Artist Lecture Series
Be Inspired
Curious about art? Learn from the artists themselves!
Have you ever thought, "What was that artist thinking!?" Now, with our Artist Lecture Series, you can find out. Join artists and fellow viewers in conversations that spark inspiration, deepen understanding and foster creative growth for everyone involved.
Maggy Rozycki Hiltner
February 9, 2023
Maggy Rozycki Hiltner was born in 1975 and grew up in Pennsylvania. She comes from a family of makers: her mother and grandmothers needlepointed pillows, made quilts, and stitched or knitted their clothes and toys; her father built odd things, cooked outrageous meals, and painted murals in their home. She earned a BFA in Sculpture with a concentration in Fibers from Syracuse University and was a Studio Assistant at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Rozycki Hiltner is a full-time artist living with her husband and two daughters in Red Lodge, Montana. Her work has been included in numerous national and international exhibitions in museums and galleries, and has been published in the US and abroad.
Melissa Diaz
April 26, 2022
Melissa is an artist and a licensed, registered, board-certified art therapist. She holds a BFA in Painting from The University of Central Florida, an MPS in Art Therapy & Creativity Development from Pratt Institute and a certificate in Integrated Mental Health/Addiction Treatment. Melissa has 10 years of experience as a Creative Arts Therapist, working as a primary therapist, group therapist and program assistant director. Throughout all her work, she weaves in mindfulness practice and self-compassion. In addition to her therapeutic practice, Melissa founded Open House BK (est. 2010), a Brooklyn-based, community arts initiative that provides affordable pop-up events, emerging artist exhibitions and therapeutic workshops. Open House strives to shed light on the arts and community as integral for social justice, personal healing and progress. Currently, Melissa is a Visiting Instructor for Pratt Institute’s Art Therapy Department and Chapter Delegate to the New York Art Therapy Association. Melissa is also a practicing studio artist, exhibiting in galleries, universities and alternative spaces. In her artwork, she creates interactive installation art as a source of viewer engagement. Melissa believes creativity exists within everyone, serving as a gateway to heal, transform and explore the impact of one’s internal and external experiences.
Kellie Moore
March 10, 2022
Sugar Sand Pottery was created by Kellie Moore after she and her husband returned from their lives of employment by the sand and sea in the British Virgin Islands to even more sand in the Central Florida area. Their move to the country side proved to be pretty sweet, and with a life now amongst their furry and feathered farm animals (chickens and horses, to boot), Sugar Sand pottery was born.
Setting up her studio out in the sandy Florida soil, Kellie combines the aesthetic inspiration of her years of traveling and working abroad along with the printmaking, painting, and ceramic experiences from her Central Florida roots. While the function of her wares remain inspired by farm life and home living, the glazes and details that adorn their surfaces are taken from the colors and textures of her life in the tropics and hint towards the ornamentation of her travels.
Carlene Munoz
November 9, 2020
Carlene Munoz is a Miami Based artist who works at the New World University, a large school in downtown Miami, FL. Munoz's current body of work represents an existential exploration of presence, spatial relationships, and the origins of life. The ritual of drawing allows my unconscious thoughts to shape the imagery; through this meditative process, altered patterns and visionary compositions are formed. The drawings result from an intuitive impulse to find higher meaning through abstraction.
Ask an Artist
As an artist himself, Curator Cristian Andersson is no stranger to the highs and lows of being a creative. Questions about the gallery? Reach out to him.