes over the podcast! Annette is an artist and professor living in Denver, Colorado. She creates captivating mirrored, animated and layered videos within landscapes where she explores identity but more specifically, how a woman of mixed race can appropriate the masculine myth of the American West. Annette invited her friend Nori Pao to discuss the intersectionality of ideas and concepts in their creative practices. Nori is a ceramicist and also works in several other mediums such as photography, drawing and digital fabrication, her works explores themes of time, memory and identity, she like Annette uses landscape and location in a very interesting way to reference the self. Together they talk about embracing obstacles, getting into the flow state, breaking the rules, working with limitations and collaborating with materials vs controlling them. Born in the Dominican Rep and growing up in Colorado, Annette received her M.F.A. from The American University in Washington, DC and currently teaches 4D and Animation at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.

To learn more about Annette visit:
https://annettewashburneisham.com/home.html

To learn more about Nori visit:
https://noripao.com/

Make a donation or learn about upcoming events: https://platteforum.org/
Cover art by Destany Rodriguez

Art Moves | Episode 7: Annette Isham and Nori Pao

Making connections with brutalist architecture, 8 bit pixel graphics, teletext and future fossils in her upcoming exhibition, “Concrete Redundancy,” Raquel Meyers uses obsolete technologies as tools to create animations and pose questions around our unhealthy relationship patterns with technology. Her work explores ideas around the naivety of brutalist architecture ethics and technology that emerged post world war II, exposing the dystopian undercurrents left in its wake.

To learn more about Raquel Meyers visit:
https://www.raquelmeyers.com/

Make a donation or learn about upcoming events: https://platteforum.org/
Cover art by Destany Rodriguez

Art Moves | Episode 8: Concrete Redundancy with Raquel Meyers

Jennifer Maravillas-Bell is a multimedia artist focusing on cartography and land. She utilizes collage, acrylic paint, and found objects to create portraits of cities and places that tell stories of our collective pasts. In her upcoming exhibition, the Artlab interns and Maravillas-Bell will create a series of maps that give voice to their lived experiences and identities as together they explore their immediate surroundings in Denver. She hopes to inspire empowerment for the youth and the viewers involved in this examination and creation while also inspiring connection and investment in the places we exist. In this episode, you will hear intern voices woven together with a series of field recordings inspired by the concept of audio maps as interns speak of places that have impacted them.

To learn more about Jennifer Maravillas-Bell visit:
https://jenmaravillas.com/

Make a donation or learn about upcoming events: https://platteforum.org/
Cover art by Destany Rodriguez

Art Moves | Episode 9: Collected Perspectives with Jennifer Maravillas-Bell

Jahna Rae Church shares her inspiration for creating art and the meaning behind her striking portrait paintings. She discusses her journey of facing and overcoming mental health challenges and how it has made her a stronger person. Jahna also talks about the new Community Mentee Residency Program at PlatteForum and invites listeners to attend her debut solo exhibition on January 13th at PlatteForum's Annex Gallery. Tune in for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation with Jahna Rae about her journey toward strength and resilience.

Jahna Rae Church is a Multidisciplinary Artist and emerging Muralist in Denver, Colorado. She received her degree in Illustration at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA in 2017. Jahna Rae specializes in portrait painting and abstraction. She is exploring topics of spirituality, diversity, symbolism, and self-discovery.

To learn more about Jahna visit: https://jahnarae.com/
Make a donation or learn about upcoming events: https://platteforum.org/
Cover art by Destany Rodriguez

LINKS:

Soundcloud: ​​https://on.soundcloud.com/THCDA

Youtube: https://youtu.be/OHFHZxVnu1U

Art Moves | Episode 10: Indigo with Jahna Rae Church

In this episode, Kenzie Sitterud shares their process and approach for generating new work in an upcoming exhibition, To Dusk. To Dusk replicates the landscape of the Utah desert through material metaphor and is inspired by Sitterud’s Mormon cultural heritage and place of origin. Kenzie shares detail about growing up with quilting and how the desert landscape has inspired sound art and a gradient of colors that can be experienced in To Dusk. 

To learn more about Kenzie: https://www.kenziemckenzie.com/about
To learn more about PlatteForum: https://platteforum.org/

Art Moves | Episode 11: To Dusk with Kenzie Sitterud

Hailing from Albion, MI, Michael Dixon is an oil painter and full professor of art at Albion College. Dixon was born in 1976 to a white mother and black father in San Diego, CA. After participating in genetic testing Dixon found a sister, and subsequently learned he was one of eleven children. This discovery also provided his biological father’s name and identity. Having never met his biological father, Once Lost Now Found: One-Drop of Blood Between Us is a new body of work about his missing biological father and his new-found family members. After 47-years of wondering, Dixon is at the beginning of a new chapter of discovery both personally and artistically.


To learn more about Michael: https://michaeldixonart.com/home.html
To learn more about PlatteForum: https://platteforum.org/

Art Moves | Episode 12: Once Lost Now Found: One Drop of Blood Between Us

Paulus van Horne, a multimedia artist and technology researcher from Lafayette, Colorado, specializes in AI, machine learning, game design, and large-scale audiovisual installations, often incorporating supposedly autonomous digital technology.

