Reflections from 2023 CARD Fellow: Paloma Vianey

The inaugural 12-week CARD Fellowship, a collaboration among the Phillips, the Nicholson Project, and the DC Public Library to support the local art community, concluded in December. Multimedia artist Paloma Vianey from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, reflects on her experience.

CARD Fellow Paloma Vianey

Reflecting on your fellowship journey, how have you grown professionally and personally?

As an immigrant and a new artist in Washington, DC, before this fellowship, I felt like an artist operating alone. The CARD fellowship changed that and I now feel that I have a community to rely on. It also helped me appreciate the richness of the DC area and its vibrant community. Through the fellowship, I met with curators, artists, and organizations that are relevant to my practice. These are connections that I will carry with me, and that will also lead me to other connections.

In what ways were you able to collaborate with the other CARD fellows and partner organizations, and how may these collaborations/partnerships influence your future projects?

The other two fellows, Tina Valladolid and Anne Smith, have become influential and supportive people in my art career. I genuinely value the amount of thought from the partners when selecting the CARD fellows, as the three of us began bonding very naturally. We are all linked by our wish for community and we have met periodically to discuss our goals, artistic beliefs, and personal matters. I am also grateful for how much I have learned from The Phillips Collection, the DCPL, and the Nicholson Project, and its associated partners. It is a privilege to have access to these networks and institutions– and I am looking forward to how these connections will evolve in the future.

The CARD Fellows and the Nicholson Project in Vianey’s studio

How has this fellowship changed your views about the intersections of art and community?

Before moving to DC I had an itinerant life– moving constantly on a yearly basis. I did not have a moment to establish a community, and now that I am here, this fellowship has shown me how valuable it is to have a network of art directors, artists, and curators to guide you and help you. No artist should operate alone, and the most successful artists have been helped. This fellowship gave me a community, friends, and access to a plethora of resources I will continue to use.

Multiple works by Paloma Vianey

What advice would you give to artists looking for fellowships or other opportunities to grow their careers?

Do not feel intimidated to reach out to anyone, regardless of their status or success. Do not feel afraid to apply to opportunities that might seem out of your reach. Create as much work as you can and learn from your work– take your time to process it and meditate about what you are making. Go to exhibitions and openings, and read as much as you can about art that is being made. But most prominently, believe in your work and what you are making.

The CARD Fellows Anne C. Smith, Paloma Vianey, and Tina Villadolid on the left; Nehemiah Dixon, Senior Director of Public Programming and Community Engagement for The Phillips Collection, center; Allison Nance, Managing Director of the Nicholson project; Linnea Hegarty, Director of Events, Exhibitions, and Development for DC Public Library, on the right

Reflections from 2023 CARD Fellow: Anne Smith

The inaugural 12-week CARD Fellowship, a collaboration among the Phillips, the Nicholson Project, and the DC Public Library to support the local art community, concluded in December. Multimedia artist Anne Smith from Syracuse, New York, reflects on her experience.

CARD Fellow Anne Smith

Reflecting on your fellowship journey, how have you grown professionally and personally?

One of the special things about this program would be the relationships that we started to build with each other—relationships that would be sustained and grow over the long term. My mindset heading into the program was that I would need to produce and prove my worth—a very “DC” mindset, I realize now. It became clear throughout a few conversations with the core group—the fellows and the partners from the Phillips, DCPL and the Nicholson Project—that the idea was really much more substantive and forward-thinking than that. Our work has been to build relationships. These relationships, with each other and with other professionals we’ve met as a result of the fellowship, sustain our work in powerful ways and bring meaning to this strange and wonderful life of being an artist.

In what ways were you able to collaborate with the other CARD fellows and partner organizations, and how may these collaborations/partnerships influence your future projects?

Early on, Tina, Paloma, and I started to meet together as a group and decided to make it a regular practice. I think it’s safe to say that we all felt supported and inspired by each other, and fell into an easy rapport that is open and honest about our work, struggles, and visions for what we want to do. I feel so grateful that the fellowship put the three of us together.

