My inclusion in the exhibition "Doomscapes" at ARC Gallery got a great write-up in New City Magazine, and my piece "Sea Debris" was included in the article.

Check it out here-- Newcity Art

Happy to announce my 3rd year participating in 2nd Floor Rear!! Here's a taste of what I'm up to on that project:

Gathering in the face of adversity has become suddenly more pertinent than ever. Not only gathering for the purpose of social justice, but to be around others that share your views and your struggles in an arena of self care. In shaping this event, we ask ourselves: how do we embody meaningful art/life practices? Ritual is not just about ceremony, but about actions repeated with hope. Through our event, we seek to give space and representation to a myriad of people of complex identities who unite knowing they’re stronger, fiercer and more queenly together.

With this togetherness, we pair the word “craft,” which in our understanding is a term given importance (and scorn) by its association with queer and female labor. We want to dwell on the ways queer persons craft themselves, the rituals of identity creation that go on before the party, the putting-on of a personae, and the societal dangers that stop many of us from participation in these rituals. We want people to attend both as they are and as they want to be, going through their going-out rituals as they see fit.

Crafts to look out for: buttons/queer achievement badges, wands/scepters, coloring books.

Location TBA

So excited to be joining the artists and designers from the exhibition, Shape/Shift, to hold a a conversation about the prevalent themes running through the work.

We'll explore the tensions found at the intersections of gender, race, class, social identity and cultural expectations. The conversation will feature Rusty Cook, James T. Green, Margot Harrington, Kiam Marcelo Junio, Chad Kouri, Jeanette Ralyea and Katie Vota.

Especially post-election, I feel this conversation is really important and should be highly generative in thinking about the role of the artist in next few years.

Super excited to be participating in this year's Shape/Shift event at Lost Arts! There will be a bunch of my sculptural work there (mostly interactive pieces), including a debut of some new works!!!! The opening is on Nov. 4th, from 6-10 pm.

About Shape/Shift:

Shape/Shift is a gathering of artists, designers, and performers who elude socially constructed binaries through their work or identity. The works on display grapple with the tensions found at the intersections of gender, race, class, social identity and cultural expectations through a variety of media.

Lost Arts has invited a cross-section of contributors and charged them with using their space to create pieces that explore themes of fluidity, multiplicity, intersectionality, expansion and resistance. Located semi-permanently on Goose Island at the confluence of the north and south branches of the Chicago River, Lost Arts is itself a space in flux, providing a creative maker-space empowering artists with the tools, resources, and kinship to explore across disciplines.

Very pleased to announce I'll be teaching an evening workshop at In-House (part of Autotellic Studios) on Oct. 3rd, from 6-10pm on "DIY T-shirt Alteration." Will cover basics of fitting, adjustment and alteration for comfort, as well as more radical changes! No sewing experience required, though ability to use scissors helpful! BYO T-shirt(s). Handouts provided. Find more info here!!

Hey guys, I've officially completed my MFA program at SAIC!! Holy crap where did the last two years go?!? Now onwards into the future!

My upcoming exhibition "Borderlands" opens in less than a week! On October 2nd, 2014 to be precise! From 4-6pm, at the LeRoy Neiman Center Gallery at 37 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60603, in the gallery on the 1st floor!! You should come if you're around!!

September is a busy month for me this year!! Not only does it mark the beginning of my 2nd (and last) year of gradschool, but I've got shows! Two to be precise! I've got work included in a group show at Lula Cafe entitled "Boundaries Collapse," which will be up through December. This show is curated by Aay Preston, one of the organizers of Chances Dances/The Critical Fierceness Grant.

The second exhibition, entitled "Borderlands," is a solo show in the Leroy Neiman Center Gallery at 37 S. Wabash, Chicago. I've been working closely with the staff of the Student Union Galleries at SAIC to get this exhibition ready for it's opening on October 2nd, 2014, from 4-6pm!! A reminder with opening times is forthcoming, but put it on your calendars now (there's a lot of awesome new work in this one!)

I'm part of a two woman jurried show, "Off the Mark," at Intelligentsia at 53 E. Randolph, Chicago. It's me and Veronica Siehl (of Spudnik Press), as curated by Erin Chlagmo, a chicago-based artist & educator. Go check it out! It'll be up through February 2014.

(Also-- if you haven't been yet, I've got a few pieces on the 8th floor of the Sharp Building at SAIC, on the Dean's Floor. They're installations built for the space, go check them out before they're gone!)

I'm a part of "Behind the Screenz," a print exhibition on the 8th floor of the Sharp Building at SAIC. It's up December 15th, 2013 - February 15th, 2014, so come see it if you can!

To all who were wondering were I disappeared to, it was grad school and it's intense. I'm still debating how to deal with the work I'm making right now as far as putting it on my website... For now, you can check out my blog: http://katievota.blogspot.com/ I've been updating it pretty regularly with new, in-progress works.

So the exhibition came down! I sold a bunch and the work that's left (after I pull large IGG incentive cuts from the portfolio) is about be mailed and re-installed at Pratt MPW in Utica, NY in October!

Thanks to all who contributed, who shared, who gave their moral support! We didn't quite make our goal but the money that was raised will go a long way in helping me fund my education. (If you donated enough to get yourself an 8x10" small cut or a large cut, they're coming!)

We only need $93 more till we've raised our first $1000! If you haven't been over to check out the MFA Funding IGG, please take a few minutes to do so. All help/sharing of the project is appreciated (and there's art to be had as incentives!)

My MFA Funding Indie Go-Go project is now live! From now through August 9th, you can donate at: http://igg.me/at/kvotamfa/x/2929751 In return, you could receive a perk from me! These range from letter-pressed zines to large scale works of art, and are a way for me to thank you for your contribution.

Even if you cannot contribute, please consider sharing this link with your social media network. The more it gets shared, the more likely I am to reach my goal of $3,000.

I'm very pleased to announce that I will be attending SAIC (the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago) Fall 2013! I'll be working towards my MFA in Fiber & Material Studies.

“Construction” Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN, June 7th-Aug 3rd, opening on June 14th from 6-8

"Black Willow” Paperish Mess Gallery, Chicago, IL, TBD August/Sept 2013