Tell us a bit about yourself, your art, and your background.
My name is Alivia King, and I’m a junior here at Columbia, working toward my BFA in Fine Arts. I’m from a small town in southern Wisconsin, and my earliest art-making memory is from when I was four, coloring with my grandma after preschool. Even though Janesville—the town I’m from—doesn’t have much of an “art scene,” I grew up in a creative family that supported my love of art. My grandpa is a photographer, and my dad did a lot of graffiti, so naturally, I was drawn to art as well.
Beyond just creating, I’ve also come to appreciate the therapeutic side of art. I was never the best with words or verbal expression, so art became my voice. As someone impacted by complex trauma, having that voice has been incredibly helpful. I struggle with things like memory, dissociation, and a fractured sense of self. Art allows the different parts of myself to communicate and helps me process things without feeling overwhelmed. My practice is centered around that processing. I create characters tied to the different parts of myself and then transform the physical space they occupy through my art. It’s my way of bridging the gap between my internal and external worlds by creating a space in between the two.
In general, I like focusing on themes of self-reflection and somatic expression, and I invite people to join me in that space. I’m looking forward to using this residency to develop some of these ideas as well!
What brought you to Columbia?
What really drew me to Columbia was the flexibility offered here. There’s an emphasis on interdisciplinary arts, which I liked because I knew I’d get to explore a range of different topics, all within my degree program. Above all else, though, I just really liked the students here. It’s nice to be surrounded by creative people because it creates a great environment for growing as an artist.
What initially inspired you to apply for the Library Artist in Residence Position?
I’ve wanted to do an artist residency for a long time, so when my friend pointed out the opportunity to me, I was really excited and applied immediately. I don’t think I could’ve found a better opportunity for my first residency, either. The library is already a massive part of my creative process, and I used to always joke with my friend that I would make a lot more art if I could just work in the library. Now I have the space to do so!
How does your arts practice benefit from library collections, services, and/or equipment?
The library is the starting point for my art-making process. When it comes to getting inspiration, I like randomly picking out interesting books, flipping through them for images I like, and then laying them all out on a table. Once I have everything set up, I use my sketchbook to assemble everything I see into different compositions. It feels like I’m creating some sort of improvisational composition using the bits and pieces of visuals around me, which allows me to generate a bunch of ideas without running into art block. Aside from the books, though, there are a lot of other resources in the library that are exciting to use, especially for digital and mixed media art—something I’ve been exploring more.
What do you hope to gain from your Residency in the Library this coming year?
I feel like most artist residencies are designed to let artists engage with the community through their art, so that’s definitely something I’m looking to get better at. It’d be exciting to host events and little pop-up exhibitions, especially if they could benefit Columbia’s creative community. I also want to take advantage of the space I have to myself. Having a studio space is really cool because now I can work on multiple pieces at once, allowing each piece to be in conversation with the others. I feel like I’m in a unique position to explore some cool stuff, so I can’t wait!
What do you hope to give back to the Columbia College Chicago community in your role as an Artist-in-Residence?
Since my practice is so rooted in self-reflection and using art to process emotions, I would love to run a few workshops to show people how I do that. I have a specific practice I call “bokeh painting,” which is similar to pointillism but more abstract and meditative. It’s a really relaxing process, and you end up with a cool piece of art afterward.
More broadly, though, I really want to get more people into the library. I feel like not enough people take advantage of the resources available there, and libraries have always been awesome spaces for cultivating communities. So, the more people using the library, the better.
What are your current and future personal projects? What should we look forward to from you next?
I feel like I’ve been all over the place, trying different things, so there’s probably a lot to look out for! I’m currently developing my next body of work, Mind, which will be a follow-up to my most recent series, Body and Soul. I hope to show both together if I get the chance.
I’m also involved in a lot of collaborative film projects. Most notably, I was the art director for the film A Depressed Vegetarian Running a Hotdog Cart. It’ll be shown at Manifest, and I built the hotdog cart with my friend and fellow artist-in-residence, Jenna Elfers. I hope to take on a lot of other fun art projects, but for now, those are the two biggest ones.