Seventh annual 32 Cells Art Show. This year's show “Sense of Place” was focused on the theme of location inspired by the historic Idaho State Penitentiary and other locations around Idaho that feature in the true stories of those incarcerated during the Old Idaho Penitentiary's 101 years of operation. Artists were randomly assigned a former inmate and asked to make a work based on that person's story. Artwork was displayed on prison cell doors at Old Idaho Penitentiary, Boise, Idaho, August 20, 2022.

Art Field Trip to Sun Valley for the residents of The Common Well and Alexa Rose Foundation “Show & Tell Artist Residency Program”. October 23-24, 2024 in Ketchum, Idaho. Show & Tell residents on the tour: Rollie Fletcher, Emma Hood, Kate Masterson, Hallie Maxwell, Aurora Stone Mehlman, William Guy Miller, Leonardo Nino, Hayden Pedersen, and Shaylie Woodhouse Alex Rose Foundation: Alex Davis (Director) and Nina Leary (Program Manager). The Common Well: Katherine Shaughnessy (Co-Founder & Curator), Amber Lawless (Co-Founder & Creative Director), and Katie Johnston (Creative Strategy & Commerce). Transportation provided by Patrick Crow in the Budgie Smuggler bus. The tour included Sun Valley Museum of Art, Gail Severn Gallery, Gilman Contemporary, residences of private collectors Jeanne Meyers, and Kay Hardy & Gregory Kaslo, Jill Lear studio, Wood River Museum of History and Culture, Hemingway House and Preserve, and the Hailey House & Classroom (Ezra Pound birthplace). Other stops included Warfield Distillery & Restaurant, Dang Thai restaurant, Community Library, and the Best Western Tyrolean Inn.

NEW AMERICAN VOTERS 2020⁣ ⁣ Naturalized immigrants now comprise 1 in 10 eligible voters in the U.S. This shows a doubling of the immigrant electorate since 2000. ⁣ ⁣ Created by the @npnewamericans, #newamericanvoters2020 is a national effort which targets and uplifts the diverse stories of the newly naturalized, especially in states where there are sizable populations of newly naturalized citizens and where their engagement in the electoral process could have a significant influence in election outcomes. ⁣ ⁣ We were inspired by this national effort and wanted to contribute, so we created a Boise based campaign. We worked closely with 13 New Americans, mostly voting for the first time to create a series of posters, each with a unique message crafted by conversations between @angsmithers and the participant. This is the last poster featuring Amy, who is voting for the first time tomorrow.⁣ This week, we have hung posters in shop fronts and installed wheat pasted posters on building facades throughout Downtown Boise.⁣ ⁣ We hosting several in person voting education events and we have a team of volunteers ready to provide transportation and advocacy on election day.⁣ This campaign was made possible by the vision, creative direction, photography and execution of @angsmithers. ⁣ ⁣ Thank you @rashadrastam for the beautiful designs and helping to craft the art direction.⁣ ⁣ Thank you to each project participant for collaborating with us. Thank you to @welcomingusa for your support and @npnewamericans for initiating this nationwide effort.

Open Air Archive by Angie Smith, an outdoor photography exhibition of the people of Boise, 1800s to today that was part of the public art featured at the 2019 Treefort Music Fest. Angie Smith is a photographer and artist living in LA and Boise. She has worked as an editorial and commercial photographer for New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker, Time, and Oprah, and her installation, Stronger Shines the Light Inside, was recognized by the Obama Administration as one of the most impactful projects to integrate refugees in America. In March 2019, she returned to Idaho to conduct a portrait workshop with Boise’s refugee and immigrant communities. Using wheat paste, she installed these photographs, along with historic portraits, throughout the downtown area in celebration of the rich intersection of culture that is part of Boise’s past and present identity.

Antonius-Tín Bui (they/them/theirs) is a spontaneous shapeshifter and poly-disciplinary artist with roots all over the country. They play in the realms of hand-cut paper, community engagement, performance, and soft sculpture to visualize hybrid identities and histories that confront the unsettling present. Their identity as a queer, genderfluid, Vietnamese-American informs the way they employ beauty as a refuge for fellow marginalized communities.

Surel's Place artBike tour, led by Jodi Eichelberger, in the Surel Mitchell Live-Work-Create District in Garden City, Idaho on June 16, 2018. Tour included artists and makers in Garden City: The tour started a Wildflour Bakery and included studio visits with painter William D. Lewis; Red Valley Mandolins (James Wilson and sons) maker of handcrafted mandolins, mandolas, octaves and bouzoukis; Rarity Rugs (Kent Johnson) hand-knotted Oriental carpets, textiles, and exotic artifacts; Potters Center including a demonstration by ceramist Mandy Riley; and a guided tour of Meriwether Cider Company by co-owner Kate Leadbetter.

Surel's Place artBike tour, led by Jodi Eichelberger, in the Surel Mitchell Live-Work-Create District in Garden City, Idaho on September 14, 2019. Tour included artists and makers in Garden City which included installation artists Eric Mullis and Kelly Cox at the Green Box, artist Sara Hill, McCall Studios with metalwork sculpturer Ken McCall, The Dustbin with artist Pete LaForge, Surel's Place artists-in-residents Julian Saporiti and Emilia Halvorsen, and artist Noi Thannao at the Visual Art Collective. The tour also included a ride by Garden SITy art benches including Susan Madasci's three leaf "Tree-O" bench and Ken McCall's park namesake inspired "Heron Bench". This tour was led by Jodi Eichelberger, Surel's Place Program Director, who originated artBike five years ago.

BLAC Water Rabbit, 2024, Mural, 12 ft x 12 ft. Carnessa Lynn, Kiara Bell, Mungo Ligoya, BlackCat Sign Co Artist Statement BLAC Water Rabbit was greatly influenced by symbolism derived from Chinese astrology. As Carnessa Lynn was designing the mural in 2023, she resonated with the sentiment of hopefulness that the year was predicted to bring. Carnessa was born in January of 2000, taking place in the tail end of a previous Year of the Rabbit. She felt inspired to create a mural that encapsulates her zodiac sign's characteristics representing longevity, peace, and prosperity. In addition to the Rabbit, the year 2023 was associated with Yin, the dark feminine half of the Taijitu symbol and the nourishing element of water. These aspects influenced the ideation of a black rabbit experiencing a cycle of rebirth and navigating the process of a transformative renewal of one's inner self. The rabbit is adorned with Plantain Lily and Jasmine, flowers believed to bring good fortune into its renewed life. This artwork was created by a diverse group of artists whose talents are represented across an eclectic range of practices. The mural was designed by Carnessa Lynn, a multidisciplinary visual and performance artist. Carnessa Lynn has taken part in various workshops and classes to advance her craft and is well known locally for her participation in film festivals. Kiara Bell is an oil painter and sculptor. She earned her BFA in Studio Art and Design from the University of Idaho in 2021 and has worked professionally in the field of three dimensional design. Mungo Ligoya is a visual artist who creates primarily through the mediums of oil, acrylic, and digital painting. He earned his Art and Design Degree through the College of Idaho in 2021. The three artists' creative careers intertwined in 2021 during the formation of the Black Liberation Artist Collective (BLAC). The Collective focused on supporting Idahoan artists who are a part of the African Diaspora. The BLAC artists were mentored by Lily Black, the founder of BlackCat Sign Co, a prominent sign making and muralist company in the Treasure Valley. BLAC Water Rabbit was funded by Together Treasure Valley and coordinated by Surel's Place.

