CV

Lili Bernard at Work, October 2014

Lili Bernard at Work, October 2014

Click here for a PDF of this CV

(blue titles link to press and reviews)

BIRTH
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

RESIDES
Los Angeles, CA

EDUCATION
MFA Otis College of Art and Design
BA City University of New York
Cornell University

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020
Lili Bernard: Orishas Through Afro-Cuban American Eyes (solo show), stARTup Art Fair Los Angeles
2020 Vision: Prophecy Manifested, Mujeres de Maíz, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
What She Said, ACE/121 Gallery, Glendale, CA
Viva La Vulva, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Breathe/Breath, SEER Gallery Ltd, Los Angeles, CA
2019
Goddesses and Gods, Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles, CA
Black Brown and Beige, Self-Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
Some Blakkity Black Stuff, Kamikaze Pop-up, Los Angeles, CA
Care Complicity Critique, Contemporary Irish Arts Center Los Angeles, CA
2018
Viva La Vulva, Ren Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
South of the Border, Loft at Liz’s, Pacific Standard Time Getty Initiative Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA
Black Dreams Matter, The Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
Creative Souls, Watts Towers Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
2017
Lili Bernard: Antebellum Appropriations (solo show), Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco
Sweet Sticky Things, Launch Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Black Woman is God: Divine Revolution, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Iconic Black Panther, Gregorio Escalante Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Static, Durden and Ray Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
With Justice & Liberty for Some, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Sanctuary City: With Liberty & Justice for Some, San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries, CA
With Justice & Liberty for Some, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Re-Imagining Justice, Community Coalition Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
I Speak Art, The Creative House Gallery, Inglewood, CA
2016
Rosette, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Yemaya Under Attack (solo show), SBCAST Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
Body Politic, Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
We Are Los Angeles, California Community Foundation, Grand Park, Los Angeles, CA
Lili Bernard: BC Trauma Bond (solo show), Blk Grrrl Book Fair, Cielo Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
Hysteric Curators: Coming to the Table, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
(En)Gendered (In)Equity: The Gallery Tally Poster Project, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
2015
Art Pulse LA, Curated by Leslie Cozzi for SCWCA, LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
Blk Grrrl Book Fair (solo show), Cielo Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
Podemos y Acemos, Align Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Colors of Cuba, Phantom Gallery, Hawthorne, CA
2014
Cross Fade, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
LA Woman: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, Forest Lawn Museum, Glendale, CA
Lili Bernard: Ashé (solo show), LACC Art Gallery, Los Angeles City College, CA
Journey Through the Americas & Caribbean (solo Show), Barnsdall, DCA, Los Angeles, CA
MFA Thesis Solo Exhibition, Otis College of Art & Design, Leimert Park, Los Angeles, CA
Stepping Out, MFA Group Show, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA 
Rise: Love, Revolution and The Black Panther Party, ArtShare LA, Los Angeles, CA
(en)Gendered (in)Equity: The Gallery Tally Poster Project, For Your Art, Los Angeles, CA
Through the Eyes of LA African American Artists, Strauss Club House, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
2013
LA Woman: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, Forest Lawn Museum, Glendale, CA
Mas Attack 2, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Pussy Cat Challenge, ArtShare LA, Los Angeles, CA
ArtVoices Magazine 5th Annual Art Show, Untitled Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Summer Group Show, Curated by Mat Gleason, Red Pipe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Glued to the Seat; Revealing Hidden Realties, Bolsky Gallery, Otis, Los Angeles, CA
Seven Beauties, Avenue 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Salon Style Saturday, Curated by Mat Gleason, Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles, CA
The Love Show, Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
BAILA con Duende, Watts Towers Arts Center, Dep. of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles, CA
2012
BAILA con Duende, Watts Towers Arts Center, Dep. of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles, CA
8×8 Show, Avenue 50 Studio, Curated by Kathy Gallegos, Los Angeles, CA
The Patter of Tiny Brains, Curated by Doug Harvey, 323 Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Dimensions of a Diaspora, UCLA Kirckhoff Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
From Here to There, Curated by Willie Middlebrook, Cecil Fergerson Gallery, WLCAC, LA, CA
Colors of Cuba, Urban Sanctuary, Los Angeles, CA
The Artists of West Adams, West Adams Heritage Association, Los Angeles, CA
Lili Bernard and Silfredo La O, Artworks Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Caribbean Canvasses, St. Agatha’s Catholic Church, Los Angeles, CA
2011
Lili Bernard, Caribbean Heritage Salute to Hollywood & the Arts, Hollywood Women’s Club, LA
TEL-ART-PHONE, Curated by Mat Gleason, Beacon Arts Building, Inglewood, CA
Lili Bernard & Bernard Hoyes, Golden State Mutual Building, Los Angeles, CA
Colonialism: The Collective Unconscious, William Grants Still Arts Center, DCA, Los Angeles, CA
Sacred Memories, Pico House Gallery, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, LA, CA
A New Day: Nina Simone, William Grants Still Arts Center, DCA, Los Angeles, CA
Karyn Parson’s Sweet Blackberry Fundraiser, Jamie Foxx’s Private Residence, Encino, CA
Tardeada, Ave. 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Reel Rasquache Annual Film Festival, Regency Academy 6 Cinemas, Pasadena, CA
Reel Rasquache Annual Art Festival, Cactus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
45 Art Exhibition, 28 Miles East Gallery, Pomona, CA
2010
Lili Bernard: Ceiba de Cuba, Brand Public Library, Glendale Cultural Affairs Dep., Glendale, CA
Sacred Memories, Pico House Gallery, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, LA, CA
Elements and Overtures of LA Art, Gallery Western, Los Angeles, CA
Life Colors and International Art Exhibition, Mi Alma, Los Angeles, CA
Colors of Cuba, ArtShare LA, Los Angeles, CA
Colors of Cuba, Phantom Galleries LA, Long Beach, CA
Amazing Women, 65 Influential Women Event, Women’s City Club of Pasadena, Pasadena, CA
Members Exhibition, Hollywood YMCA, Los Angeles, CA
The New, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
2009
Lili Bernard: Raices de La Ceiba, Arts in the One World Conference, CalArts, Valencia, CA
Random Minors, Major Players, William Grants Still Art Center, Dep. of Cultural Affairs, LA, CA
Ashé: Blessings, Energy, Power, Ave. 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Lili Bernard: Bring in the Summer Solstice, Caribbean Heritage Org., Lili Bernard Art Studio, LA
Tardeada, Ave. 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Oh Mamá, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
Harvest, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
Espirituxian, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
Eastland, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
Stories of Africa, PLAYe, Downtown Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Lili Bernard: Bridges, William Grants Still Art Center, Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Affairs, CA
Lili Bernard: Chinatown Extravaganza, Spirited Woman, Los Angeles, CA
Lili Bernard: Homage Hues, St. Agatha’s Catholic Church, Los Angeles, CA
Black History Month Art Show, Toyota National Headquarters, Torrance, CA
2007
Lili Bernard, Solo Show, Hayworth Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Black History Month Art Show, Toyota National Headquarters, Torrance, CA

