Discovering
Discovering is a monthly program that welcomes the public into AYN Foundation and other long term presentations at Mana Contemporary to further learn and experience the practice of their featured artists: John Chamberlain, Michael Heizer, Rammellzee, Fred Sandback and Andy Warhol, through the scope of other artists and the multiple languages of art.
Visitor Guides & Educator Resources
Collaborators:
Linda K. Alpern
Linda K. Alpern was born in Long Beach New York and raised in Fort Lauderdale Florida.
Her self-taught career in photography spans 25 years. She began doing photography in 1989 after moving from California to Sag Harbor, New York. There, Linda worked as a nurse for the artist Alfonso Ossorio, who lived in East Hampton. For two and half years, while caring for Alfonso, she photographed his trees ( evergreens and conifers sited by the artist himself) while she received training on the medium until she became proficient at capturing their essence. Linda states: ¨It was a natural progression for me to next approach people from different backgrounds and request to photograph them, which led to a one-woman show at the Glenn Horowitz Rare Bookstore, and subsequent exhibitions. I created a storybook of my life by taking photographs of people I knew as well as individuals I encountered in my daily activities, including nursing.¨
Alpern’s work appears in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York and The Parrish Museum, in Watermill, New York, where she has participated in many group shows. She has also exhibited her work at MMGallery Southampton, Tripoli Gallery Wainscott, The Church in Sag Harbor, and multiple other venues in the East End of Long Island.
Focus Artist: John Chamberlain
Project: Inner Mirror Exhibition and Interview. Portraits by Linda K. Alpern in connection with John Chamberlain.
Laura Santos Hermo
Laura Santos Hermo (Vigo, 1990) has a BA in Early Childhood Education and Graphic Design & Advertising. She teaches preschool, where she applies educational methodologies with a strong emphasis on visual literacy. Since 2022, she has joined Ash in supporting the design of educational projects and resources, working as a professional team, where she offers insights on methods of conceptualization, develops graphic material and shares research in ICT and pedagogy.
Focus Artist: Rammellzee
Project: Educational resources for educators and families
Alberto “Ash” Santos
Alberto “Ash” Santos (Vigo, 1986) is an artist, professor and researcher specialized in graffiti and street art. He teaches at the College of Education, within the Escuela Universitaria CEU – University of Vigo.
Painting, installation, performance art, photography, design and sound are fields in which he develops his art practice. He has exhibited internationally in places like LA (U.S.A.) or Viena (Austria), and has developed projects in collaboration with brands such as Volcom Clothing.
In his research work, he is currently developing his thesis on the transition of graffiti to postgraffiti in Vigo, his hometown, where he recently participated in the finding of a tag by Muelle, a graffiti pioneer in Spain.
Focus Artist: Rammellzee
Project: Educational resources for educators and families
Karole Armitage
Karole Armitage (Choreographer/Director) was rigorously trained in classical ballet, and danced professionally with George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham before forming her New York based company, Armitage Gone! Dance in 1980. She is renowned for pushing the boundaries to create contemporary works that blend dance, music, science and the visual arts. Known as the “punk ballerina” Armitage’s work is at once both esoteric and popular. She has choreographed Broadway Productions, Videos for Madonna and Michael Jackson, several films for Merchant Ivory productions, a show for Cirque du Soleil and the Fall/Winter 2020/2021 Marc Jacobs Fashion show. In addition to creating over 100 works for her dance company, Armitage has directed operas and created new dance productions for major houses in the US and Europe.She was honored with an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Kansas University in 2013, and a Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University in 2106 to study Native American Plains Culture. Armitage is currently an MIT Media Lab Directors Fellow.
Dancers: William Isaac, Mei-hua Wang, Cristian Laverde-Koenig, Kali Oliver.
Focus Artist: Fred Sandback
Project: A dialogue between sculpture and dance and choreographic map collaboration with Monira.
2022 Edition:
This program was made possible though a fellowship program in partnership with Art Frankly. Each intern focused in one artist for a duration of three months to develop and present the public program.
Meet the fellows:
Kate Meadows
Kate earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 2020, where she studied a mixture of literature and art history. Prior to volunteering with Monira, Kate worked on program development with the literary nonprofit Poets House and headed an arts education program in her community, CampWrite UNC. She now lives in Brooklyn and servest as an associate editor for the publication 86 Logic.
Fellowship period Jan-Mar, 2022
Focus artist: Andy Warhol
Emily Sussman
Emily has worked at for-profit arts spaces including Kaufmann Repetto and Paula Cooper Gallery. She has a masters degree from the Institute of Fine Arts in and has curated a number of shows featuring emerging artists throughout New York City. In addition, Emily maintains her own curatorial and advising practice as well as events for Young Collector’s League, NY
Fellowship period May-Jul, 2022
Focus artist: John Chamberlain