The construction barriers on 8th Street in downtown Boise, Idaho get a muralist makeover by Bobby Gaytan with assistance from Jordynn Eld, Dana Wagner, and Breanna Boutte. June 12-15, 2923.

Bobby Gaytan’s “Flowers for JJ” mural honoring Boise community leader JJ Saldaña, in downtown Boise, Idaho, August 24-30, 2024. I am excited to share my recent mural called “Flowers for JJ”. It is located in downtown Boise, Idaho, 702 Capital St. JJ Saldaña was my friend and an Idaho community leader that passed away a year ago unexpectedly. I depicted him as a superhero because that is what he was. His super powers were to give people their flowers. JJ made you feel special and he leveraged his high profile connections to help the community he served. He believed in everyone’s potential and made everyone feel important. His vision was to uplift the Hispanic community in a positive way and he carried himself with pride and dignity. JJ passed away before we could give him his flowers. We assume JJ knew what he meant to us but this mural is a reminder to let your special person know how much you care for them. Give people their flowers while they can still smell them. A special thank you to my team, Irene, Antonio, Rebecca, Stephanie, Lianna, Stephanie J, Jennifer, Danny, Wytske, the city of Boise and everyone that helped with this project. Thank to JJ’s family for the support. Hope this space brings visitors hope and inspiration. Boise community leader JJ Saldaña died in his sleep September 22, 2024.

Gleam! A monthly DIY multimedia party. Improvised real-time collaboration and pop-up sets by musicians, dancers, storytellers, poets, artists, crafters and interactive video at Catalyst Arts Collaborative, Boise, Idaho, July 13, 2024. This month’s theme was Resilience, specifically: Building a creative community that is resilient, inclusive and empowering. The event featured live digital painting by Emily Hales; Live music by Alec Hales, Justin Blauch, and Kelly Lee; and Interactive visuals by Joseph Haskin.

Artist Chris Fonseca installing a mural in the Live-Work-Create District on the corner of 36th Street and Carr Street, October 2018, Garden City, Idaho. Chris Fonseca is a Nampa, Idaho artist selected by the ACLU of Idaho to install one of three murals (Moscow, Idaho Falls, and Garden City) as a part of its 25th Anniversary celebration. The commissioned murals revolve around the themes of human and civil rights.

James Castle House presents All Too Brief, an exhibition of works from Resident Artist Cindy Steiler. Working with textiles, alternative process photography, and found objects, Steiler explored concepts of memory and time, using antique materials to pull bits of the past into the present. July 27 & 28, 2019 at the James Castle House in Boise, Idaho. Cindy Steiler is a mixed-media artist who lives in Gainesville, Florida with her loving partner and pack of hilarious dogs. Her work explores concepts of memory, space and longing through a range of materials and techniques including found objects, textiles, photography, embroidery and crochet. Steiler’s work is inspired by her travels, where she can delve in to a new community, listening to stories told by residents to learn the personality and history of each new place. This practice has led her across the United States, Canada and Europe, presenting exhibitions and teaching workshops for students of all ages. Steiler studied set design at Colorado State University and spent years working in theater before bringing the practical skills she learned there to her concentration on art. She has participated in numerous artist residencies, including Stiwdio Maelor in Wales, Contextile in Portugal, and the Jentel Foundation in Wyoming.

Cindy Steiler. James Castle House Summer Lawn Series: Cyanotype Photobooth. Resident artist Cindy Steiler provides a hands-on cyanotype experience on June 22, 2019 at the James Castle House, Boise, Idaho. Participants had their portrait taken and using a digital negative and cyanotype, printed it as a photograph on fabric. Cindy Steiler is a mixed-media artist who lives in Gainesville, Florida with her loving partner and pack of hilarious dogs. Her work explores concepts of memory, space and longing through a range of materials and techniques including found objects, textiles, photography, embroidery and crochet. Steiler’s work is inspired by her travels, where she can delve in to a new community, listening to stories told by residents to learn the personality and history of each new place. This practice has led her across the United States, Canada and Europe, presenting exhibitions and teaching workshops for students of all ages. Steiler studied set design at Colorado State University and spent years working in theater before bringing the practical skills she learned there to her concentration on art. She has participated in numerous artist residencies, including Stiwdio Maelor in Wales, Contextile in Portugal, and the Jentel Foundation in Wyoming.

Curious Conditions is an artistic lighting design practice comprised of Mark Stater and Jessica Doyle. The mission of their practice is to explore and experiment with the physical and nonphysical qualities of light, and to share those explorations with the public by means of immersive, participatory installations. By exposing the subtle and wonderous complexities of light, they hope to incite a reimagination of how light can shape our environments and experiences. Artist Statement: Forms of light and body forms. X-Ray Forms engages with both of these ideas to explore how a form of light can reveal our bodies' forms in multiple ways. Our biological insides can only be seen through an x-ray at a doctor's office. Our exterior selves can be seen all the time and in a large variety of ways. X-Ray Forms takes the light source that gives us the ability to see an x-ray and and reimagines its purpose in order to grant it the ability to project our forms in a completely different way. X-Ray Forms provides a real life participatory environment to experience our forms in a new and dynamic way. Making use of discarded medical equipment placed inside wooden pallets, the viewer has the ability to interact with the light and see their own projections along the walls and ceiling. The interplay of of light and shadow mimics that of a medical x-ray. Our intention is to help the viewer to become the subject, allowing for a closer relationship to the form they project. About the Green Box. The "green box" was discovered to be a 1940's vintage mobile military office. After its military usage, it was discarded in Olympia, Washington. Garden city resident, Carol B., a long haul truck driver, adopted it and transported it on a trailer to a location behind her home to be used as a garde

