BIOGRAPHY
Alexa Vélez is an artist, educator, filmmaker, and dancer based in North Carolina. In 2017, she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of North Florida where she received a BFA in photography and a BA in English with a minor in film studies. In 2021, she graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an MFA in Visual Art. As a graduate student, she was a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship and won best in show for her thesis work examining our relationship with the element of air. Over the last few years, her short films have screened both nationally and internationally. Most recently, she was a recipient of the Frankenthaler Climate Art Award for her video work addressing climate change.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As a multidisciplinary artist, my work draws attention to our disconnect from the natural world and forges a connection with it through imagery, movement, and sound. I transform ordinary spaces into theatrical settings for storytelling, intertwining the familiar with the surreal. My choreography often combines human motion with animal locomotion to create hybrid creatures that conflict with man-made environments: a parking garage, an empty room, and, most recently, a small apartment kitchen. In these mundane spaces, I create tension through sound and gesture, juxtaposing confined movement with soundscapes featuring the vastness and the mystery of the natural world.
CONTACT INFO
Email address: velezam@bellsouth.net
CV is available upon request