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Transformation of Venus, 2015

Happy Pride!

#pridemonth #gnc #stonewall #marshapjohnson #sylviarivera #missmajorgriffingracy #stormedelarverie #visibilty #transrightsarehumanrights #blacktranslivesmatter #transyouthmatter #lgbtqiaplus

Opening THIS THURSDAY:

Please join me at 6 p.m. at@thewaltersartmusuem
for the opening of Activating the Renaissance featuring Tzara’at from the Series Lashon Hara.

I’ll be giving a short talk along with the other 5 exhibiting contemporary artists @jessbadtidasart @tawnychatmon Bernhard Hildebrandt, @mvrjoni @stephentowns followed by a Q&A in the galleries amongst works by Renaissance and Baroque masters.

It’s going to be a lovely evening-

OH and my MOM is going to be there. Do come, she wants to meet you as do I!

Curated by Joaneath Spicer, James A. Murnaghan Curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art with assistance from Chandi Kelly (@chandikelly) Curatorial Assistant and Coordinator of Contemporary Art Initiatives.
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#activatingtherenaissance #Renaissanceart #Contemporaryart #fineartphotography #waltersartmusuem #baltimore

A year later.
“A glimpse into herself reflects the sorrow of the world.” @kissa_sinner
#bts from new series where realities collide.
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#oneyearlater #covid_19 #reflection #sorrow2020 #phoenix #portrait #photographicportrait #throughmylens

“I create worlds that mirror my reality. I am usually most tortured by Me, Myself, and I.”

Ventiko, Me, Myself and I, Digital C Print, dimensions vary, 2024

Join us this Friday, May 15 5-8 PM for the opening of Animamus Art Salon Exhibition at
Not There Gallery.

Performances at 6:45 PM by @loucifer_rising followed @the_badtimes_official (featuring @sylvadeanandme)

Hear from the artists directly about their works on Sunday, May 17 from 5-8 PM
with a performance by
@confessionsofapregnantstrppr

Link in bio.

“I create worlds that mirror my reality. I am usually most tortured by Me, Myself, and I.”

Ventiko, Me, Myself and I, Digital C Print, dimensions vary, 2024

Join us this Friday, May 15 5-8 PM for the opening of Animamus Art Salon Exhibition at
Not There Gallery.

Performances at 6:45 PM by @loucifer_rising followed @the_badtimes_official (featuring @sylvadeanandme)

Hear from the artists directly about their works on Sunday, May 17 from 5-8 PM
with a performance by
@confessionsofapregnantstrppr

Link in bio.

Today is Hot Pot / Melting Point.

Join us on the lawn at Angels Gate Park for a community feed, performances, and a gathering shaped by heat, migration, and shared presence. This project begins from San Pedro’s layered port histories and asks what holds when social temperatures rise. Not a “melting pot,” but a melting point. Not assimilation, but endurance through pressure.

Today’s line-up
12:30–2:30pm — Feng Shui Poetry with Jen Cheng
2:30pm — Improv Taiko
3:30pm — Ventiko, The Celeste Doll
2–5pm — Hot Pot / Melting Point Community Feed

Come eat with us. Sit at the table. Talk to strangers. Stay for the performances.

At a moment of fracture, gathering itself can be a form of resistance. Ingredients remain distinct, but soften through shared time. We are not melting into sameness. We are enduring the heat together.

The temperature is rising. The table remains.

#hotpotmeltingpoint #terminalisland #apocoartcollective #annshicurator #anglesgatepark

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

I never thought I was going to make it, let alone be on the other side with my experience as the impetus for a project focused on healing and SUD awareness. Especially in the same city I used to run hard in-WOA.

Thank you @mirrorindy for this thoughtful article on Masks of Resilience and @_stephanie_amador for such stunning portraits. I’m so grateful to everyone who came to the workshops + exhibition opening and shared a bit of themselves. Swipe through to read some of the participants’ experiences.

My recovery and creation are driven by togetherness.

Thank you @artscouncilindy for believing in me and @neaarts for funding this project. Thank you @cafe_oztara for hosting us every Saturday in March. Thank you @lukas.felix.schooler and art therapist Benjamin Aquila of @damiencenter for making Masks of Resilience more magical than I could have dreamed, solely by showing up as your authentic selves.

And thank you to my parents for never quitting me.

Ok. I’m emotional and embarrassed,✌️!
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#maskmaking #substanceusedisorder #recovery honestopenmindedwilligness

Express Yourself!
We’ve been working all month on (un)masking during Masks of Resilience workshops and tomorrow is the day!