Daniel Frandson. Freak Alley Gallery 2023 Refresh in downtown Boise, Idaho on September 10-15, 2023. This is Daniel's mom, Pattie. On May 31, 2024, Daniel's 24th birthday, Daniel jumped off of Horseshoe Bend train trestle into the river. The water was high and fast and Daniel was struggling. Daniel's friend jumped in to save him and both were swept under the water, where they were separated. Luckily, Daniel's friend was able to get out of the water. Unfortunately, Daniel did not. Daniel drowned and did not resurface until June 10th, when he was found by a helicopter by the Montour bridge. Our family is devastated. Daniel was a highly intelligent, extremely creative young man. He was Catholic and was an altar boy and a Eucharistic Minister. He was a movie actor and movie producer, an artist in EVERY sense of the word, a book maker, a woodworker, a rapper/singer, a lover of grapes, a hot air balloon crew member, a reluctant fisherman, a great debater, a tremendous napper, a music connoisseur, a Chaplin expert (he won National History Day and interviewed Chaplin's daughter and the Chaplin family allowed him to use their photos that are reserved for the media in his exhibits), a minimalistic camper (to our horror!), a world traveler, a game designer, a cardician, a movie prop replica maker (he took 3 years and replicated the Red Book of Westmarch from the Hobbit by hand!!, a film festival sponsor at Sun Valley Film Festival, a sign maker, a mannequin poser, an amazing archer, a custom quiver maker, a costume designer, a custom chalk bag maker, a recipient of a gold award on his National Latin Exam, a speaker in full sentences before 6 months old, a custom climbing wall builder, a boulderer, a mismatched sock wearer, a pun master, a photographer, a quill and ink artist, a ballroom dancer (mostly against his will but he did do a great, funny tango with me with sound effects!), a button hater, a tap shoe and Singing in the Rain lover, a self taught reader at 3 1/2 (sounding out gastroenterology), a movie line enthusiast (he could memorize entire movies!), a custom volume and custom climbing hold maker, a route setter, a crazy fun stylish dresser, a blue jeep driving adventurer (STYLE 1), an inventor, a wicked 'Sorry' and 'Sequence' player (sorry not sorry), a knitter, a juggler, a fight choreographer, an ax builder, a spider silk rosary maker, a knife and card thrower, an amazing chess player (he beat theNook computer!), a calligrapher, a climbing shoe designer, a sunglass representative, a pool player, a wax sealer of cards and letters, a hard to beat Banangrams and Words with Friends player (first word he played against me used all his letters - YOHIMBE - I didn't even know what it meant!), an animal lover, a Harry Potter (and other) trivia master, a Boise Juice Company fanatic, an embroiderer, a sewist, and he was even learning the trapeze. He made everything with the greatest of care - every last detail done correctly mattered to him.

David Carmack Lewis's mural "Over the Valley" on the Key Financial Center building in downtown Boise, Idaho He started the mural on May 12, 2020 and finished June 11, 2020. Acrylic on brick, 50' x 120'. David Carmack Lewis, a Portland, Oregon based artist, interview with BoiseDev: “Right now the working title is Over The Valley,” he told BoiseDev. “It’s sort of a stylized look at the south fork of the Payette.” Lewis said he drove up to the area on his last visit to Idaho when he painted the Fowler mural. “I love that road. It’s kind of funny, this is such a tall building. The viewpoint is looking down at the valley, even though you are looking up at the mural.” He said Key Financial Center’s owners put out a call for artists, and he said they selected his because it left the architectural framing at each of the stories intact.“They saw my other murals. One of the things they liked was I wanted to leave the architectural elements in place. I almost wanted it to be a window. They liked that I took that into account,” he said. Building co-owner Scott Schoenherr said they looked at more than twenty artists and asked six to submit proposals. He said he liked the creative nature of Lewis’ proposal. He pointed to a detail in the rendering as giving the project a little something extra. “The reason he put the chair there is he wanted people to envision sitting there and looking out over this scene,” Scott Schoenherr of building owner Rafanelli-Nahas said. “I think it’s neat. You want to do something that’s more than just a landscape but has some creativity.

Portland, Oregon-based artist David Carmack Lewis's mural "Absence and Presence" on the west side of The Fowler building in Boise, Idaho. When they first asked him to come up with a design, he wasn’t sure what to do. They sent pictures of the homes that were originally on the property. They told him that the houses had actually been moved to other parts of the city. It was important to him that the houses still existed. The idea of painting houses on the building If they had been destroyed - He doesn't think he could have done it. It would have been just too weird. He went by the homes to look at them. He initially thought about having the actual houses on the wall floating but somehow it didn't appeal to him. The idea that that popped into his head was to paint the sky around the houses and utilize the dark grey of the wall itself as a silhouette. He presented the concept and they really liked. He was really happy how the mural turned out. Lewis started the mural on July 21, 2018 and finished it on August 15, 2018. The mural covers approximately 40 percent of the building closest to Myrtle Street, and works its exterior features like windows into a stylized depiction of the Boise Foothills against a partly cloudy sky.

The first Eastern Oregon Mural Festival on October 11-13, 2019 in Ontario, Oregon was presented by Treasure Valley Cannabis Company. The goal was to engage the community through the process of creating art and interacting with the artists themselves and to help create lasting works that would be publicly accessible to all of Treasure Valley. The festival based in downtown Moore Park featured live art, including painting, glassblowing along with screen printing and block printing of T-shirts. Mural artists included Sector Seventeen (Solomon Hawk Sahlein, Collin Pfeifer, Taylor Ryan, Ian Fahey), 2MA (Ethos, Damers, Notphew, Pinekone), Forest Wolf Kell, Yachterboat, Pono pinto, Ashley Dreyfus, Heather Pugh, Joshua Parke, Matt Phelan, and Miguel Almeida. Glass artist included Boro by Wombat Volcanic Glass Art, and High Desert Glass Studio.

Freak Alley Gallery eight annual mural event in downtown Boise, Idaho. The week long event (August 4-11, 2019) provided an "art-in-motion" experience as it welcomed the public to watch artists work on their murals. Freak Alley is a “notable venue” for murals, graffiti and public art located in an alley in downtown Boise. It is said to be the largest outdoor gallery in the Northwest, and has been a Boise institution since 2002. It began with a painting of a single alley doorway and now extends from the alley itself to gravel parking lot. Freak Alley was established by Colby Akers, Freak Alley Gallery. According to an article from the Arbiter, Akers fell into the project by originally having the opportunity to paint the side of the Moon’s Cafe on the far side of what is now the completed alley. Many neighboring businesses saw this and wanted him to continue his work farther into the space to cover the back of their building. Extant murals painted over and replaced by new murals (or incorporated into them) every few years.

Garden City Placemaking Fund is a partnership between Surel’s Place, visionary neighboring business owners, artists, art lovers, and countless volunteers designed to empower new opportunities for public art and creative placemaking in Garden City. At the core of its mission, Surel’s Place and GCPF supports artists and champions their role in our community’s future. This fund is designed to ensure local, emerging, and BIPOC artists have paid opportunities to create public-facing art and spur the kind of creative placemaking efforts that will keep our community vibrant, unique, and vital to the Treasure Valley and beyond.

Hallie Maxwell MFA thesis exhibition “Alternate Heirlooms” at Boise State University, Fine Arts Building, Neri Gallery, Boise, Idaho. March 31st - April 4, 2024. Exhibition: 34.39649, 132.45257; 34.05028, -118.24052; 19.93851, -155.16853, 2024, sumi ink and paper. Kuzu, 2024, mizuhiki cords. The Burning of Gifted Sakura, 2024, video.  Mama, 2024, audio and found objects.  All That Remains, 2024, mizuhiki cords and porcelain slip.

