Amanda is a multi-disciplinary artist residing in Lafayette, LA. She has been studying within the Visual Arts department and the Dance department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette since 2017 and is now a senior studying Graphic Design. Amanda has been a member of Basin Arts since 2018 and a teaching artist as of this past year. She has participated in the university productions State of La Danse and Evening of Dance in addition to various multimedia performances within the community.

Who makes up your art circle?

My art circle consists of movers, multi-media artists, musicians and storytellers.

How do you expand your art circle?

I expand my art circle by getting curious about other artists’ processes. Art is for the viewer as much as it is for the artist. It is meant to be shared. It is a brave act to make art, and I am inspired by the bravery of others.

What value do you see in having a creative community?

I think it important to have a creative community committed to creating and sharing ideas unapologetically and without discretion, especially in the conservative south. There is a sense of safety and ease in community. Not everyone has the privilege of studying in a higher institution. I am blessed.

How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?

My work often explores the byproduct of being raised to adhere to strict Roman Catholic dogma. My earliest explorations in artistic approach revealed shame and repression in the body, and more recently I am interested in the mind-body connection and its essential role in ancestral healing. I am just as enamored with movement and performance art as I am with painting and sculpture, and I seek to merge these approaches. I am committed to embodying the fact that nearly anything is possible.