Join us at Cafe Oztara for the Masks of Resilience Exhibition at 11 am with a @sylvadeanandme performance at 11:30 am!

We can’t wait to see you express yourself!

Masks of Resilience is a collaboration between myself, artist @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila, art therapist at the @damiencenter and is supported by the @artscouncilindy and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Get into it Diva!
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#maskmakingworkshop #substanceusedisorder #performanceart #unmasking

TOMORROW MORNING. MEET AT THE CAFE. BE A PART OF SOME MAGIC. (swipe for more details)

#indycoffee #indyart #localbusiness #finalfourindy

TOMORROW MORNING. MEET AT THE CAFE. BE A PART OF SOME MAGIC. (swipe for more details)

#indycoffee #indyart #localbusiness #finalfourindy

TOMORROW: Make a mask alongside the sweetest, chattiest, most sincere community of people.

Participate in our ‘Masks of Resilience’ art workshop at Cafe Oztara from 10am-1pm. You’re guaranteed to get something meaningful out of this time dedicated to connection, creativity, and healing.

Hope to see you soon 😊!

#indyarts #indyartscouncil #indycoffee #artsandwellbeing #arttherapy

It's so hard to be vulnerable.
In Wolcott, Indiana, halfway between Indianapolis and Chicago, there's a mural of me by @nmsalgar titled "La Ventana."

Nicole painted me as "a gatekeeper to a dreamlike reality, meant to give the viewer an opportunity to peer into a world in bloom." I don't see myself that way.

When I started @sylvadeanandme in 2010, it was to survive my mother's breast cancer. Masking for survival became masks in my art practice, became masking to heal. In 2014 I had my face life cast and turned into distorted masks for On Beauty, a photographic performance during Miami art week. (That's also when @dexterthepeacock and I fell in love.) My face as a mask became the Celeste Doll, more on the snow queen soon.

Every week at Masks of Resilience, a public workshop series in collaboration with @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila (MA, ATR-P), certified art therapist of the @damiencenter, I read from my memoir. And I'm hoping you won't reject me.

Masks of Resilience is supported by @artscouncilindy's Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative funded by the @neaarts.

Connection is what changes things. Come to @cafeoztara tomorrow from 10 am-1 pm and share a piece of who you are. I can't wait to see you.

It's so hard to be vulnerable.
In Wolcott, Indiana, halfway between Indianapolis and Chicago, there's a mural of me by @nmsalgar titled "La Ventana."

Nicole painted me as "a gatekeeper to a dreamlike reality, meant to give the viewer an opportunity to peer into a world in bloom." I don't see myself that way.

When I started @sylvadeanandme in 2010, it was to survive my mother's breast cancer. Masking for survival became masks in my art practice, became masking to heal. In 2014 I had my face life cast and turned into distorted masks for On Beauty, a photographic performance during Miami art week. (That's also when @dexterthepeacock and I fell in love.) My face as a mask became the Celeste Doll, more on the snow queen soon.

Every week at Masks of Resilience, a public workshop series in collaboration with @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila (MA, ATR-P), certified art therapist of the @damiencenter, I read from my memoir. And I'm hoping you won't reject me.

Masks of Resilience is supported by @artscouncilindy's Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative funded by the @neaarts.

Connection is what changes things. Come to @cafeoztara tomorrow from 10 am-1 pm and share a piece of who you are. I can't wait to see you.

It's so hard to be vulnerable.
In Wolcott, Indiana, halfway between Indianapolis and Chicago, there's a mural of me by @nmsalgar titled "La Ventana."

Nicole painted me as "a gatekeeper to a dreamlike reality, meant to give the viewer an opportunity to peer into a world in bloom." I don't see myself that way.

When I started @sylvadeanandme in 2010, it was to survive my mother's breast cancer. Masking for survival became masks in my art practice, became masking to heal. In 2014 I had my face life cast and turned into distorted masks for On Beauty, a photographic performance during Miami art week. (That's also when @dexterthepeacock and I fell in love.) My face as a mask became the Celeste Doll, more on the snow queen soon.

Every week at Masks of Resilience, a public workshop series in collaboration with @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila (MA, ATR-P), certified art therapist of the @damiencenter, I read from my memoir. And I'm hoping you won't reject me.

Masks of Resilience is supported by @artscouncilindy's Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative funded by the @neaarts.

Connection is what changes things. Come to @cafeoztara tomorrow from 10 am-1 pm and share a piece of who you are. I can't wait to see you.

