Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo interviews four individuals whose heartfelt paths inspire his walk through life, and whom he sees as luminaries in their own fields: Linda Mary Montano (Saint of Art in Everyday Life), Chip Conley (Saint of Hospitality), Julie Davey (Saint of Writing for Wellness) and Jane Clarke (Saint of Progressive Education). While canonization entails a complex process overseen by a bureaucratic structure, in the case of With Gratitude, the interviewer respectfully borrows the prefix to point to the visionary qualities of those interviewed. The Q&As generated will be launched online, one at a time, during the length of Invisible: Art in Odd Places 2019.
In With Gratitude Estévez Raful Espejo engages Montano, Davey, Conley, and Clarke on conversations on elderhood, spirit, creativity, freedom, responsibility, and mentorship, while publicly thanking them for their contributions to the health and happiness of society at large.
Linda Mary Montano is a pioneer figure in contemporary performance art and her work since the mid-1960s has been critical in the development of video by, for, and about women. Attempting to dissolve the boundaries between art and life, Montano continues to actively explore her art/life through shared experience, role adoption, and intricate life altering ceremonies, some of which last for seven or more years. Her artwork is starkly autobiographical and often concerned with personal and spiritual transformation. Montano’s influence is wide-ranging – she has been feature at museums including The New Museum in New York, MOCA San Francisco, and ICA in London.
https://wayback.archive-it.org/7078/20181022145139/https://www.lindamontano.com/
Rebel hospitality entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, Chip Conley disrupted his favorite industry… twice. At age 26 he founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality (JdV), transforming an inner-city motel into the second largest boutique hotel brand in America. He sold JdV after running it as CEO for 24 years, and soon the young founders of Airbnb asked him to help transform their promising start-up into the world’s leading hospitality brand. Chip served as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy for four years and today acts as the company’s Strategic Advisor for Hospitality and Leadership. His five books have made him a leading authority at the intersection of psychology and business. Chip was awarded “Most Innovative CEO” by the San Francisco Business Times, is the recipient of hospitality’s highest honor, the Pioneer Award, and holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University. https://www.chipconley.com/
Julie Ann Davey is a retired college writing professor, having taught 18 years at Fullerton College, a 22,000-student community college in Fullerton, California. She was the journalism professor overseeing the college’s weekly student newspaper which won the Columbia University Gold Crown for college newspapers. Prior to becoming a teacher, first at Glendale High School, John Wayne’s alma mater, where she taught journalism for 15 years, she wrote for newspapers full-time, did freelance article writing for magazines, and wrote op-ed humor pieces for the Orange County Register and the Pasadena Star-News. The author of four published books, two mystery novels and two non-fiction books, she loves the written word. Her passion is teaching cancer patients and others with serious illnesses how to express both the good and bad times in their lives. Her book, Writing for Wellness: A Prescription for Healing, is used in hospitals, medical centers, churches and senior centers where volunteers use it as a text to encourage attendees to write about what they are experiencing. Check out the website: writingforwellness.com and view the documentary film. http://writingforwellness.com/writing/about/julie-davey
Jane Clarke is the director of the Lower School, City and Country School, New York City. Beginning as a classroom teacher in London, Los Angeles, and New York fueled her passion for arts education. Transitioning into an administrative role, she worked as a teacher-director at Little Missionary’s Day Nursery and as the co-director of the early childhood program of Studio in a School. In this role, she worked collaboratively with visual artists, classroom teachers, and school administrators in Head Start day care centers and public school settings. This work continued to ignite her belief in the creative process and its role in deeper learning for children. https://www.cityandcountry.org/
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo treads an elusive path that manifests itself performatively or through experiences where the quotidian and art overlap. He has exhibited and performed extensively in the U.S. as well as internationally. Residencies attended include P.S. 1/MoMA, Yaddo, Center for Book Arts, and the MacDowell Colony. Publications include Pleased to Meet You, One Person at a Time, Life as Material for Art and Vice Versa (editor), and For Art’s Sake. He has curated exhibitions and programs for El Museo del Barrio; the Institute for Art, Religion and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary; Art in Odd Places; Cuchifritos; the Center for Book Arts; Elizabeth Foundation Project Space; and Longwood Art Gallery/Bronx Council on the Arts, New York; and for the Filmoteca de Andalucía, Córdoba, Spain. He was born in Santiago de los Treinta Caballeros, Dominican Republic. In 2011, he was baptized as a Bronxite; a citizen of the Bronx. https://www.elmuseo.org/office-hours/