MING Studios artist-in-residence, Han Seok Hyun, large scale, permanent sculpture, entitled Reverse-Rebirth at the Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise, Idaho. July 2018. As an artist in residence at MING Studios, Han Seok Hyun has connected with the Boise community through gathering furniture and cast off wood pieces, which were used to build up his sculpture. The work of Korean artist Han Seok Hyun addresses the dichotomy of ''artificial nature,'' calling attention to man’s handling of the natural world observable in contemporary urban environments. In Reverse-Rebirth, Han takes nature into his own hands. Reclaimed wood, discarded furniture, native plants, and locally foraged seeds compose the monumental tree-like sculpture that continuously evolves over time and throughout the seasons. The work reaches for a symbiosis with the given environment, while Han pushes the boundaries of a domesticated relationship with Mother Nature.

Heather Pugh live mural painting during the Eastern Oregon Mural Festival in Ontario, Oregon on October 12, 2019. The first Eastern Oregon Mural Festival in Ontario, Oregon was presented by Treasure Valley Cannabis Company. The goal was to engage the community through the process of creating art and interacting with the artists themselves and to help create lasting works that would be publicly accessible to all of Treasure Valley.

The opening of the Land Art Exhibit on March 16, 2019 at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho. The exhibit showcased 10 ephemeral works using natural materials by local artists: Elizabeth Dickey, Alek de Dóchas, Dyan Ferren, Michele Lesica, Jennifer Mahlum, Helen McGill, Lisa Pisano, Claire Remsberg, Heather Wright, and Ace Zappa. The artist were present to discuss their work. This was the Idaho Botanical Garden's first ever Land Art Exhibit and featured works using natural materials such as clay, leaves, seeds, stones, wood, and wool. These pieces challenged the artists to think about creating art that does not permanently occupy a space. Due to the nature of these natural art pieces the displays will decay and decompose over time.

Land Art Exhibit on March 20, 2022 at Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho. The exhibit showcased 9 ephemeral works using natural materials by local artists: Claire Remsberg, Jane Tharpe, Ace Zappa, Katharina Roth, Nicole MacDonald, Mary Arnold, Tamara Doughty, Gabrielle Krake, and Sunny Dawn Freeman. This was the Idaho Botanical Garden's fourth Land Art Exhibit and featured nature-friendly art with repurposed and biodegradable materials nestled among regional and adaptive plantings.

Jan Boles’s silver print montage series depicts landscapes that reveal the artist’s interest in time, history, perspective, and our ideas about the pastoral Western landscape. The pieces were created from 1989 - 1996 (predating digital photography). They include regional sites of interest such as: the Caldwell Depot, crops in Canyon County, the Snake River, and the old Idaho Penitentiary. The montages are created by taking a series of individual photographs shot from the same vantage point facing different directions. Then the photos are hand pieced together and developed into silver prints through a darkroom process. These unique panoramic observations are both a technically inventive photographic process and a remarkable vision of these rural sites.

Jay Rasgorshek and collaborators (Eva Streicher, Wyatt Wurtenberger, Julia Green, Indigo Blauch-Chappell, and Macy Ratzesberger) work in progress on a 7ft x 91ft mural at Albertsons on Broadway Avenue in Boise, Idaho, March 30, 2024. Jay Rasgorshek: Since it was a fast install, I threw together a number system to quickly get the flats all laid out. I had a well stocked and planned mixing/ supply station. A thorough reference packet of every subject and several design packages. I also went with a more graphic aesthetic. I used many new brushes—ranging from resin finisher brushes, sign painter jumbo brushes, to scrubbies. I really wanted to experiment with textures and quick applications of paint. As always, murals are a team effort and couldn’t be made without everyone involved. My production team: Eva Streicher, Wyatt Wurtenberger, Julia Green, Indigo Blauch-Chappell, and Macy Ratzesberger. The progress of the mural was documented by Cody Gittings, Gregg Mizuta, and Michael McCullough.

Jazz Szu-Ying Chen is a Taiwanese artist currently residing in Taipei, Taiwan. She has exhibited regularly in Europe, Taiwan, with one of her biggest solo shows to date at Taipei’s Chini Gallery. She also regularly collaborates with notable medical and electronic music organizations. Jazz’s subjects of focus span over her interest in the beauty and grotesque within the field of anatomy/medical historical imageries, to Nordic and Chinese mythologies and folklore such as “Classics of Mountains and Seas.” She manipulates the dissected anatomical imageries and creates tableaus with mythological monsters, dissected bodies, and botanical details. The tableaus are meant to tell stories regarding the cultural clashes, her views on superstition, reflections from her Taiwanese roots, and they also function as social commentaries on the currently turbulent contemporary society. In her most recent body of work, she explores the complicated “love” among familial relationships and contradicting ideas of familial boundaries between eastern and western cultures while using classical symbols such as ouroboros as their carriers. She graduated from Central Saint Martin’s BA Fine Art course in 2013, and MA Art & Science in 2015.

Karolina Mejewska Freeing, Surel’s Place Artist in Residence, at Surel’s Place in Garden City, Idaho, April 7, 2024. Karolina Mejewska Freeing: Womanhood How does the nation you are in determine your gender role? What specific notions of masculinity and femininity within the construct of nationhood determine this? Perhaps an artist from outside the United States is best able to help our community explore these questions. Polish artist Karolina Majewska Freeing's sculptural work explores objectification and repression around the politics of the body. "The process of casting my body has given me the perspective to self-observe and accept the mortality of my physical form," she says. During her residency at Surel's Place, she created intimate, imperfect self-portraits using casting techniques to build installations that are also metaphors for the body of a woman. Karolina Majewska Freeing is a visual artist based in Warsaw, Poland. She holds an MFA in Photography, Video, and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in New York (2017) and an MFA in Painting from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (2014). Karolina's recent work explores the fragility and organic qualities of the human body. Her installations feature natural materials such as wax, wood, and clay. Karolina's work has been exhibited in Poland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Austria, Cyprus, Switzerland and the United States. She has participated in conferences and talks related to her practice during Manifesta 12; Rixc, Art and Science Festival, Open Field Conference, and more.

Leaping into the Void. Curator Kerry Brougher in conversation with Jacqueline Crist at The Common Well in Garden City, Idaho, October 4, 2024. This duo is sure to educate and entertain as they dive into Brougher’s career built out of his interest in the void, in light, in space and time as he curates exhibitions around the world with artists such as Yves Klein, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Robert Irwin. Kerry Brougher is Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and an independent curator and writer focusing on art and film. He was the Founding Director and CEO of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, where he worked on the design and construction of the building with architect Renzo Piano, built the Museum’s collection, and conceptualized the initial exhibitions and programs. For fourteen years, Brougher was the Chief Curator of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C, where he also served as Deputy Director and Interim Director. Before the Hirshhorn, Brougher was the Director of the Museum of Modern Art Oxford (now Modern Art Oxford) in England and was a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles during its formative years. Jacqueline Crist is a former curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and founder of the J Crist Gallery, Boise.

