XUE DIMAGGIO ART
IN THE PRESS
Moving back to LA has inspired me to continue building my artist networks and creating a creative community. News features and press releases are a great way to make this happen. Read on for some of my latest highlights.
ABOUT ME
Xue DiMaggio
Hi ya'll, I'm Xue DiMaggio (pronounced Sh-way dee-maj-E-oh). Creating and studying visual art is both my talent and my work, my comfort and my challenge. Art is the way in which I explore the world around me, along with the people in it, and how I understand myself. Art is what fuels my spirit and makes me...me.
More about me/themes of my life and art:
Social and environmental justice have always held my interest. My positionality - as a femme, queer, person of color - has led me to investigate systemic, structural and cultural inequities and power dynamics. From studies in ecology and ethnobotany to work in reproductive rights and justice, I hope to help create a healthier future (emotionally, physically, mentally). My art incorporates these interests and you might notice a reoccuring theme of femme forms/figures along with plant/flower forms.
Aside from my idealistic hope for the future, my artwork is also built from my past. As a transnational adoptee, I've always struggled with feelings of belonging. Along with this, I have a history of depression and anxiety. I am also a person working through trauma. My brain loves to hang on to the negative thoughts and feelings and as a result, my artwork can evoke these nebulous whirlwinds of feeling. However, I choose to process and express these feelings in a way that acknowledges the source and empowers. For instance, as a fem presenting person, I have internalized a lot of expectations that society/culture holds for women. I used to feel immensely insecure in my looks/features (mostly because I had very little exposure to people who looked like me) that I would hyperfocus on what I could control, like my body. Looking back now I realize that I definitely struggled with disordered eating. As I continue to grow I am learning to accept myself in my totality and to reclaim my body from any and all expectations other than my own. All of this is to give context to the art I make. It is intrinsically personal, intimate - it is meant to make you feel something. A painting of a brain picture re-interpreted by you.
I graduated in 2020 with a BA in Geography/Environmental Studies and Political Science. Throughout my studies, I became increasingly fascinated with multidimensional interconnectedness. From this came the desire to unify and connect conventionally assumed disparate studies into a holistic view that approaches the world and problem-solving through cooperative multi-disciplinary action. As multifaceted beings, we have the ability and opportunity to break out of the categorical molds pre-assigned in society and find the similarities within each other along with the threads of life that connect all living organisms together. Embrace what makes you, you and allow that love to overflow into all that you do.
Please enjoy. Much love to all.
CONSIDER SUPPORTING BIPOC ARTISTS
Help Power Artists
[ BIPOC : acronym for Black, Indigenous, & People of Color ]
As a fellow artist, I recognize and acknowledge the power of uplifting and empowering the arts community - especially as it relates to issues of access, power, and privilege. I stand strongly with all and any artists of color as we continue to express what needs to be expressed.
Consider donating to XD art or to one of these other organizations:
Art + Practice : a South Los Angeles based nonprofit that supports LA transition-age foster youth and provides free and open museum exhibitions and programs to the public
Lula Washington Dance Theatre : an aspiring world-class contemporary dance company that gives youth in the inner city of Los Angeles the opportunity to learn the art of dance, while engaging with the influence and impact of African-American history and culture in this form of expression.
Crenshaw Dairy Mart : home to an artist collective dedicated to shifting the trauma-induced conditions of poverty and economic injustice, bridging cultural work and advocacy, and investigating ancestries through the lens of Inglewood and its community.
AN ARTICLE ABOUT YOURS TRULY (:
Artist Interview
I was lucky to be interviewed by ShoutOutLA in April of 2022.