My research focuses on the intersection of visual language and storytelling. It examines the personal and collective narratives implicit in the technical processes of handicraft production. I am interested in the expressive potential of materials, the symbolism that arises from the manipulation of materials, and people’s experience in relation to space. My work questions the role of the visual and performing arts within the social context and strives to integrate artistic production with human connection.

Research Interests

• Design as performance
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Embodied space
• Storytelling in art

Research Projects

Terreno Tejido de Piel

An interdisciplinary project with dance, design, and sculpture components with Peruvian artists and collaborators Cecilia Borasino, dancer/choreographer, and Alejandra Ortiz de Zevallos, sculptor/fiber artist. The project included a one-week residency at the University of Alabama Collaborative Arts Research Initiative with presentations and master classes that ended in a devised interdisciplinary performance. Visitors participated in the project learning traditional weaving techniques from Peru and collaborating in building the installation/set and making the costumes.

Local collaborators Holland Hopson (sound), Rhea Speights and Jordan Prough (dancers), and Sydni Spradlin (lights).

Designing And Performing With Polyethylene Sheet

This project is the result of my participation in the workshop “Designing and Performing with the Materials and their Engineering Properties” lead by Olga Ntenta (UK) and Fanis Sakellariou (Greece) at the World Stage Design 2022 festival. https://wsd2021.ca/
In the 2-day workshop I was able to produce my own project and present it in front of a small audience in the experimental performance space “Sound Kitchen”. Sound Kitchen Event & Performance Description (propared.com)

In the first day of the workshop I experimented, designed, and built a wearable prototype made, almost entirely, with Polyethylene Sheet. Other materials used were masking tape, elastic band, and a piece of wire.
In the second day, I worked with the music production software Ableton (Germany) to create sound effects from manipulating the same material of the wearable. The final result was a newly devised performance that incorporated, a script, scenic, costumes, lighting, and sound design.    

World Stage Design 2022, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Performer: Olga Ntenta
Sound Technology: Fanis Sakellarious
Photo Credits: Soledad Sanchez Valdez, Olga Ntenta, Fanis Sakellarious

Mistura: A Magic Door

Created for the fifth edition of World Stage Design’s Community Engagement Activities category, “MISTURA” was intended to be a metaphorical magic door into an imaginary space where participants of all ages could come together to share stories and play. We wanted to provide a place of discovery and human connection, limited only by imagination.
The aim of the project was to create an interactive, immersive, manipulative, flexible, sculptural, and transformable space filled with reusable, found, recycled and/or recyclable materials and to encourage participants to use imaginative and interesting lighting techniques that required very little (or no) electricity and sound that were mainly based on foley techniques.  
We designed a total of eight scenic, lighting, and sound design workshops to demonstrate some of the limitless possibilities of these resources, as we asked participants to work in groups to share their stories using what they could find in the space.
As a result, we obtained fascinating creative proposals, the exchange of ideas, committed teamwork, and interesting debates about the importance of human interaction and the connective power of art. 
https://wsd2021.ca/scenofest/

Project Creative Team:
​Amy Chan Lighting Design – Hong Kong
Psyche Chui Lighting Design – Hong Kong
Ellen Mizener Scenic Design – United States 
Soledad Sanchez Valdez Scenic Design – United States/Peru
Joe Pino Sound Design – United States
Chai Smith Sound Design – United States

Ko Man Kit IT Support – Hong Kong

World Stage Design 2022, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Photo Credits: Soledad Sanchez Valdez, Psiche Chui, Ko man Kit