Key Detail’s “Perfect Union” mural painted for the City of Meridian in Idaho during Meridian Art Week. It was painted on the SW facing corner of the unBound Business and Technology Library. The concept shows that old traditional ideas can be found with new conceptions in a perfect union. Meridian, Idaho, September 8-10, 2022.

Go with the Flow, a mural celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Boise River Greenbelt. Located along the Greenbelt’s Fairview Bridge underpass, Boise, Idaho on August 29, 2019. The mural is the first of its kind on a section of the pathway managed by the City of Boise. Artist Kristen Ramirez landed on the phrase “go with the flow” after meeting with community members and local artists. In addition to having various possible meanings, Ramirez feels it reflects the importance of nature, energy, flow, water, the river, movement, and dynamism in Boise’s culture. Of the design, Ramirez says, “I’m sure you’ll see influences from graphic design, modernism, my obsession with all things Mexico (including textiles, color, and architecture), and all the good thinking of the artists of Boise around the type of work they wish to see.” The mural is a collaboration with local artists Ellen Wilson, Eva Streicher, Jay Rasgorshek, Julia Green, Justin W. John and Nicolet Laursen. and Andrea Ramsay.

Laurie Shapiro, Surel’s Place Artist-in-Resident, installation “One day you will no longer cause me pain,” Surel’s Place, Garden City, Idaho, October 14, 2024. The work showcased in this exhibit represents the culmination of my experiences throughout this unique year. At the beginning of the year, I left LA and embarked on a journey that spanned the entire year. I returned to New York, my hometown, and traveled to Italy, Mexico, and Finland for various artist residencies. It was only during my long drive from New York to Boise, which was an adventure in itself, that I realized the true reason I left California in the first place - a broken heart. However, my intention was not just to heal my heart, but to mend old wounds, confront myself, and understand my choices. The central installation piece, "one day you will no longer cause me pain," reflects this realization. During my drive to Boise, I attended a meditation retreat and cried for three days. I cried and cried, but sometimes the tears stopped, and I reassured myself that one day this pain would be insignificant as all things pass. This installation piece is the result of my year-long journey, delving into the feminine divine in Italy, exploring tropical plant life in Mexico, and rediscovering self-love in Finland. As I drove through mountains, I observed how the scenery changed, how distant objects appeared closer, and how everything is in constant flux. Life is always changing, and nothing is permanent. So, I invite you to meditate on this moment and immerse yourself in the art with me. BIOGRAPHY: Laurie Shapiro (CA) creates immersive dreamscapes based on interconnectivity and oneness with nature. Being hard-of-hearing, her experience of the outer world is often muted, while her inner world is amplified. These internal emotional experiences manifest as vibrant and captivating visuals, enveloping viewers in a realm of color and wonder. Paintings are particularly expressive, with subjects often using exaggerated gestures to communicate. "I primarily understand the world through visual stimuli and internal feelings, and this, in turn, colors all of my work," she adds. Central to her artistic practice are screen-printed floral patterns and imagery—drawings of plants that “speak” to her. Her art has been commissioned and shown at various institutions, including the Dyer Arts Center, San Diego Museum of Art, and San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Over the past decade, Shapiro has regularly exhibited solo and group exhibitions with galleries and museums across the country and is the recipient of multiple grants. She has completed artist residencies at the American Academy in Rome, the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Shapiro received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and studied abroad at Bilkent University.

Laurie Shapiro Surel’s Place Artist-in-Residence, screen printing workshop at Surel’s Place, Garden City, Idaho, September 28, 2024. Artist-in-Residence Laurie Shapiro will guide you through the process of screen printing from start to finish. Screen printing is a versatile and accessible technique that can be used to create a wide range of designs. Shapiro will guide us through the process of creating a silk screen. Using premade designs by the artist, you will also have the opportunity to print on both fabric and paper. Participants will also have the option to create their own designs using a cut paper technique. This will be a fun and interactive experience for participants from age 6 to adults. You will leave the workshop with your own unique creation. Participants are encouraged to bring their own fabrics or materials that they'd like to print on. BIOGRAPHY: Laurie Shapiro (CA) creates immersive dreamscapes based on interconnectivity and oneness with nature. Being hard-of-hearing, her experience of the outer world is often muted, while her inner world is amplified. These internal emotional experiences manifest as vibrant and captivating visuals, enveloping viewers in a realm of color and wonder. Paintings are particularly expressive, with subjects often using exaggerated gestures to communicate. "I primarily understand the world through visual stimuli and internal feelings, and this, in turn, colors all of my work," she adds. Central to her artistic practice are screen-printed floral patterns and imagery—drawings of plants that “speak” to her. Her art has been commissioned and shown at various institutions, including the Dyer Arts Center, San Diego Museum of Art, and San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Over the past decade, Shapiro has regularly exhibited solo and group exhibitions with galleries and museums across the country and is the recipient of multiple grants. She has completed artist residencies at the American Academy in Rome, the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Shapiro received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and studied abroad at Bilkent University.

Laurita Siles, Ming Studios Artist in Residence, from June 27 - July 27, 2022. Her exhibit “Iruten Har Nuzu - I am Making Wool” was ion display at Ming Studios in Boise, Idaho, July 23 - September 10, 2022 Artist and researcher Laurita Siles shows concern for the land, from the environmental crisis to the nostalgia provoked by the loss of heritage. She is co-founder of the project Mutur Beltz, an agro-ecological initiative located in Karrantza, Biscay that raises awareness of the endangered Basque black-nosed sheep, or Karrantzako Mutur Beltz, and the diminishing shepherd trade. Over the course of her one-month artist residency at MING Studios, Siles explored Basque-American identity, the role of the "Basque woman," and Basque agricultural history in Idaho, with a concentration on shepherd and sheep lineages of the region. IRUTEN HAR NUZU - I AM MAKING WOOL is a story based on traces left by America’s Basque shepherds in conjunction with the concept of sovereignty of joy; the exhibition is composed of wool-focused textile, photography, and film works that emulate traditions of representation and rethink the preservation of culture.

