Vis Ed is an art education program providing new skills and opportunities to have enriching experiences with art. It’s based in Grand Rapids and offers workshops, school visits, and takes art to strange places.
What milestone or experience led you to a career in the performing arts?
This is just one small moment, but when I was a gallery attendant in college in Illinois, a man who was in the building for a music performance came into the gallery to look at the artwork. After a while he stopped to chat with me, and said that he worked in marketing, and that he, like a lot of others, felt that art is something special and important, but didn't know how to engage with it. “It has a PR problem,” he told me. That conversation has stuck with me ever since and has inspired me to work to improve the “PR” of art.
It’s been a combination of the art cultures of Chicago and Grand Rapids. Chicago showed me that there were so many alternative ways to present and engage with art. Then in Grand Rapids I've met numerous young people who are taking their ideas and turning them into small businesses and brick-and-mortar spaces, which has given me the courage to do the same.
Where can we find you performing regularly and/or what types of opportunities are you seeking?
I have some presentations on how to look at art coming up in the fall, but I’m always looking for more opportunities to teach this workshop, whether that’s to student groups, office groups, etc.
I really enjoy putting on Flex Gallery, the gallery of artist-made armbands I wear each January through April. It’s deeply meaningful for me to take the work of local artists to all sorts of locations and have conversations with strangers about contemporary art.
On May 15, you'll be participating in our inaugural event, Off The Wall. What can guests of the event expect to experience during your performance? What do you hope they will walk away with?
They can expect an informative yet light-hearted presentation on the steps for viewing a work of art. We will be moving around, talking to each other, and looking at art in the galleries. I hope people walk away more confident and equipped to look at art, so they can enjoy and find meaning in it.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I’m open to new opportunities and collaboration, so if you’re passionate about visual literacy, I’d love to talk.
Where can we learn more about you?
You can check out what I’m working on on vised.net, or on Instagram and Facebook at @viseducation.
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