PERFORMANCE
2019
The Pussy Grabber Plays, Karena, Thymele Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Donning and Dismissal of the Conqueror’s Coiffure, Contemporary Irish Art Center Los Angeles, CA
2016
BC Effigy, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA
BC Effigy, Eternal Telethon, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA
2014
Donning and Dismissal of the Conqueror’s Coiffure: My MFA Thesis Show, Otis, Vision Theatre LA
Brank, MFA Thesis Solo Show, Otis, Vision Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Orishas Through the Crossroads and the Gate, MFA Thesis Solo Show, Otis, Vision Theatre, LA
2013 
Donning and Dismissal of the Conqueror’s Coiffure: Oshun, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Orishas Through the Crossroads and the Gate, California African American Museum, Los Angeles
Donning and Dismissal of the Conqueror’s Coiffure: Oshun, Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
2011 
Song of Che Chango, Ramón C. Cortines, Visual and Performance Arts HS, Los Angeles, CA
2010 
Ceiba de Cuba, Brown University’s Arts in the One World Conference, Providence, RI
Song of Che Chango, Cuban Music Festival, Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA
Ceiba de Cuba, Glendale Cultural Affairs Dep., Brand Public Library, Glendale, CA
Raices de La Ceiba, Arts in the One World Conference, CalArts, Valencia, CA
Song of Che Chango, Caribbean Heritage Organization, Lili Bernard Art Studio, Los Angeles, CA