Surel's Place Artist in Residence Luma Jasim, an interdisciplinary Iraqi-born artist, shares her work in "Nostalgia to Baghdad: Between Dark & Bright Memories" at the Visual Arts Collective in Garden City, Idaho on November 6, 2018. She performed through paint, body gestures and telling stories, which included sharing perspectives about life in Iraq before and after the invasion and the effect of sanctions on people. Her performance included a projection of her stop-motion animation in the background combined with an original commissioned sound composition by composer Sugar Vendil. I didn't choose to be born in Baghdad I didn't choose to be called a Muslim I didn't choose to spend my early years hearing bombs and watching funerals I didn't choose to be a woman I didn't choose to have Saddam Hussein be my president I didn't choose to be there when he invaded Kuwait I didn't choose to suffer under the economic blockade I didn't choose to be close to terror attacks I didn't choose to not have electricity for a decade I didn't choose not to resist the wave against women I didn't choose to make art, but art chose me I didn't choose to stay there I didn't choose to come to Boise as a refugee But, I chose and choose to be myself Luma Jasim is an interdisciplinary Iraqi-born artist. Jasim was born and raised in Baghdad during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. She lived through three wars, an economic blockade, the United States invasion, and later, her immigration to the United States. First, as a refugee she lived in Boise, ID; she got a second Bachelors degree from Boise State University then moved to NYC after receiving a full scholarship from Parsons School of Design, The New School, NY, to get her second master's degree in Fine Arts in 2017. She is one of the four winners of The 2017 AAF American Austrian Foundation/ Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts. Recently, she has completed the MASS MoCA Residency. Jasim lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Through her multimedia practice, she explores the relationship of different concepts within today’s political climate drawing from past experiences using the personal to address the political through mixed media painting, animation, and performance besides other mediums. A major concept is regarding the relation with home; where someone was born and raised, the choices of leaving and the consequences of staying.

The premiere of Anagnorisis, a live music and dance collaboration between musician/composer Sean Dahlman and dancer/choreographer Meaghan Novoa. June 25-26, 2021 at JUMP in Boise, Idaho. Together with local musicians, contemporary dancers, and visual artists, Sean & Meaghan presented a heartfelt premiere concert that deep dived into their individual and collective realizations as young artists trying to make sense of a world wide disaster. Anagnorisis: Original music performed and written by Sean Dahlman, Seth Graham, and Anthony Parry. Choreography by Meaghan Novoa in collaboration with dancers Gemze Cloudt, Caitlin Cullen, Lemuel Reagan, Annette Taylor, and rehearsal assistant Anna Adaska. Video art by Sean Dahlman. An original oil painting by Sean Ahern. Poetry by Davina Hart read by Michele L. Appel. Anagnorisis: The point in a play or novel in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character's true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.

Open Arms Dance Project’s CULTIVATE, an original dance program plus award winning dance films at Jewett Auditorium on the College of Idaho campus, April 28, 2023. They shared a dance about emotional regulation in the “Dancing Grump Meter”, a circular dance “Cultivating Compassion”, and “Infrared”, which brought a James Webb NASA space image to life on stage with magical props and movement. Open Arms Dance Project is a community of dancers with diverse bodies, ages, abilities, and dance experience creating powerful art together in Boise, Idaho since 2008. With their beautiful range of physical and neuro diversity, time and again, Open Arms Dance Project sends waves of positive change through the community with each of their performances. Megan Brandel (Founding Artistic Director), Reema Al Chalabi, Huda Azzabiaidi, Kristen Beaver, Piper Bevis, Loey Brandel, Keely Burns, Jean Cardeño, Carol Colwell, Hava Fisherman, Sarah Gornic, Gail Hawkins, Shirley Hurley, Gail Lebow, Beatrice (Bea) Lenkowski, Heather Marie, Desiree Moores, Evie Ruschman, Truman Tueller, Charlotte Van Orden, Roxy Van Orden, Haya Widad, Cade Wille, and musician Jean Cardeño.

Open Arms Dance Project, LED’s January Artist Haven resident, performs Perspectives I & II, at LED in Boise, Idaho, February 3, 2022. Open Arms expanded on their work Perspectives I & II, which incorporates projection, fabric, with choreography by Open Dance founder and Artistic Director, Megan Brandel, and Novoa Dances founder, Meaghan Novoa, with original video and music composed by Molly Joyce and video by Sean Dahlman. Open Arms Dance Project is a community of dancers with diverse bodies, ages, abilities, and dance experience creating powerful art together in Boise, Idaho since 2008. With their beautiful range of physical and neuro diversity, time and again, Open Arms Dance Project sends waves of positive change through the community with each of their performances.

SOARING, Open Arms Dance Project’s Annual Dance Concert at Jack’s Urban Meeting Place, Boise, Idaho, May 8, 2024. OADP The SOARING performance and activities included a dance of Monarch Migration’s kaleidoscope of butterflies, learning an ASL poem, watching recent images of our universe come to life in INFRARED, and witnessing inclusion to make everyone feel Good To Be Alive! Open Arms Dance Project is a community of dancers with diverse bodies, ages, abilities, and dance experience creating powerful art together in Boise, Idaho since 2008. With their beautiful range of physical and neuro diversity, time and again, Open Arms Dance Project sends waves of positive change through the community with each of their performances. Megan Brandel (Founding Artistic Director), Reema Al Chalabi, Huda Azzabiaid, Piper Bevis, Loey Brandel, Keely Burns, Carol Colwell, Diane Dorius, Hava Fisherman, Shirley Hurley, Harriett Jastremsky, Beatrice (Bea) Lenkowski, Heather Marie, Evie Ruschman, Charlotte Van Orden, Roxy Van Orden, Haya Widad, Cade Willes and dancers not present, Jean Cardeno, Sarah Gornic, Desiree Moores, Truman Tueller.

The premier of Open Arms Dance Project's performance of THREADS at the Morrison Center in Boise, Idaho, April 28, 2022. “THREADS” included live performances by Open Arms Dance Project and special guests, the Afrosonics. Additional original music from local musicians and internationally known disabled composer Molly Joyce was featured. Open Arms Dance Project also shared their two award-winning dance films, and, most notably, premiered a mini documentary of the Upstanders with Open Arms anti-bullying project. This mini documentary introduced the Boise community to the important partnership between the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and Open Arms Dance Project. Open Arms Dance Project is a community of dancers with diverse bodies, ages, abilities, and dance experience creating powerful art together in Boise, Idaho since 2008. With their beautiful range of physical and neuro diversity, time and again, Open Arms Dance Project sends waves of positive change through the community with each of their performances. Megan Brandel, Kristen Beaver, Loey Brandel, Alice Brown, Keely Burns, Reema Al Chalabi, Carol Colwell, Tilly Erskine, Gail C. Hawkins, Hava Fisherman, Shirley Hurley, Schuylar (Skye) Hüsman, Beatrice (Bea) Lenkowski, Heather Marie, Roxy Van Orden, Charlotte Van Orden, Amanda Verrinder, Haya Widad, and Cade Willes

Open Arms Dance Project teaches the Upstander anti-bullying curriculum at Forge International School in Middleton, Idaho, February 8, 2022. This spring, Open Arms Dance Project is expanding beyond powerful performances. In partnership with the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, Ms. Brandel and Open Arms Ambassadors are teaching the Upstander anti-bullying curriculum to second graders through dance. This Upstanders with Open Arms© project includes many beautiful elements: 80 second grade students, 2 schools, 6 teachers, and 2-4 Open Arms Ambassadors; 11 different languages spoken by the students; Open Arms Dance Project films; Final performance bringing all second graders together via Zoom[ and original Upstander song written and performed by the Afrosonics. Open Arms Dance Project is a community of dancers with diverse bodies, ages, abilities, and dance experience creating powerful art together in Boise, Idaho since 2008. With their beautiful range of physical and neuro diversity, time and again, Open Arms Dance Project sends waves of positive change through the community with each of their performances.