Their next exhibition, The Oracle of AI, explores the spiritual intimacy between humans and technology, Paulus prompts viewers to contemplate the implications of AI's role in replacing human emotional care.

Art Moves | Episode 13: The Oracle of AI with Paulus van Horne

Tricia Waddell is the textile artist behind Studio Blkbird, based in Denver, Colorado at Tank Studios. Inspired by her degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a variety of surface design workshops, her work combines painting and screen-printing with reactive dyes and resists to create visual textures inspired by abstract art, ceramics, and graphic design. Often incorporating mixed media and fiber elements, her current work focuses on soft sculptures that are interior self-portraits exploring mental health issues from processing raw internalized emotions to depression and negative self-talk. Inspired by the beliefs in many cultures that objects and dolls can hold protective, healing, and magical powers as talismans, she strives to create intimate works that embody quiet emotional power and empathy. Her goal is to create space for people to feel seen and heard, while also removing the stigma of discussing mental health, particularly in marginalized communities. Exhibitions include “A Spiral is Linear” at Friend of a Friend Gallery (2023), “Pink Progressions: Collaborations” at the Arvada Center Gallery (2020), and various art pop-ups in the Denver area. She’s a board member at Tilt West and an artist member of the Colorado Art Therapy Association. When she’s not in the studio, she works as an editor, writer, and storyteller creating content for artists and non-profits. 
www.studioblkbird.com @studioblkbird

Art Moves | Episode 14: The Moon in Her Mouth with Tricia Waddell

Interview on KUVO's First Take with Lando and Chavis on FM 89.3 on Thursday, March 7, 2013, with PlatteForum's Executive Director Trish Thibodo and Creative Residents Kwende "Memetic" Kefentse and Ian "Pho" Swain about their creative residency at PlatteForum and the upcoming first-ever "unGala" to celebrate PlatteForum's 10th birthday and 10 years of successful programming for artists, underserved youth, and the community. 

Memetic and Pho worked with teens in PlatteForum's ArtLab program while in residency at PlatteForum. Their exhibition, "reconstruction: building new music from old denver records," featuring music created in the last two months from vinyl found in Denver record shops. Youth and artists have been working in intensive sessions during the residency--listening to, analyzing, and integrating music from old records to create new music. The artists taught ArtLab youth how to use production software, turntables, and vinyl records as they demonstrated how to make and mix beats, develop an ear for their taste in music, and create personal performance styles. Youth created their own cover art for their music compositions as well.

Memetic and Pho will perform at the unGala as well as at their exhibition opening on March 7, 530pm-8pm at PlatteForum, 1610 Little Raven St. Suite 135, Denver, CO 80202. The artists hail from Ottawa and Toronto, in Canada, respectively.

KUVO interview: PlatteForum + Creative Residents/DJs Memetic and Pho

This is a recording of a live conversation held at PlatteForum during Autumn's artist residency on September 29th in our gallery located in Denver, Colorado.

Autumn T. Thomas (b. 1978) is an interdisciplinary artist currently working in wood sculpture. Her work challenges the boundaries of visual literacy by transforming wood into soft, twisting forms, mimicking the endurance required to thrive amidst the oppression and marginalization of women of color. Minimal in design, Thomas' work personifies analogous, brown bodies as whispering forms of subversion, affecting prejudice by way of perception and visual literacy. 

Dr. Tara Jae is the Executive Director of YouthSeen, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing mental health support to LGBTQI youth.Tara’s work is rooted in an understanding of how communities of color heal, and how to dismantle the stigmas that mental health care needs do not exist within these communities. As a therapist, Tara is skilled in validating and working with racial trauma. They intricately apply their knowledge of how racialization, racism, and culture greatly impact our experiences of ourselves, our relationships, and our lives. Tangible, honest connection is at the foundation of Tara’s therapeutic relationships, not just theory and jargon. Knowing the important role of community in individual healing, Tara scaffolds holistic support for their clients by helping build peer connections outside of the therapeutic process as well.

PlatteForum is an award-winning and innovative art, youth-development, and artist-in-residence program founded in Denver, Colorado in 2002. As a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, PlatteForum teams under-resourced youth (K-12) with professional artists in intensive, structured, and long-term creative learning environments. Youth work side by side with resident artists to collaboratively plan, produce, and exhibit a body of work in an environment in which artistic excellence is highly valued. Youth in PlatteForum’s programs delve into a variety of art forms, confronting challenges and obstacles and making life-changing discoveries about who they are, what they are capable of achieving, and where they belong in the world. 
Learn more about our mission and programs at platteforum.org

Resident Artist Autumn T. Thomas and Dr. Jae in Conversation

Using the arts as a bridge, we connect youth and artists with resources to reach their full potential. PlatteForum is a 501 (c)3 non- profit organization located in Denver, Colorado, U.S., founded in 2002.

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