This week we welcome Miah Artola, an interdisciplinary artist, editor, and faculty member of the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Artola creates interactive installations that combine her paintings and drawings with new media. She is the co-inventor of APE (Audio Peak Etcher), a software that generates sound responsive visuals. Artola also founded Artola Digital, a post-production company.
Artola has been awarded grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts for “and also with you” (a multi-platform project on refugees) as well as “Sky”, an upcoming web series on refugees women from Central America.
(The Drowned Horse, poem written by Pablo Antonio Cuandra, filmed in Granada, Nicaragua)
Her current focus is on the refugee experience and the building of community structures to support them. “Sky” is a six-part web series on refugee women who fled from Central America to CAFEMIN, a woman-run, woman-founded shelter and advocacy center in Mexico City. Each episode will delve into another aspect of their experience, examining the specifics of how exactly and why exactly they had to leave their homes.
Poetry (from various New York and Mexican poets) and animation (by Artola) are woven throughout all six episodes to further elucidate the magnitude of these women’s stories and courage. The project incorporates paintings, motion-activated projections, and immersive installations based on the personal stories of the refugees.
Institutions and galleries that have featured Artola’s work include Harvestworks, EV Gallery, Experimental Intermedia Anthology Film Archives, Governor’s Island, Pioneer Works, and others. See more of Artola’s work on her website.
