the artist

Michelle Angela Ortiz

Michelle Angela Ortiz

Philadelphia, PA

Michelle Angela Ortiz

http://www.michelleangela.com

Michelle Angela Ortiz constantly seeks to capture lost legacies, personal stories and silenced voices in her family and community.  Influenced by her Latin American and Caribbean cultures, her images are connected to stories of displacement, cultural barriers, immigration, and social economic inequalities.

The Pennsylvania Convention Center acquired Ortiz’s Llena de Luz y Lucha; Madre de Mi Corazón; El Niño Consentido.  Each of the three prints and their corresponding three sculptures tell one of the many immigration stories of her family.  Ortiz’s mother, Epifania, arrived to the United States and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; her grandmother, Maria Dionisia, constantly traveled back and forth to Colombia and the United States (Philadelphia); and her uncle stayed behind in Colombia.  The images reflect struggle, conflict, nostalgia, and how immigration impacts the family dynamic.

Fast Facts

Name: Michelle Angela Ortiz

Website: www.michelleangela.com

Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:
2000, BFA – Moore College of Art & Design
2002, Masters in the Science of Arts and Cultural Management – Rosemont College
2013, MFA Candidate – Maryland Institute College of Art

Significant or special training:
Graduate of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Leadership Institute

Notable or memorable instructors or mentors:
Moe Brooker
Tendai Johnson
Bibiana Suarez

Particular field of study or class work:
Visual Arts
Painting
Printmaking
Community Arts

Major influences/admired artists:
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Juan Sanchez
Pepon Osorio
Elizabeth Catlett
Doris Salcedo

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