What is it about New York that draws you in artistically-speaking?
The diversity in every single aspect. Not only the diversity of the people, but the diversity of things available, the diversity of the possibilities and things that go through New York. I feel that New York has an energy that's very specific to the city. We all create that energy and it becomes what it is because of everything that we all do. So when communities are gentrified, they no longer are what they were. We are really part of the architecture, our narratives are all inter-woven. That’s very specific to New York and that’s why I love it.
And you’re based in Mott Haven now in the Bronx?
Yes, I’ve been living in the Bronx since 2005.
What about that borough or that neighborhood inspires you?
I live on 140th Street, which is one of the main streets in Mott Haven. Being there allows me to access many things that I wouldn’t have if I lived somewhere else, like the lady that sells the tamales on the weekends who’s always there but if I don’t get there by nine, they’re gone. It’s just the proximity to things that I feel are a part of what makes me happy. And the people. It’s a mix of African American, Latino, Caribbean…but it’s changing. It’s changing a lot.
Tell me a bit about the art exhibition projects that you do.
I was accepted to be a part of a program called Artists in the Marketplace through the Bronx Museum in 2007. It teaches emerging artists how to navigate the art world and gallery system. I remember the first day one of the speakers called us all ‘nobodies.’ I was taken aback because the program was very competitive to get into, but it made me reconsider how I thought about my practice up to that point. We’re always waiting for things to happen in this world, but we have the resources to do things ourselves. So I opened my bedroom in 2008 and created the Bronx Blue Bedroom Project and I ran that space for two years. It started with installation art but eventually I opened it up to 2D work as well. I would host art exhibits and invite people to have workshops and conversations. Then I decided to move to Athens with my husband in 2010. And at that time, Greece was in an economic crisis and it was falling apart. I tell my friends, when I arrived in San Francisco, everything had already happened, all the hippie movement, that was in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I was not part of that—when I arrived in New York, same thing. But when I arrived in Athens, I arrived in all of the madness. It was a really good experience, but a very difficult one.
When I returned to New York three years ago, I felt like I needed to have my bedroom to myself, so I decided to open up my living room instead and display only 2D work. That project was called AAA3A, my address, Alexander Avenue Apartment 3A. It’s the same dynamic that the Bronx Blue Bedroom Project had, it’s nurtured by the idea of sharing and being in an artist-run space. It’s also funded by the Bronx Arts Council so that’s how I’m able to sustain the project. I have eight shows a year and feature mostly Bronx-based artists.