AWARDS
2016
Museum of the African Diaspora Emerging Artist Program 2016-2017
California Community Foundation We Are Los Angeles Grant 2016
Women’s Center for Creative Work Grant
2015
Joan Mitchell Emerging Artist Grant Finalist Award
2014
Outstanding Contribution Award, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA
Class Marshall Award, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA
Board of Governors Fellowship, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA
International Society of Black Latinos Artist Award, Los Angeles, CA
Elizabeth Catlett Award, Morningside Park Chronicle, Inglewood-South Los Angeles, CA
2012-2013
Board of Governors Fellowship, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA
2010
United States Artist Award Nominee

PUBLISHED ESSAYS & ARTICLES
2017
I’m One of Bill Cosby’s Accusers. His Defense Strategy is Reprehensible, Los Angeles Times
2013
Influential Magazine, Coagula Art Journal, Celebrates 21 Years, HuffPost
BAILA, Henry Taylor!, HuffPost
2008
Lili Bernard Art Practice, Peterson’s College Guide for Visual Arts Majors
2007
Peterson’s College Guide for Visual Arts Majors, Essays by Lili Bernard

TEACHING EXPERIENCE (for photo album click here)
2007-2017
For the past ten years, I have independently taught studio art, contemporary art history, critical theory, art critique, social practice, and art institutionalism to adults and youth, from within my art studio and through two pedagogical art organizations that I founded, HABLA: Harvesting Asian Black Latino Artists (2007-2011) and BAILA: Black Artists in Los Angeles (2011-present), teaching sometimes as frequently as 12 hours per week of in-class time, plus preparation. I have also taught as a guest lecturer and art workshop leader at various institutions and universities, including UC Santa Barbara, Occidental College, Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland, among others.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2019
Getting Played: 5th Annual Symposium on Equity in the Entertainment Industry, Keynote, Stanford University
IVAT 24th International Summit, Keynote, Institute of Violence Abuse and Trauma, San Diego, CA
Feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment, Guest Lecturer with Caroline Heldman, Glendale College, CA
“Don’t Silence Me” Condemns Sexual Assault, Guest Interviewee with Mhairi Morrison, CBS News
Behind Bars: Cosby No Remorse, Guest Interviewee, CNN NewsRoom
2018
Sex, Crimes & Culture, Guest Lecturer, California State University Fullerton, CA
Nina Chanel Abney Exhibition Talk Walkthrough, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Symposium for We Wanted a Revolution, Introducer/Moderator, California African  American Museum
Viva La Vulva: Women’s Health and Sexuality, Panelist, Band of Vices Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
SuperNatural Engendered, Panelist, Comic-Con, Los Angeles, CA
Silent No More, Guest Speaker, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
MeToo Reckoning, Guest Interviewee, PBS Newshour
Lili Bernard & Caroline Heldman Talk Cosby, Dr. Ford and More, Good Day LA Fox News 11
Black Women Face Disproportionate Pressure Not to Speak Out on Assault, Interviewee, Democracy Now
Sentencing Signals Shift from Misogyny to Believing, Valuing Women, Interviewee, Democracy Now
Women Who Report Sexual Assault Are Often “Re-Raped” in Court, Interviewee, Democracy Now
I didn’t Expect This Moment To Happen, Interviewee, Today Show
I Was Raped By Bill Cosby, Interviewee, Touré Show
Bill Cosby Retrial, Interviewee, Michaela Pereira Show, HLN
2017
Antebellum Appropriations, Solo Exhibit Artist Talk, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA
Silent No More Art Workshop, Guest Speaker, Occupy McKeldin, University of Maryland, College Park
Artworks for Healing, Keynote, A Window Between Worlds Annual Auction, Santa Monica Art Studios, CA
Art Community Wants Exhibit to “Re-Imagine” Justice, Interviewee, NBC TV LA
Defense Lawyer Should Win Oscar for Performance, Interviewee, CNN News
Jury Hears Cosby Statement Admitting Giving Drugs to Women, Interviewee, The Point, MSNBC
Bill Cosby Accuser Reveals Disturbing New Allegations in Sexual Assault Case, Interviewee, Inside Edition
2016
Women Artist of Color Colloquium, Visiting Artist/Guest Lecturer, UC Santa Barbara, CA
Feminism 4.0 Panelist, Artillery Magazine, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), CA
Black Lives Matter Panelist, Los Angeles Art Book Fair, Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles
