Being Seen, Being Heard, Having a Voice (Initial)

This exhibition brings together five emerging artists whose work speaks articulately about the importance of knowing thyself. For each artist a personal aesthetic vision, known colloquially as style, is an innate extension of their identity and world view. In this exhibition of five artists, two diverse craft genres are represented: jewellery as seen through the work of Alyssa Beigi, Jessica Atkinson, and Sharon Sabatino Bradley, and ceramics created by Michelle Morales Borges and Heather Neal.

Alyssa holds a Masters in Journalism from Goldsmiths, Universityof London. after a near decade working in television, she moved toVancouver to pursue creative passions and is now in her final year ofJewellery Art and Design at VCC.

Alyssa holds a Masters in Journalism from Goldsmiths, Universityof London. after a near decade working in television, she moved toVancouver to pursue creative passions and is now in her final year ofJewellery Art and Design at VCC.

Sharon Sabatino Bradley is an artist and jeweller based in Vancouver, Canada. She received her BA in Art History from the University of British Columbia in 2006, and a diploma in Jewellery Art & Design from Vancouver Community College in 2016. She creates custom and retail jewellery under her line, Blackfield 

Michelle Morales Borges was born and raised in a rural town in Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1993. Having grown up sheltered from the world and its perspectives, her passion for Mexican history grew tremendously, especially in Mexico’s pre-Columbian era. 

Although in her childhood and adolescence she never had the opportunity to study visual arts, she took a big interest in poetry that talked about tradition and the evolution of Mexico as a country. Michelle is interested in challenging beliefs and preconceptions related to society and her cultural background. She has found that she is able to work through issues that conlict her, allowing her to opena dialogue and discussion on these issues between herself, her art, and the viewer.

Heather Michelle Neal is a multidisciplinary artist based in Vancouver Canada. For 10 years, she’s had her own business designing and making by hand exotic dance costumes. When she discovered the endless possibilities of ceramics at Langara College, she merged these two practices together creating work that both explores and exemplifies the concepts of femininity, beauty, domesticity, and the strenuous labour that goes into what is so-called “women’s work”.