VOL. 15 PERCEPTION

Jeffrey Fullerton is a polymath strategist who utilizes perspectives from multiple industries to solve tough problems, reduce risks when developing new products, and negotiate complex deals. Jeffrey founded Liquid Zoo, a technology entertainment company pioneering interactive media designed to bring people together, fostering connectivity and based on the premise that community building is an essential and increasingly lost part of our social fabric. Prior to founding his own company, Jeffrey was the Head of Strategic Development for Meow Wolf and Senior Vice President of Strategy for the Disney backed Japanese entertainment company, Tyffon.  In his free time he enjoys tacos, motorcycles, making ice cream, and watching Kubrick films.

Multimedia Artist Briseida Bencomo’s works integrate found items, words, and thoughts. They find inspiration in the close communities and diverse unique stories of the people around them. Their work has been showcased in Envision, the 2021 Junior Exhibition at New Mexico School For The Arts, and in the 2022 juried exhibition Perspective. They often write letters and poems to describe the environment around them.

French-Polynesian and Latina visual artist Vanezia Aguayo was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her art is created using a variety of methodologies, such as graphics, calligraphy, tattoos, heavy value, concept art, and leather/woodwork to explore themes of isolation, femininity, culture, and martial arts. Venezia is constantly doing art, no matter where she is — physically or mentally — asking herself, “how can I survive and understand the world?”

Santa Fe artist June Julian received her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Art, studying at Pennsylvania State Universities and New York University. She has been on the graduate art faculties of The School of Visual Arts in New York City, Ohio University, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and was the Education Manager of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in New York City. She has an active studio practice in various media. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and abroad, and is in several museum collections. June is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and has published widely on Art, Technology, and Ecology.

Anthony Colombo guides groups of people as they transform their lives by engaging the inherent creative brilliance of their nighttime dreams and imaginations. During his Dream-In events, participants craft a collective intention or “incubation” for their dream-time. The next day, their dreams and creative ideations are woven together into a shared vision for the group. Since 2008, he and his team of Dream-In facilitators have conducted Dream-Ins for numerous communities and organizations. Anthony has mentored with lucid dreaming research pioneer Fariba Bogzaran, PhD, and with dream studies professor Daniel Deslauriers—a fellow Dream-In facilitator.

In 2015, Anthony’s organization DreamSpace piloted the Vibrant Planet Dream-In—an online event with over 800 participants from 40 countries who incubated their dream-time with the intention of creating a vibrant life for themselves and the planet. To support future participants in an ongoing way, Anthony is currently developing VibrantPlanet.com—an online dream community in which people will be guided in creating big dreams, both while sleeping and while awake. These big dreams will be brought to life through Dream Cinema, which employs 3D animation and immersive sound to compellingly recreate the felt experience of being inside a dream or vision. These projects build upon Anthony’s decades of experience in developing software systems, producing digital multimedia, and teaching interactive multimedia design, production, and ethics courses at the University of Arizona.

J P 제피* is a bicultural and bigender artist, color explorer, tree climber, and truthseeker who has created home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. S(he) is a survivor, queer, and the child of an immigrant survivor of the Korean war. J P challenges dominant narratives and creates inceptive spaces in a practice of spiritual activism and exploration of the porous relationship between truth, beauty, and identity. This examination is the outgrowth of continual struggle for safety in body and soul in an interdisciplinary practice that synthesizes tensions and collapses genres, spaces, identities, and norms. (He)r work exists in an ontological space and presents stories of ritual integration and spiritual journeys. J P was named one of the 12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now in 2022 by Southwest Contemporary magazine and is a participating artist in the Artists at Work initiative in the Borderlands Region. *formerly Jen Pack / 백희숙

Amanda Banker was raised in Corrales, New Mexico, where she spent her childhood making short animated films and designing cartoon characters. At thirteen she discovered oil paints, and spent the next several years developing a portfolio in fine art, until her graduation set into motion a separate path. In 1998, she was accepted into CalArts, but choose to pursue animation at Cal State Fullerton, a decision which allowed her to become fully immersed in both traditional and computer animation — with the added bonus of pitching storyboards to Disney, Nickelodeon, and Pixar. After college she began freelance storyboarding, character design, and animation — while continuing to work on her own images. After nearly a decade in the animation industry, Amanda returned home to pursue her true passion as an oil painter. This move back to New Mexico was met with great success: her work is collected across the country, with patrons from California to New York. Amanda’s work is held in the permanent collection of the Albuquerque Museum.

An established and influential government and community affairs executive with expertise in leading public policy negotiation and development, as well as strategic innovation for growth.

Michael Barrio has a proven track record of bolstering strategic initiatives and successfully pushing policy reform through relationship curation of business leaders across sectors, publicly elected officials, and nonprofit organizations. Michael has an extensive background in corporate human resources, mergers and acquisitions, public affairs, government relations, and advocacy. His work in New Mexico has been focused on ensuring equity, diversity, and inclusion in New Mexico by working to craft, advance, and advocate for policy that reflects that. Additionally, during his Master’s and PhD work at New Mexico State University, Michael’s academic studies were focused on rhetoric and identity theory with an emphasis in feminist theory. During his time at NMSU, Michael and his now-wife toured and led various studies and roundtables that focused on and discussed contemporary feminisms and the critical need for open dialectic around this and issues of sex, gender, politics, and equity.

Michelle Holdt is a bold, creative, and love-drenched voice in the world of educational change. Michelle is an artist, a mom, a passionate advocate leading for Love with a capital L and Creativity with a capital C. She brings her years of arts education leadership experience combined with a devoted commitment to self-awareness and creativity to this vision. Some of her highly acclaimed workshops include The Art of Self Care & Lead with Your Humanity. She is also the author of Radiance: The Art of Self Love, and the co-producer of Arts is the Root.

Michelle was the Founding Executive Director of Arts Ed Matters and the Arts & Restorative Learning Coordinator for the San Mateo County Office of Education. She truly embodies living an arts-driven life & makes the arts accessible for all she reaches. Michelle holds multiple degrees and credentials in education including a BA in Drama and Human Development from Harvard.

Maternal Mitochondria is an unusual collaboration between mother (Miriam Sagan) and daughter (Isabel Winson-Sagan). Miriam was born in NYC in 1954 and has lived in New Mexico since 1984. Isabel was born in Santa Fe in 1989 and educated at UNM and SFCC. Miriam is a writer and Isabel is an interdisciplinary artist. Their work is intergenerational, feminist, and multi-media, and it reflects experiences of the body and of disability. Using ephemeral materials, Maternal Mitochondria creates works that delightfully engages viewers who come across them.