Conversation with Artist Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski
Artist Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski, mural collaboration with Artist Rebekah Tarin in Penasco, NM.
I am so proud to present a conversation with artist Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski. A passionate activist and visionary, DeJesus Moleski possesses a positive, humble and gracious presence that is whole and rare. Her work is refreshing and unique, inviting the observer to engage further, to look deeper, to feel the warmth in the the color palate, and to further explore the integration of the various mediums she chooses. DeJesus Moleski invites collaboration and conversation through her art, asking the viewer into a complex dialogue threaded through her work. Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski focuses on futuristic femme myth as it relates to marginalized communities. She primarily works in 2-D media and performance, and is based out of Oakland, CA. In this conversation we are able to further understand DeJesus Moleski's inspirations and share her process, unfolding how she developed her ability to balance beauty and activated resistance in such a precise and elegant manner.
Here is the conversation with Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski:
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Music featured on this podcast, listed in order of appearance: Sylvio Rodriguez, Angel Haze, Immortal Technique, EDIT ft. The Grouch, REG ft. Medusa, Fernanadindo, Alice Russell, and ending track 'Revolution' by J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science/Lyrics Born/Mamaz.
'Instructions for a Storm'. Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski
More about the Artist:
Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski was born in France but spent her life moving around the East Coast, Down South, and Midwest of the US. DeJesus-Moleski has received awards and honors in the areas of visual art including the ArtLA Student Artist of the Year, All College Honors, and is an Alumni of the AICAD New York studio residency program. Her work explores the tensions between private tenderness and public defiance, specifically within communities that are typically depicted as stressed and vulnerable. She has been working with organizations such as the Brown Boi Project, Strong Families, Third Root Health Center, and the Estria Foundation among others. DeJesus-Moleski has exhibited work in New York, LA, and the Bay Area. She is currently working on a solo show called Thick Dig, which focuses on futuristic femme myth as it relates to marginalized communities. DeJesus-Moleski aims to practice the integration of multiple art forms as a way to make myth and tell the truth. She is an experienced muralist, performance poet, playwright, youth organizer, and visual artist. She is the co-founder (along with Cynthia Ruffin and Jessie Workman) of the B.R.E.A.T.H (Building a Revolution of Expression through Heartwork) program in Albuquerque, NM that teaches poetry and performance to incarcerated youth as a means to heal, resolve conflict, and uplift. Amaryllis has dedicated her life’s work to stand with countless others in the movement that intersects the arts with activism, using creativity and expression as the tools necessary for community liberation, and the means by which we may all realize our most potent dreams.
"Thick Dig (Ghost Sighting)". Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski
"Weave (for spell)". Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski