A New Year: Future Trends, Upcoming Classes, & Accomplishments
Bad Art Co. kicks off 2025 with a creative planning class and FREE Bad Art Club, register today!
Upcoming Classes at the Carrboro ArtsCenter
Click the image to register!
Thank you for being a part of Bad Art Company this year.
I am on my second year working full-time as a creative entrepreneur and am extremely grateful to each of you, and proud of my work.
You can always support my work by becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter.
The following are some of the highlights from 2024.
I GAVE TOURS & ARTIST TALKS
A curated tour of TJ Mundy’s Blackfuturism show
A guided tour of Bad Art Club’s FOLK show
An “Art x Capitalism” artist talk for my Living Estate Sale show
A “Recycle Your Art Out” Tour for kids at the North Carolina Museum of Art
I TAUGHT CLASSES
New Year’s Workshop
Accessibility for Artists & Educators
Monthly Bad Art Club
Surreal Art & Writing
Intro to Lap Loom Weaving
Digital Creativity: Canva & Graphic Design for 2nd-5th Grade
Digital Entrepreneurship: Creative Branding & Design Internships for 2nd-5th Grade
Digital Art Summer Camp
Intermediate Collage
Tarot Art & History
MY WORK WAS FEATURED IN EXHIBITIONS
Broke Show, CoLab Studio
FOLK: Traditions and futures of self-taught artists, Eno Mill Gallery
Cult Show, CoLab Studio
Beyond Show, CoLab Studio
Bara Bara Community Art Exhibition, Diamante Arts & Cultural Center
1.5 C Show, Eno Mill Gallery
Read the Room Then Take Flight, Eno Mill Gallery
Studio Artist Showcase, Eno Mill Gallery
Living Estate Sale: Artists Sell Their Lives, Eno Mill Gallery
Open ~ Close Show, CoLab Studio
I WAS AWARDED GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS
2024 Grow Your World Artist-In-Residence
2024 Docent-In-Training at NCMA
2024 Pines Scholarship to Penland School of Craft
2024-25 Artist Project Grant from Orange County Arts Commission
You can support my work by becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter.
2025: Future Trends & Predictions
Words of the year: Brain Rot and Polarization
Oxford University Press held a public vote and found brain rot to be the 2024 word of the year.
From Oxford:
“Brain rot” is a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.
The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden. “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”
The term has gained traction on social media platforms such as TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities.
Merriam-Webster’s 2024 Word of the Year is polarization, which is chosen based on search volume.
“Polarization” means division into two sharply distinct opposites especially : a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no longer range along a continuum but become concentrated at opposing extremes
Polarization dates back to the early 1800s, when they first described light waves. The polar in polarization is from Latin polaris, which describes the Earth’s poles.
Future Trends in Art: The Self & The Surreal
From The Inspiration Place Podcast
Escape into the past: Nostalgia-based themes
Escape to the future: Surrealism, dystopian fantasy, fiction, fantasy art
Escape to another world: Immersive experiences and virtual worlds
Cultural mash ups: Blending cultural traditions to make new ones
The Earth without Art is just “Eh”: Eco-themed and sustainable art
Touch Grass: Outdoor performances, exhibitions and installations
Studying the Body: Black figurative artists & women figurative artists
Pantone Color of the Year: Mocha Mousse
“A warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.”
Tarot Card for 2025: The Hermit (Card #9)
Hermit activities:
meditation
solitude
quiet time
focusing your energy on yourself
journaling
seeking advice from wise ones
listening to your intuition
A Standout Indie Album from 2024
My Method Actor by Nilüfer Yanya (click to listen)
To Lift Our Spirits in 2025
Tracy Chapman Plays Fast Car at Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute (1988, Wembley)
As one commenter explained: “Imagine, just 24 and you weren't prepared to sing more than 2 songs but Stevie Wonder can't come out to do his set because of sound difficulties. So they ask you to sing two songs. The crowd is loud and getting restless because they want to see Stevie.”
And then,
“Just one woman. One guitar. One song. and 60,000 captivated people”