A4A is excited to be starting 2022 with a new partnership to support artists in Worcester, MA. The Business of Art is a collaboration between A4A and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s Creative Worcester Initiative, a multi-year partnership with the Barr Foundation that is infusing the city of Worcester with knowledge and capital resources to center arts and culture as key components in a healthy, equitable community. A4A is thrilled to welcome these 12 Worcester artists into this latest cohort of our Capacity-Building Grant Program—we hope you’ll take some time to read about and follow them as they progress through our program!
George Annan is a documentary lifestyle photographer who specializes in editorial and environmental portraits along with photojournalism. His work is inspired by the ever-changing lives of everyday people, especially the residents of Worcester. His creative practice is rooted to the city and to the fondest memories of his subjects. Through his photographs, he aims to tell the story of their daily lives while documenting the evolution of their surrounding neighborhoods. George has been spotlighted in The Boston Globe and his select client list includes Converse, Bodega, Heartbreak Running Company, Tito’s Vodka, UMass Medical School and the City of Worcester.
Christine Brown is a multidisciplinary artist who works with textiles, paint, and digital/graphic media. She makes and sells handmade baby accessories, quilts, pillows, and other items through her business, Fawn. Christine credits her sewing skills to the local 4H club, where community members opened their homes to her and where she was able to learn a skill she has enjoyed over her lifetime. That experience led to her commitment to teaching sewing to the next generation of artists through private lessons and workshops. Christine studied art education at Fitchburg State University, and her work was recently featured in ArtsWorcester’s “The Little One” exhibition.
Vanessa Calixto
Vanessa Calixto is a visual artist who focuses on illustration work using mixed media. She draws from her own lived experiences and feelings, creating a soft form of vulnerability. She is also the founder and creative director of El Salón, a collective of artists that organize intentional and inclusive spaces for BIPOC artists and creatives. Their mission is to empower these groups to take space, share their skills with one another, and create their own opportunities. She regularly works to amplify the voices of BIPOC artists from the Worcester community through exhibitions, film screenings, maker markets, workshops, community dialogues, and more.
Before he was a fashion designer, Q DEMI god customized shoes and hats and sold them on eBay for extra cash. Today, he is a self-taught artist and clothing designer. Q DEMI god grew up in Accra, Ghana, before relocating to Worcester. Through his clothing brand, Wavvz, he works to combine the physical world with the world of digital animation, creating one-of-a-kind pieces from cheap material. Wavvz has appeared in around 50 fashion shows, including at New England Fashion Week, and his designs have been worn by celebrities like Wyclef Jean, Steve Aokii, and Joyner Lucas. His goal as a designer is to make an impact with fashion and inspire others through his success as an artist and as an immigrant to the U.S.
As a multidisciplinary artist, Julian Cintrón’s work is physical and digital mark-making, capturing, archiving, and recycling; he thinks of it as fluid design. Manifesting in textiles, video, installation, and paintings, Julian pulls form and texture from the tangible world with scans and photographs, digitizing and manipulating them to re-form in physical space, most recently as machine-woven blankets and throws. In this work, they search for bold marks and colorful vibrancy meant to invite emotional engagement from the viewer, and to challenge our response to images, sound, light, movement, stillness, silence, and color. He received his BFA in animation and interrelated media from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Bil Gardiner is a professional portrait photographer who also engages with the world through his photography. From April 2012-13, he embarked on a yearlong personal assignment “A Picture a Day,” carrying his camera with him wherever he went, producing one image every day for a year. Through this body of work, a fellow artist noted that his work in this area resembled the Tibetan concept of Miksang, or “Contemplative Eye.” In this way, his work captures only segments of objects, rather than the whole, inviting the viewer to deeper contemplation.
Yasmin Goris is a mixed media and abstract artist whose work focuses on bold patterns and fluid images inspired by nature and landscapes. She often interprets natural, organic patterns in an abstract fashion, using exaggerated scales or bold colors. She often allows the paint to guide the piece while she manipulates her compositions. Yasmin runs Guzangi Art Studios, where she brings colorful, bold visual experiences to viewers through her own work, workshops, and on-demand print work. In this way, she aims to help people discover unique ways to interact with art in their everyday lives.
Geoffrey Killebrew
Geoffrey Killebrew is a musician, entrepreneur, and community organizer dedicated to showcasing Worcester’s diversity and creativity. Through his nonprofit, F.A.M. (Family, Arts, and Music) JAM! Event Group, he hosts virtual and in-person events promoting artists and entrepreneurs in communities adversely impacted by redlining. The events also work to bring awareness to organizations that serve youth and families with activities for all ages. In 2019, he hosted the first annual F.A.M. JAM! Festival at the historic Elm Park of Worcester Mass, encouraging young artists from communities of color to use creativity in overcoming challenges. Inspired by the legacy of progress from the Harlem Renaissance, F.A.M. JAM! 2021 celebrated Worcester’s own burgeoning renaissance. He earned his associate’s degree from Quinsigamond Community College.
Jenkins Macedo is a self-taught abstract artist who paints vivid works in acrylic and oil. He is the founder of Ava’s Artistry Studio, which uses arts education as a medium to effect positive transformative change across cultures. Fifty percent of the revenue generated from the sales of artworks sold by the studio go to promote education through arts and fund scholarship programs for primary school children in Liberia, Ghana, and Uganda. He earned his master of science in environmental engineering and policy and master of arts in international development in social change from Clark University, as well as a certificate in data science and analytics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
BrujaTheVillain is a self-taught interdisciplinary artist, activist, and mentor who works in film, visual arts, and spoken word poetry. Their works of art and live performances have been featured and received honors from numerous venues and art galleries across New England and New York. Originally from Isabela, Puerto Rico, they grew up in downtown Worcester, and much of their work expresses a deep connection to their community and continues to help it grow by saving lives with the freedom of expression. Their most recent art exhibit, "The Baggage Claim" inspired by a dark fairy tale written by BrujaTheVillain, premiered July 2021 at the JMAC POPuP in Worcester. Currently, BrujaTheVillain is preparing for an upcoming event called "Good News, Bad Reputation,'' an artistic protest against the use of cheap sentiments to gaslight societal problems.
John Vo is a working artist who paints to connect to people, and who aims to make art accessible. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, the stories of lost waters have given them many homes. As a part of the Vietnamese diaspora, they draw from their family’s narrative as a poetic understanding of history in development. John’s paintings range from allegorical still lives and landscapes to contemporary portraits. In their studio practice, John is a materialist, sourcing textiles with a story and origin. They are currently engaged in silk and textile painting, begun during a Fulbright fellowship to Vietnam. This has led to explorations in cone denim, Vietnamese silk, and wearable art.
Photo credit Lanny Nguyen @lannycatcheswalls
Grhimm Xavier is a self-taught multi-disciplinary artist focusing on digital illustrations, graphic design, traditional painting, event curation, mural design and installation. Through Grhimm Studios, Grhimm has had the opportunity to work with many different artists and organizations. Most recently Grhimm was named a featured artist for World Wide Walls (formally Pow Wow) Worcester 2021 where he designed a mural for Jacob Hiatt Magnet School. Outside of grand projects, Grhimm is also known for an art toy called The Buddha Buddy, designed to help bring the inner child out and give any person of any artistic skill set and opportunity to be their own toy designer. Grhimm also has other products for sale such as his first Enamel Pin drop introducing his new “Buddy Vision” line giving his audience a further look into his creative world. Visit Grhimm on Instagram @grhimmx.