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We are excited to announce our 2018 Rhinebeck Residents: Bianca Ng, Paulette Jonguitud, Christopher Kojzar, and Tara Rose Stromberg.

They each come to our topic, “Power And,” from a deep & different perspective, as well as form. They will be among the first-published voices for Issue 8, which launches at the end of July. You can see a little bit about each artist below, as well as the work they will be pursuing during the residency. If you are in New York this summer, we hope you will join us for our annual Sunset Soirée on July 22, where we will be showcasing the work they created during our time together at The Crystal Cottage.

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Bianca Ng is a visual storyteller who explores topics related to the Asian American Identity, mental health, and inclusive feminism. She received her BFA from the University of Michigan and her work was featured in the Type Directors Club. Her background is in branding, illustration, and print design, but she’s also known for her interdisciplinary passion projects. Currently, she works as a freelance designer and collaborates with female-centric organizations such as The Cosmos and It’s Not Personal. You can see a recent interview with her from The Slant about Take Up Space, an annual storytelling project she launched in 2017, but you can also see a little bit below about the driving forces behind her current work below:

“The driving forces behind my work are my innate curiosity for the human psyche and my passion for telling untold stories through dynamic imagery and experimental typography. I give minority voices a space to feel vulnerable and to be heard. By visually conveying taboo topics relating to the Asian American identity, mental health and inclusive feminism in my work, I question societal standards and encourage self-reflection on those topics. Ultimately, I want my work to spark significant and profound conversations with and among my audience.”

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Paulette Jonguitud is the author of Mildew, published in the UK  by CB EDITIONS and in Mexico by FETA/CONACULTA. Mildew was part of the Cultural Highlights of 2015 list by the Wales Art Review. In its Spanish edition it received a Special Mention in the 2009 edition of the Juan Rulfo First Novel Prize. Her second novel, Algunas margaritas y sus fantasmas, was published in Mexico by Penguin Random House in 2017. She has also written El loco del martinete, a book for children published in Mexico and Spain by Grupo  EDEBÉ and a short story collection, Son necios, los fantasmas, published in Mexico by El Guardagujas. She has been an artist in residence at The MacDowell Colony and a fellow of Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas and FONCA in its Program for Young Creators. She currently teaches Creative Writing at Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana in Mexico City. You can see more of her work on her website, but in terms of what drives Paulette’s work, she writes:

“I’m a writer based in Mexico City. I write in Spanish and in English; the language I choose to write a story in, is to me, as important a decision as are narrator, tone, or even plot. The driving force behind my current work is motherhood in the midst of a failing country. I’m working around a topic I call ‘Female while in Mexico’ that reflects on the dangers of being a woman in a country that has one of the highest rates of femicide in the world, and being a mother of a girl in such an environment. I’ve written and published a novel on the specific topic of gender violence in Mexico, but I find that I still have a lot to explore on the issue of motherhood in a war ridden country, what female writers can do to educate girls on this emergency situation, and the role that power plays in the slaying of our girls.”

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Christopher Kojzar received his B.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University and his M.F.A. at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the Intermedia and Digital Arts Program. He is currently creating mixed media and immersive video art in response to encounters he experiences while sharing open and public spaces with others. Sketching in public has prompted interactions with security personnel, police officers, TSA agents, and pedestrians. He explores the increasingly troubled phenomenon of observing and being observed in an era of escalating surveillance and mistrust. Christopher recently completed a three-year residency program at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD and has exhibited nationally and internationally. In the Fall of 2018, he will be attending residencies at Crosstown Arts in Memphis and the Santa Fe Art Institute in New Mexico. His website showcases drawing, video installation, publication, and performance collaboration, but for a glimpse into his approach to art-making, Christopher writes:

“In my work, I take station in, but freely respond to and with, the places I seek out. I document. Specific locales such as travel hubs, shop exteriors, casinos, public parks, and government buildings inspire me to step outside of my studio and engage with the world around me. On my part, interactions are unsolicited and I dig into a ‘passer-by curiosity.’ The demarcation of race does not leave room for furtive bodies, and so often men of color, like myself, stand out in crowds. I create art from these engagements and base the content off of the nineteenth century concept of flâneurism. I embody this archetype and document moments when others mark my body as suspicious and scrutinize my actions as an artist. I want to provoke viewers into considering my interpretation of flânerie and to encourage them to incorporate a new ‘art of seeing’ into their daily lives.”

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Tara Rose Stromberg is a Brooklyn-based writer and graduate of The New School MFA program. Her work often bridges the visual and literary realms, focusing on the personal themes of identity, anxiety, and family trauma. She is also the Head of Production at Dress Code, an animation and production studio, and has produced films that have been recognized by The Webby Awards, Tribeca Film Festival, and Vimeo Staff Picks, among others. She is currently writing a memoir about the experience of shooting a 35mm film in Prague during a nervous breakdown. About the work she intends to investigate at Rhinebeck, Tara writes:

“To write as ‘I’ is a bold move, one that must be made with conviction. How does a writer find such power within oneself? This residency offers this writer an opportunity to reclaim the ‘I,’ which is so integral to uncovering her truth; to explore what significance an individual’s personal story can have amidst the baffling and seemingly insurmountable troubles of this world. Does this writer’s voice have a place in it? How can she engage in both intellectual discourse on the state of society and her obsession with tiny fake food videos? This writer will use the personal essay to explore childhood trauma and the clever, often humorous ways in which her immersion into television, film, and pop culture helped shape her identity in the absence of parental role models.”

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Join us in welcoming Bianca, Paulette, Christopher, and Tara to our Rhinebeck Residency. You can see our past residents here, as well as what they had to say about their time at The Crystal Cottage.