Hope is the Chorus Panelist, Tonya Ingram MFA Thesis Show, ArtShare LA, Los Angeles, CA
Silent No More Art Workshop, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Silent No More Art Workshop, University of Maryland, College Park, CA
Silent No More Art Workshop, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
Silent No More Art Workshop, Blk Grrrl Book Fair, Cielo Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
Silent No More Art Workshop, Catalyst Series Conference, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Silent No More Art Workshop, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
Chats About Change: Critical Conversation on Art & Politics, LACE, Los Angeles, CA
Victim Impact Statement: Bill Cosby Drugged and Raped Me, Friars Club, New York City, NY
Press Conference Statement, Bill Cosby “Far from Finished” Tour Protest, Cobb County, GA
Bill Cosby Alleged Victim’s Outrage, Entertainment Tonight
2014
Ashé: Lili Bernard Solo Art Exhibition, Artist Talk, LACC, Los Angeles, CA
Painting on Canvas in the Digital Age, host Mat Gleason, Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles, CA
Balancing Act, Panelist, CAA (College Art Association) Conference, Chicago, IL
Getty-BAILA Roundtable, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Micro-Aggressions of Racism in Academia, Leimert Park Vision Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
2013
Southern Wind Chimes, Art Workshop, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Orishas Through the Crossroads and the Gate, California African American Museum, Los Angeles
Hammer Museum-BAILA Roundtable, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Mat Gleason-BAILA Roundtable, St. Paul’s Luthern Church, Los Angeles, CA
Otis-BAILA Roundtable, Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA
Karen Atkinson GYST-BAILA Rountable, St. Paul’s LuthernChurch, Los Angeles, CA
BAILA con Duende, Curator’s Talk & Tour for Public, Watts Towers Arts Center, DCA, LA, CA
2012
BAILA con Duende, Curator’s Talk, HerShe Foster Girls, Watts Towers Arts Center, DCA, LA, CA
California African American Museum Collectors Tour, Lili Bernard Art Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art-BAILA Roundtable, Lili Bernard Art Studio, Los Angeles CA
CAAM-BAILA Roundtable, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
WTAC-BAILA Roundtable, Watts Towers Arts Center, Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles, CA
2011
Colonialism: The Collective Unconscious, Curator’s Talk, William Grant Still Arts Center, DCA,
Guest Lecture, Ramón C. Cortines, Visual & Performance Arts High School, Los Angeles, CA
Summer in the Studio: LA Artists Create in Paradise, Mat Gleason, Lili Bernard Art Studio, LA
Golden State Mutual Legacy Foundation-BAILA Roundtable, Lili Bernard Art Studio, Los Angeles
2010
Ceiba de Cuba, Arts in the One World Conference, Brown University, Providence, RI
Saturday Morning Conversations, New Downtown Loft Series, Spirited Woman, Los Angeles, CA
2009
Raices de La Ceiba, Arts in the One World Conference, CalArts, Valencia, CA

CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2013 BAILA con Duende, Watts Towers Arts Center, Dep. of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Caribbean Canvases, St. Agatha’s Catholic Church, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Colonialism: The Collective Unconscious, William Grants Still Arts Center, DCA, LA, CA
2010 The New, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Oh Mamá, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Harvest, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Espirituxian, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Eastland, HABLA Underground, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Homage Hues, St. Agatha’s Catholic Church, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Sisters in Art, Lili Bernard Art Studio, Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA

COLLECTIONS
Getty Museum & Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Watts Towers Arts Center Permanent Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Richard Gay, CEO Viacom, New York, NY
Blackwell Burke P.A., Minneapolis, MN
John Outterbridge, Los Angeles, CA
Franklin Sirmans, Los Angeles, CA
Charles Burnett, Los Angeles, CA
Roger Guenveur Smith, Los Angeles, CA
Mat Gleason, Los Angeles, CA
Marcía Lewis, Los Angeles, CA
Charles D’Arcy, Brooklyn, NY
Steve Salter, Los Angeles, CA