Boise artist Rachel Teannalach paints her 365th tinyExpanse painting of her "Year of Daily Paintings". The temperature was a chilly 15°F as she completed her final painting of the year outside of Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters in downtown Boise, 8th and Bannock, December 1, 2015.

Boise, Idaho based artist Rick Friesen.

Rolland Fletcher is an Idaho native and ski industry lifer. He’s making art on the side, but trying to figure out how to allow it to be his life purpose. He’s a maker of hand thrown and altered pottery; reduction and soda-fired. Fletcher is inspired by the mountains, driven with surface, an likes to allow for surprises in his work. He makes pieces that are intended to be handled and used often.

avannah Dunn’s The Look, an immersive multimedia dance performance at the Creative Space in Garden City, Idaho, May 6, 2022. The Look: An Immersive Multimedia Dance Performance. In this performance, choreographer Savannah Dunn and her mother, visual artist Jennifer Dunn, reflect on themes of ego, femininity, and resilience and the impact of “The Look” on those personal experiences. In many academic disciplines, “The Look” or “The Gaze” often refers to our individual awareness and perception of other individuals’ viewership and judgment. “The Look” can be a device to maintain social norms and power, blocking the individual from fully expressing their authentic self. During this site-specific performance audience members will be led from room to room on location in small viewing groups and later invited to join the artists in a talkback and social hour. Choreographer and dancer Savannah Dunn contextualizes her movement by integrating words, music, and cross-medium collaboration. Her process often involves the creation of a sound system to give the movement emotion or narrative context. Savannah often centers her process around topics that anger or confuse her. Her work has covered topics and themes such as prejudice toward the female body, inaction in the face of gun-violence, grief, anxiety, and change. She encourages audiences to look at repeated patterns of cruelty or suffering and questions how we can break from them. Savannah grew up in Boise, Idaho, attended Bishop Kelly High School, and trained at Idaho Regional Ballet. After graduating from Butler University in 2016, Savannah danced professionally in Chicago and Columbus for several years while choreographing. She attended Hubbard Street’s Professional Development Program for their 2019/2020 season. In January of 2020, she co-founded Little Fire Artist Collective with eighteen other artists to create an alternative model to traditional dance companies. The collective focuses on mutua

The Renormalization Point, an installation art experience by Second Brain (Gus Marsden, Rafferty Clark, Pen Wilson, and Treye K.) The installation was located in the “Demolition House” in Garden City, Idaho. The Renormalization Point is an installation experience fueled by self-discovery. Everything in the installation could be touched. The artist are part of Second Brain, a student-led art collective. The ”Demolition House” is a residence scheduled to be demolished to make place for an apartment complex. The owners of the residence have allowed local artists to complete installations in and outside the house.

Kiley Ruwe Shaw August 19, 2021 COOLEST thing EVER! Ellie is featured on a mural in downtown Boise, 5th and Main Street. It was created by Hawk Sahlein with Sector 17 and is from a photo taken by Gregg Mizuta at a benefit for Surel's Place. Interestingly, the photos from that day are also the one we used for our CD art that Ellie recorded with Bruce Forman. Due to the fact that the 2 story part of the building faces the street, the image was flipped... Ellie is not left handed. LOL

Sector Seventeen (Elms One and Mawk One) live mural painting in front of Payette Brewing Co., Boise, Idaho during the LAGER than LIFE event on July 7, 2018.

Sector Seventeen's mural on the 15th Street side of Rhodes Skate Park in Boise, Idaho. March 2017.

Sector Seventeen's Solomon Hawk Sahlein's mural "Say Their Names" in the Union Block Alley in downtown Boise, Idaho. Painted July 11-12, 2020. A young Boise resident is caught between unalienable rights and a history of oppression that will likely shape important aspects of his life. To be loved unconditionally and subjugated violently by the same country at the same time evokes an emotional disparity rooted deep in the American psyche. -Solomon Hawk Sahlein 07/12/20

Sector Seventeen artist Solomon Hawk Sahlein "Elms One" mural based on a J. Grant Brittain image of Neil Blender. Elms painted the mural during the Mics and Mini Ramps event on June 25, 2016 at The Shredder in Boise, Idaho. (Gregg Mizuta/greggmizuta.com) Performances by Edable & Elms One, Axiom Tha Wyze & Andy O, Tony G, and Auzomatik. Food by Wetos Locos, and live painting by Elms One.

Sector Seventeen (Elms One, Mawk One, Seton) collaborating with artists (Dkoy1, Kango Kid, Taylor) to create a Hitchcock themed mural on the West-facing side of The Record Exchange in Boise, Idaho. The mural was painted on the Hitchcock Building during the 2018 Treefort Music Fest over a seven day period between March 19-25, 2018. The overall theme is Alfred Hitchcock and combines elements from movie stills and graffiti art.

Sector Seventeen (Elms One and Mawk One) create a multi-national themed mural in front of the Idaho State Capitol Building, Boise, Idaho on June 9-11, 2018. The completed mural, painted on canvas, is expected to be on display at future World Village Fest events. The mural was painted during the 2018 World Village Fest over a three day period between June 9-11, 2018. The festival included participants representing Boise's Mexican, Basque, Native Americans, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Bosnian, African, Lao, North and South America, Middle Eastern, Indian and Greek communities.

Sector Seventeen (Elms One, Mawk One, Ian Fahey) and special guests (Casey Kawaguchi, Lupita Garcia) create a multi-national themed mural during World Village Fest in Boise, Idaho on June 21-23, 2019. The 3 day festival included participants representing Boise's Mexican, Basque, Native Americans, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Indonesia, Bosnian, African, Lao, North and South America, Middle Eastern, Indian and Greek communities. There were 30 multi-cultural dance/music/literary performances, cross cultural film theatre, eet the WVF artist in residence Amiri Osman, retail vendors and food from around the world. Eight 4' x 4' sections of the completed mural were sold in a silent auction with proceeds benefitting Global Village.

Artist Statement: I have been working as an artist all of my adult life, within the professional fields of theatre and visual art. My commitment to creating a vibrant community has been as much of a defining factor to my life, as the work I have produced. I am currently exploring a somewhat new venture and look forward to how it is received. My love of color and light have led me to this medium and encaustic being the best way to exhibit it. Given my current limitations, following the stroke, I have picked up where I left off. Some work was done before the stroke with certain intentions and most are new and have their own essence. I truly hope you like and enjoy it -Star Moxley, December 2019 Star's career spans decades and her designs have manifested in many ways. Star has had a long career as a professional costume designer with Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theatre, Lake Tahoe Festival, Idaho Youth Theatre, and Boise Contemporary Theatre. She owned and operated the Costume Shop and currently operates Crazy Neighbor, a local boutique winning national accolades for its unique perspective. Upon leaving retail for a time, Star was able to pursue her interest in creating installations and received an Artist-In-Residence from Boise City. Star's designs for Hamlet were exhibited as part of the United States Exhibit in the 2003 Prague Quadrennial Scenography Exposition. She received the Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Boise Arts Commission. Star is recognized as a fiber artist, who's work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the United States, and she has received numerous awards and commissions; her work is included in public and private collections including the permanent collection of the Boise Art Museum.

