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  • About
    • Mission
    • Team
  • Programs
    • Events
    • Exhibits
    • "The Bridge" Collaborative Residency Program
    • MicroGrants
    • Intersecting Perspectives
    • Magazine
  • Community
    • Colloquium
    • Community Network
  • Contact
  • SUPPORT US!

Nicoletta & Sean

Week 1: Nicoletta & Sean

9/25/2019

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Nicoletta

I put energy into developing works that communicate the beauty of existence. My work is about light, connection, healing, and self-love. I fabricate sculptural installations that are meant to communicate introspection. My vessel is both my canvas and the instrument I create with. During my performances, I sculpt space with my body. I am motivated by the idea of the collective oneness; that all is interconnected. Art is not something that I do. Art is how I live. Who I am. Works of art are handled with care. I love myself gently, with kindness, and encourage others to do the same through my works of art. I always listen to my body. When I feel pain; I stop and soothe. When I feel good, I pay attention to the associated action and do it more. 

I began last week meditating and reflecting on the evolution of my arts practice. This year I worked with the Smithsonian on a performance for By the People Festival.
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Earth Mother (Performance) Smithsonian 2019
My Self Care First Aid Kits installation was featured at Cardinal Gallery, CCBC Essex, and selected for Maryland Art Place statewide juried exhibition.
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Spiritual First Aid Kits (Installation) Thousand Words Exhibition 2019
I produced self-care experiences for the public through Baltimore Creates B/CAN, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Impact Hub, Stevenson University, Baltimore Collegetown Network, and the Maryland State Arts Council. 
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Nicoletta Hosting Self Care Retreat for Creatives
I worked with The Walters Art Museum on Bañera de Flora (Flora Bath); an immersive installation and interactive activation for the public. My residency at the Walters was concluded with a Self Care workshop event for their patrons.
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BaƱera de Flora (Performance & Installation) The Walters Art Museum 2019
I look forward to my journey as SciArt The Bridge Resident, because I draw inspiration from science. Part of my process, before rendering, is to research as much as possible. I examine ideas behind topics, e.g., social sculpture, the performative body. My work is interdisciplinary so partnering with Sean Montgomery to: share ideas, explore concepts, and potentially develop new interactive movement-based work incorporating scientific data capturing technology is very exciting.  

As human beings, we often equate our value to how much we produce; our productivity. Our bodies are magnificent machines, yet our value is much greater than labor. Restorative rest is important to long-term sustainability. Giving attention to feelings is important, so slowing down to gain guidance from all the senses is imperative.  

I have learned that healing is an act of allowing. I have learned that wellness is best achieved when multiple modalities are combined. I have learned that wholeness happens when the physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and energy bodies are all tended to. Balance is key. Holding as much space for self as needed is an act of radical self-love. 
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Photo from this week, what is feels like to hold space for myself (Nicoletta)

Sean

I could not be more excited to kickoff a residency with the SciArt Initiative this week! 

Meeting my partner, Nicoletta de la Brown, and the other residents via video chat for the first time filled my mind with possibilities. As a dancer, self-described "space sculptor" and shaman, Nicoletta's practice uses movement of her body to transform the experience of a space. It's hard to imagine a better partner to explore the potential for my lab's latest invention, EmotiBit. As a wearable sensor for streaming emotional, physiological and movement data from anywhere on the body, EmotiBit can measure the internal context of the wearer. Thinking about working with Nicoletta, my mind immediately began considering how our emotions and physiology are intimately bound into the way we share space with one another. 

How do the microscopic movements of electrical and chemical signals within my body change the way that I or others perceive a physical space? 

How do the physical movements of others in an environment alter the electricity and chemistry of my body?
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EmotiBit streaming 16 signals from the body, reflecting moment by moment fluctuations in emotional and physical state
Asking questions like these (and surely many more fantastic questions to come) is the magic of working across disciplines in contexts like the SciArt Initiative The Bridge residency. Looking at our own practice and methods from new perspectives creates a multiplier effect to generate new ideas, new methodologies, and new data to make sense of the world around us. I'm sure I can't predict where my synergy with Nicoletta will take us in the weeks and months to come, and that's precisely why I'm so excited to do this residency.​
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Speaking at TEDxUCDavisSF about how synergy in art and science could save the world
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