BIBLIOGRAPHY (partial list with links to content – for complete, extensive bibliography click here.)
2017
Ten Artists Look South of the Border at Loft at Liz’s, Genie Davis, Art & Cake
Michael Jackson Remains Invisible: A Series of Art Exhibits at MoAD, Jonathan Curiel, SF Weekly
Sweet Sticky Things Soars at Launch Gallery, Genie Davis, Art & Cake
Sweet Sticky Things Artists Talk with Moderator by Naima Keith, Eric Minh Swenson, Take 1 Art Series
Sweet Sticky Things, Narrative Painting as the Voice of Black Women, Mat Gleason, HuffPost
Sweet Sticky Things, Wall Street International
Art Community Wants Exhibit to “Re-Imagine” Justice, Angie Crouch, NBC TV LA
“Re-Imagine Justice” Explores Past & Present of South LA, Cora Jackson-Fossett, Sentinel
In LA, 50 Artists Respond to the Black Panther’s Legacy, Matt Stromberg, Hyperallergic
50 Artists Interpret 50 Years of the Black Panther Party, Juxtapoz
PSA Holds Annual Occupy McKeldin, Emilie Fleuette, The Writer’s Bloc
Defense Lawyer Should Win Oscar for Performance, Lindsey, Ellefson, CNN
I’m One of Bill Cosby’s Accusers. His Defense Strategy is Reprehensible, Op Ed, Los Angeles Times
2016
LA Habitat: Lili Bernard, Katherine McMahon, ARTnews Magazine
Visits to the Studios of 16 Artists Over the Next 16 Weeks, Katherine McMahon, ARTNews Magazine
Lili Bernard & Robbie Conal, Mat Gleason, Modern Art Blitz
Eric Minh Swenson’s Art World Yearbook of Art World All Stars, Mat Gleason, Coagula Curatorial
More than 700 Female Artists Pose for a Portrait, 7 Reflect on the Experience, ArtBound KCET
Lili Bernard Interview on Good Day LA, Steve Edwards & Araksya Karapetyan, Fox News
Inspired by Accusations Against Cosby, CA Lawmakers Move to Lift Limits on Rape Cases, LA Times
2015
Lili Bernard: Fighting Trauma with Art, Liz Ohanesian, ArtBound KCET
Chats About Change: Critical Conversation on Art & Politics, Michael Ano, ArtBound KCET
Emerging Artists Grant Finalist Awards, Joan Mitchell Foudation
Visual Artist Highlights Afro-Latin History & Uplifts Artists, Ashley Nash, Annenberg Digital News
No Longer Afraid: Bill Cosby Accusers Speak Out, Noreen Malone/Amanda Demme, New York Mag
Bill Cosby Protestors Demand Change in Rape Laws, Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times
2014
Rise: Love, Revolution & the Black Panther Party, Kenya Davis-Hayes, ArtBound KCET
New Art Show Honors Black Panthers, Lisa Napoli, Arts & Culture Magazine & Radio, KCRW
Lili Bernard Talks Inspiration on Rise: Love & the Black Panther Party At Exhibition, ARTShareLA
Lili Bernard: Women of the West Indies, Pan African Film Festival/ Caribbean TV, Shakti Productions
Lili Bernard: Artist, Laurel Paley, Collegian Wired News
2013
Culture: A Visual Critique of Racism, Paul Von Blum, Tikkun Magazine
Otis Gallery Summer Show Seeks to Confront Societal Standards, Beatrice Rose, The Argonaut
2012
BAILA con Duende, Curated by Lili Bernard, Mar Yvette, Good Day LA Fox News
Artist Lili Bernard, Mat Gleason, Coagula Webisode
Seven Beauties and Underground Gallery, Nathan Solis, Avenue Meander
[This bibliography is truncated. To view entire, extensive bibliography online, click here.]