Sculpture artist Sydnie Nislow’s community workshop “Woven” at Surel’s Place in Garden City, Idaho on January 15, 2022. Surel’s Place artist in residence Sydnie Nislow workshop introduced tapestry making, symbolism and storytelling. Participants were guided in the making and using of paper pulp (blended up waste paper) and created their own personal symbol with a story or meaning behind it. Together the participants arranged their symbols in a rectangular format, which would later be solidified together by Sydnie, creating one collaborative sculpture. Biography: Sydnie Nislow (Maryland) is an artist + designer working between the US and the Netherlands. Sydnie received a BFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2016

Tania Alvarez (b. 1983, Seville, Spain) earned her MFA at the New York Academy of Art in 2017 and BFA at Pratt Institute in 2005. Her work has been exhibited at Miriam Gallery (Brooklyn, NY, solo), Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (Woodstock, NY), Collar Works (Troy, NY), Golden Artists Colors (New Berlin, NY), The Clinton Foundation (Harlem, NY), Jackson Dinsdale Art Center (Hastings, NE), The Untitled Space (New York, NY), Matthew Flowers Gallery (New York, NY), First Street Gallery, (New York, NY), and abroad at The Delphian Gallery (London, UK). Alvarez has been awarded residencies at The Sam and Adele Golden Foundation, The Studios at MASS MoCA, Cuttyhunk Island Artists Residency, The Central Academy Of Fine Arts Residency (Beijing, China), and The James Castle House Residency in Boise, Idaho (2022). She is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and currently lives/works in Catskill, NY. Boise Arts & History 03/30/22. Tania Alvarez, the current @jamescastlehouse Artist-In-Residence and a graduate of the New York Academy of Art masters program, was born in Sevilla, Spain where she lived for four years to connect with her paternal roots and find herself. Tania’s time there came to an abrupt end when she suddenly discovered, in her Citibank cubicle, the thing she’d been looking for: she called her English speaking boss and said, “I’m going home and I’m going to get an art studio. I need to be a painter.” This month on "Creators, Makers, & Doers", Tania takes us on her journey back to New York City, working nights as a bartender and days in the studio, leading her to graduate school. Since then she’s kept her head down, doing the work. So much so, in fact, that a call from Saatchi Art online almost went unanswered. (You can find Tania listed under the Saatchi Art Features tab, as one of about thirty 2021 Rising Stars.) Is there a trick to being discovered? Not exactly, but, mostly: find your own voice, take away restrictions on your creative process (in her case, an obsession with meaning) and be okay with making bad art. A lot of bad art. Because through trial and error, and with a lot of patience, you will find your art and that’s exciting.

Teal Gardner’s Ecogeoglyphic Observatory and Assembly at Ming Studios, Boise, Idaho, October 15-31, 2022. The exhibition included three concurrent videos, hands on overhead projection, soundscape of field recordings, and local foraged apples. The Ecogeoglyphic Observatory (fondly referred to as the EGG) is a project, initiated by Teal Gardner, that explores the curious dynamics of present-day industrial development in the region surrounding Boise, and the effects that this process has over the plants, animals, water, stone, soil and people who exist here. Ecogegolyphic is a neologism coined by Teal. She breaks it down into three parts: Eco - ecology - from oikos, Ancient Greek for house/home. Invoking our home place. Geo - earth - from gê, Ancient Greek for earth. Invoking the material earth. Glyphic - carve - from glyphē, Greek for carve/hollow/engrave. Invoking the act of writing, of carving into stone. But why focus on Development at all? ''Perhaps I am so compelled because I love this place, all the way down. I feel sensitive to the dirt, the rocks, the plants, the animals here, and I want to think of them as being inherently valuable. I also don’t want to assume that the ways Development scours across the land is inevitable. I see the logic of Development as the language of our time, written on the earth. I wonder what effects present day choices are having over the long-term viability of this place as a home.'' -Teal Gardner

The Boise Bard Players present Macbeth in the intimate backyard of Surel’s Place, Garden City, Idaho. Performances ran May 9-19, 2024, images from the final performance on May 19, 2024. Cast: Chris Canfield (Macbeth), Edith Dull (Lady Macbeth), John Wicks (Duncan, Murderer 2, Siward), Taylor Hawker (Banquo, Doctor, Young Siward), Declan Kempe (Macduff), Rachel Fichtman (Witch 1, Attendant, Murderer 3), Katie Roundy (Witch 2, Nurse), Dana Whitesell (Witch 3, Macbeth Servant), Matt Bunk (Malcolm/Seyton), Logan Leavitt (Fleance, Donalbain, Sergeant, Lennox), Nova Calverley-Chase (Lady Macduff, Murderer 1, Ross). Credits: Justin Tharpe (Director), Elena Maddy (Stage Manager), Davey Collins (Fight Choreographer), Elke Myers (Choreographer), Sam Murphy (Intimacy Coordinator), Tiffany Eller (Poster Design, Marketing).

Artists Sean Dahlman, Jonnie Pedersen, Ashton Jenicek, Seth Graham, and Garth Claassen present a multimedia performance project featuring film, dance, and live musical performance on February 10, 2019 at Ming Studios in Boise, idaho. The piece explores the relationships between technology and nature, as well as the creation and destruction of art. The somatic embodiment and building of these art pieces, along with their destruction, is manipulated by the artists and modern technology. Layers of disparate yet interlocking rhythms and limbs, airy melodies, and lush textures phase through each other, creating a dense, flowing environment in which the performers and audience will move through. The innovative scope of this event illuminates the contemporary culture that seeks to further push the artistic boundaries that exist in Boise. The performance will emphasize the importance of using different artistic mediums in a collaborative setting to create a haunting and beautiful portrait of humanity.

Wingtip Press, the City of Boise and Idaho Conservation League's Print Boise River event at The Cabin, Boise, Idaho on July 13, 2019. Wingtip Press, the City of Boise ,and Idaho Conservation League partnered up to celebrate our love for the Boise River. This collaborative effort was directed by artist Amy Nack, founder of Wingtip Press and sponsored through a grant from Boise City Arts & History Department. PRINT BOISE RIVER participants carved fish, water images, birds and trees, adhered them to the bottom of flip flops and "walked" their image along a 150' feet of paper. Each participant will become a public artist when the mural is displayed during Boise's First Thursday event in August 2019 Lana Weber, ICL's Community Engagement Coordinator joined art makers to talk about the rivers contribution to our way of life in Boise.