It's so hard to be vulnerable.
In Wolcott, Indiana, halfway between Indianapolis and Chicago, there's a mural of me by @nmsalgar titled "La Ventana."

Nicole painted me as "a gatekeeper to a dreamlike reality, meant to give the viewer an opportunity to peer into a world in bloom." I don't see myself that way.

When I started @sylvadeanandme in 2010, it was to survive my mother's breast cancer. Masking for survival became masks in my art practice, became masking to heal. In 2014 I had my face life cast and turned into distorted masks for On Beauty, a photographic performance during Miami art week. (That's also when @dexterthepeacock and I fell in love.) My face as a mask became the Celeste Doll, more on the snow queen soon.

Every week at Masks of Resilience, a public workshop series in collaboration with @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila (MA, ATR-P), certified art therapist of the @damiencenter, I read from my memoir. And I'm hoping you won't reject me.

Masks of Resilience is supported by @artscouncilindy's Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative funded by the @neaarts.

Connection is what changes things. Come to @cafeoztara tomorrow from 10 am-1 pm and share a piece of who you are. I can't wait to see you.

It's so hard to be vulnerable.
In Wolcott, Indiana, halfway between Indianapolis and Chicago, there's a mural of me by @nmsalgar titled "La Ventana."

Nicole painted me as "a gatekeeper to a dreamlike reality, meant to give the viewer an opportunity to peer into a world in bloom." I don't see myself that way.

When I started @sylvadeanandme in 2010, it was to survive my mother's breast cancer. Masking for survival became masks in my art practice, became masking to heal. In 2014 I had my face life cast and turned into distorted masks for On Beauty, a photographic performance during Miami art week. (That's also when @dexterthepeacock and I fell in love.) My face as a mask became the Celeste Doll, more on the snow queen soon.

Every week at Masks of Resilience, a public workshop series in collaboration with @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila (MA, ATR-P), certified art therapist of the @damiencenter, I read from my memoir. And I'm hoping you won't reject me.

Masks of Resilience is supported by @artscouncilindy's Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative funded by the @neaarts.

Connection is what changes things. Come to @cafeoztara tomorrow from 10 am-1 pm and share a piece of who you are. I can't wait to see you.

It's so hard to be vulnerable.
In Wolcott, Indiana, halfway between Indianapolis and Chicago, there's a mural of me by @nmsalgar titled "La Ventana."

Nicole painted me as "a gatekeeper to a dreamlike reality, meant to give the viewer an opportunity to peer into a world in bloom." I don't see myself that way.

When I started @sylvadeanandme in 2010, it was to survive my mother's breast cancer. Masking for survival became masks in my art practice, became masking to heal. In 2014 I had my face life cast and turned into distorted masks for On Beauty, a photographic performance during Miami art week. (That's also when @dexterthepeacock and I fell in love.) My face as a mask became the Celeste Doll, more on the snow queen soon.

Every week at Masks of Resilience, a public workshop series in collaboration with @lukas.felix.schooler and Benjamin Aquila (MA, ATR-P), certified art therapist of the @damiencenter, I read from my memoir. And I'm hoping you won't reject me.

Masks of Resilience is supported by @artscouncilindy's Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative funded by the @neaarts.

Connection is what changes things. Come to @cafeoztara tomorrow from 10 am-1 pm and share a piece of who you are. I can't wait to see you.

HAPPENING THIS SATURDAY | Masks of Resilience 🎭✨

Join us for a free public workshop series exploring art, recovery, and resilience. Led by interdisciplinary artist Ventiko in collaboration with the Damien Center, this experience blends mask-making with powerful storytelling. Create a safe space for healing, identity, and connection with us.

Happening every Saturday in March from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

No art experience needed. Attend one session or all four!

Plus, don’t miss the culminating exhibition and live performance on Saturday, April 4!

This program is part of the Indy Arts Council’s Arts, Health, and Wellbeing Initiative, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Puurrrrfect Alignment
These are a few of my favorite things:
Silently walking barefoot for hours
Becoming a new Self in wearable sculptures
Transcending my body via active meditation

SILENCE

My girl @nasyaaa_ is hosting a silent workshop this Sunday in Indianapolis.
Join us. Link in bio to STFU

And then come play with me and Sylva Dean and Me.

Masks of Resilience
Saturdays in March
10 am- 1 pm
@cafe_oztara

Exhibition, April 4th, 11-1pm with a new Sylva Dean and Me Performmace at 11:30

s/o to Ava, my Indianapolis kitty, who became to New Yorker with me back in the day. 🐱🥛
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#silentmeditation #performanceart #indianapolis