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THEATRICAL RESUME
LILI BERNARD 
SAG/AFTRA
HAIR/EYES:  Brown
HEIGHT/WEIGHT:  5″6″ / 135 lbs.
TV
Seinfeld
The Cosby Show
Stephen King Golden Years

Co-Star
Guest-Star
Co-Star
Tom Cherones/NBC
John Bowab/NBC
Ken Fink/CBS
FILM
Murder in Oakland
Shake Down
See No Evil Hear No Evil

Starring
Featured
Featured
Karl Francis/ BBC
James Glickenhouse/Universal
Arthur Hiller/Tri-Star
COMMERCIALS
Conflicts listed upon request

NYC THEATRE
Jimi-Slight Return
Amandla Ka Mandela
Pine Tree in the Forest
On the Edge
Anybody I want to be
Phomph
Phomph
The Atlanta Affair
The Atlanta Affair
Tuesday in No Man’s Land
Back to Back
Ethnic Bacchanal
Othello
Making it to the Big Time

Devon
Zeni
Quatsia
Keesha
Rosana
Nora
Nora
Cynthia
Cynthia
Odalys
Christina
Gloria
Bianca
Model
Theatre for The New City
Henry Street Settlement
Nat Horne Theatre
Plays for Living
Plays for Living
Puerto-Rican Traveling Theatre Company
American Renaissance Theatre
The Pearl Theatre
The Riant Theatre
The Riant Theatre
INTAR
Frank Silvera Writers Workshop
Harlem YMCA
Cooper Square Theatre
LA THEATRE
The Pussy Grabber Plays
Song of Che Chango
Song of Che Chango
Song of Che Chango
Song of Che Chango
Song of Che Chango
Cat on a Hot Tim Roof
Various Plays

Karena
Che Chango
Che Chango
Che Chango
Che Chango
Che Chango
Maggie
Principal
Thymele Arts
17th Annual Cuban Music Festival
CalArts, Arts in the One World Conference
Glendale Central Library
LA High School of Visual and Performing Arts
Lili Bernard Art Studio
Arena Theatre, CSULA
UCLA Players
OTHER THEATRE
Legacy of Christopher
Columbus in a One Act

The Artist
Brown University, Arts in the One World Conference, RI
TRAINING
Sonia Moore Studio of the Theatre/NYC – Sonia Moore and Boris Leskin
Herbert Berghof Studio – Stephen Strimpell
Cornell University/Ithaca, NY – Bruce Levitt
City University of New York – Independent Studies
Weist-Barron/NYC – Michael Laibson
SKILLS 
Visual Artist, Painter, Sculptor, Videographer, Fluent in Spanish and German, Some Japanese, Yoga, Karate, Tai-Chi, Gymnastic, Horseback, Singing, Some Guitar, Stick Shift Driving, Owner of two German Shepherd Dog and Two Cats, Mother of 6 young children.

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PROJECTS (with links to my website for images and descriptions)

Antebellum Appropriations –  In a series of large oil paintings on canvas, which I call Antebellum Appropriations, I alter iconic classical European paintings and turn them into slave narratives. These paintings are a way for me to therapeutically express the sexual trauma and accompanying enslavement I personally endured as a young adult, by disguising myself in the stories of my ancestors.  Richly codified with imagery of Afro-Caribbean folklore and religious iconography, the paintings are centered on the generational exploitation of Black women, relating to physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The work reaches beyond an aesthetic exploration of trauma as it pertains to racism and feminism. It critically examines a void that exists within the halls of art history: the failure to archive the important role which the abominable institution of slavery and rape played, across the African Diaspora, in sustaining the lifestyle of the subjects who grace the ubiquitous, classical European canvases. By “flipping the script,” I shine the light of historical recognition upon these unsung enslaved heroines and heroes, whose lives of horror and resistance were overshadowed by serene scenes painted of their subjugators.

BC Trauma Bond: As in Before Christ There Were Demons in They’ve Persisted in Heavenly Places is my multimedia artwork relating directly to the trauma I’ve experienced as a public-figure rape survivor whose perpetrator is a powerful, once beloved American father-figure icon.

Ain’t Funny – Inspired by Frantz Fanon’s book Black Skin, White Masks, this work uses sculpture, installation, video-art, photography and performance to examine Black consciousness and self-image, as seen through my eldest son’s burgeoning Black manhood in a racist world, and my concerned maternal eyes. The strope in this work is the syncretism of Catholicism and the Afro-Cuban religion, known as “Palo,” in my birth island of Cuba, which resulted from colonialism.

