Bed Stuy Art Residency // September 27, 2017

Monica Canilao + Xara Thustra collaboration/// Month of September at The Bed Stuy Art Residency, NYC. Over the course of one month we Painted the facade of Lair Fera (93 Montrose// a new DIY queer space), took part in a group show there, made a new collaborative print, a series of new jewelry pieces + harness, 6 new painted bird paintings, a large found mixed media collage work, and several large paintings. For the closing of our residency we hosted an art party which involved an art show of all new works, a 2,000 can spray paint giveaway + installation, potluck BBQ, oyster feast and free STOP MEN clothes give away.

Monica Canilao spends her days stitching, painting, printing, and breathing life into the refuse that dominates our time and place. Moving across media, sometimes with friends and sometimes alone, Canilao makes a delicate visual record of the personal and communal. She received a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts and has shown in galleries, community spaces, and abandoned places. Both an activist and artist, Xara has been pushing the envelope socially and artistically for 15 plus years in San Francisco as part of the “Mission School”. Xara’s ever evolving creative medium has been graffiti, screen printed posters. calendars, murals, paintings, video, music, performance and protest. Socially, Xara has been responsible for anti-war actions, gay activism, feeding the hungry, anti-capitalist actions, squats like 949 Market, and much more…