The next circle expanding from there has been our collaboration with the CARD Fellowship team from the three partner organizations. Our regular conversations and studio visits with them were thoughtful, fulfilling experiences and I have new plans for my work as a direct result of our meetings. Because of our conversations, I also started a regular writing practice: short reflections on the practices, motions, and activities from my day-to-day that fold right into the kinds of visual work that I do. I’ve been delighted and surprised by the way this writing practice has unfolded. It expands my idea of how my practice is linked with poetry, which opens up new avenues for my work in the studio.

The fellowship organizers also put a lot of thought into creating a “road map” for each of us fellows based on our goals, putting each of us into contact with other professionals who could inform and advise us on those goals. Those meetings are still happening and providing guidance for me on topics ranging from nitty-gritty materials questions to big picture career goals. The amount of thought and time that was put into crafting those roadmaps has been such a gift in helping me take concrete steps toward my goals.

CARD Fellows Paloma Vianey and Anne Smith in Smith’s studio

How has this fellowship changed your views about the intersections of art and community?

The fellowship has reaffirmed my views about art and community—that the two are essential to each other and feed off one another. To be able to connect with others over work that is already important to me personally is deeply affirming. Those meaningful connections that happen in meeting face-to-face, listening, questioning, considering—they expand my practice and keep me from getting too narrow in my thinking. Being in community with others makes having an art practice so much more fruitful. The community that has grown from this fellowship does just that and will continue to do so.

Multiple works by Anne Smith

What advice would you give to artists looking for fellowships or other opportunities to grow their careers?

Focus on building relationships. You will make your work no matter what, and what “making” means will look different at different times of your life. Connecting with other people who are also creative or interested in what you’re interested in—those relationships are what will sustain your practice and give meaning to what you do. And don’t be deterred by rejection letters! We all get plenty of them. Just keep going.

CARD Fellows and the Nicholson Project in Smith’s studio

Reflections from 2023 CARD Fellow: Tina Villadolid

The inaugural 12-week CARD Fellowship, a collaboration among the Phillips, the Nicholson Project, and the DC Public Library to support the local art community, concluded in December. Multimedia artist Tina Villadolid from New York reflects on her experience.

CARD Fellow Tina Villadolid

Reflecting on your fellowship journey, how have you grown professionally and personally?

Personally, the CARD Fellowship was a very internal and reflective time. My creative practice of reclamation of my inheritances as a Filipina American is transformative and also very demanding. My research-based creative output in the last two years was robust. I was encouraged to take some much-needed creative downtime and to envision what the next chapter holds. That is exactly what I needed.

Professionally, I was introduced to a network of artists, curators, and organizations with whom I share the purpose of creating counter-narratives to the histories we have been taught. I am excited to build on these relationships in the coming months and years, and I look forward to furthering my research and collaborations within this network.

In what ways were you able to collaborate with the other CARD fellows and partner organizations, and how may these collaborations/partnerships influence your future projects?

Anne, Paloma, and I formed our own micro-community during the fellowship. Sounding out our questionings to each other, we discovered we were searching for similar things as we each move in such different directions creatively. Together, we formed a solid, inquisitive, and caring cohort.

CARD Fellows (left to right): Tina Villadolid, Anne Smith, and Paloma Vianey

How has this fellowship changed your views about the intersections of art and community?

Through the fellowship, I’ve gained a fuller perspective of the ways in which the DC arts scene seeks to support artists like me. It makes sense that like-minded artists are here responding to systems and policies that are built to disempower people. Seeing the thriving community that exists through and because of art is one of the most positive things about living in the nation’s capital.

Multiple works by Tina Villadolid

What advice would you give to artists looking for fellowships or other opportunities to grow their careers?

My advice to artists looking for opportunities to grow their careers: Find your people. When you feel you’ve found the people who truly get you, who truly champion you in living your life to fulfill your purpose, the opportunities will come to you. Be tenacious about your purpose, rest when you can, and remain open.

Tina Villadolid in her studio