Dismissal of the Conqueror’s Coiffure is an installation and public engagement ritualistic performance which uses tropes of Afro-Cuban religious folklore to explore the psyche and self-perception of the colonized Black woman. It raises awareness of the pervasive subconscious association of Blackness with wrongness, as evidenced in commonplace expressions such as “good hair” versus “bad hair.”  Such dilemma is the root of the trauma we Black women have experienced with relation to our hair.  The examination of these learned subconscious feelings of inadequacy, reflected in hairstyle, speaks to a larger audience.  It creates conversation about the collective unconscious dependency born out of colonialism.

Prayers for Andrea Constand 2018  is an ephemeral art installation which I’ve been creating for a 63 second candlelight vigil that will occur every night at 7pm outside of the courthouse at the Cosby Retrial, in silent prayer for all rape survivors, for the victim in the Cosby Trial, Andrea Constand, who was drugged and sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby in 2004, and for the more than 62 Bill Cosby public survivors.  The retrial is scheduled to begin on April 2nd, 2018 at the Montgomery County Courthouse, 493 Swede St, Norristown, PA 19401.

Silent No More and Heart Strings Anti-Rape Art Workshops are two separate group activities that begin with an artist talk by me and a slideshow presentation of my work relative to my personal sexual assault survivorship and my antirape activism. Following the talk and Q&A about my work is the anti-rape art workshop, either Silent No More or Heart Strings. Both workshops, though different, involve the creation of functional art objects, group exercises and discussion. The objects made in Silent No More are painted paper megaphones. In the Heart Strings workshop participants decorate wooden heart necklaces. Participants can choose to either take home the objects or combine the objects to make an installation.  Both workshops are creative vehicles of support and empowerment that encourage participants to use their voices in order to combat rape culture and to help heal themselves and society. Whether they are survivors, bystanders or advocates of sexual assault victims, through the use of metaphor, participants of all genders experience the personal and therapeutic impact of speaking out against sexual violence. The trope of both workshops is the Chinese philosophy known as “Yin-Yang,” the interconnectivity of opposing forces.  Explored in the exercises is the duality of sexual trauma juxtaposed against healing.

Teaching ArtFor the past ten years, I have independently taught studio art, contemporary art history, critical theory, art critique, social practice, and art institutionalism to adults and youth, from within my art studio and through two pedagogical art organizations that I founded, HABLA: Harvesting Asian Black Latino Artists (2007-2011) and BAILA: Black Artists in Los Angeles (2011-present), teaching sometimes as frequently as 12 hours per week of in-class time, plus preparation. I have also taught as a guest lecturer and art workshop leader at various institutions and universities, including UC Santa Barbara, Occidental CollegeJohns Hopkins University and University of Maryland, among others.

BAILA: Black Artists in Los AngelesI founded BAILA in September of 2011.  BAILA is an acronym for Black Artists in Los Angeles.  We are an organized group of visual artists and friends who function pedagogically and professionally as a family.  BAILA exists as a perpetual social practice art project.  It performs as an educational networking art movement. The BAILA movement is orchestrated to illuminate the work and advance the careers of Black visual artists in the L.A. area. BAILA is not exclusive to Black people. It is inclusive of any person who has an interest in Black art, regardless of their race, or whose work explores Black culture.  There are therefore members of BAILA who are not Black.

Orishas Through the CrossroadsPresented first at California African American Museum, in Los Angeles, on June 15, 2013, Orishas Through the Crossroads and the Gate is an installation, public engagement performance game and art workshop. It metaphorically explores the impact of colonialism as it pertains to privilege, access, boundaries and transcendence. The installation is a space where, through physical play, participants momentarily escape from the pressures of daily life, while their subconscious delights in memory and imagination. For some, the performance game and art workshop elicit intercession from the spirits of the ancestors. The performance incorporates the popular childhood game of Four Square, stylized in a theme of Afro-Caribbean folklore and religion. It specifically references the syncretism of the Orisha (African deity) Elegua who is seen as a child, and his European (Spanish) counterpart El Santo Niño de Atocha (the Christ Child). The metaphor stems from the biblical passage which states that if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must be like children. (Matthew 18:3).

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