Artist Feature: Kate DeCiccio
"Portraits of parents who have lost their children to police brutality."
KATE DECICCIO: My work is driven by my interests in equity, mental health, humor, community building and of course a passion for the activity of art-making. Murals have become a cornerstone because they can transform spaces to better reflect the strength and identity of a community as a modality for counter-narrative, resistance, and celebration.
Making art with people in locked spaces like mental institutions, prisons, and juvenile detention centers is important to me. I think delivering meaningful arts education to young people is a tool for coping, improving self-esteem, developing confidence and connection. Any chance I have to support another person to discover their inherent creativity and the joy of making something with their hands brings me great satisfaction.
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Although Kate DeCiccio is best known for her mural work and community collaborations, the gallery below features her poster series, Black Lives Matter Parent Portraits. This is a series DeCiccio created in an effort to “cultivate a deeper connection among white people to the Black Lives Matter movement and in solidarity with black parents.” The portraits are of parents who have lost their children to police brutality.
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Kate DeCiccio is an Oakland mural artist and educator who recently relocated to DC. Venues for her teaching and art-making have included Worcester State Hospital, The John Howard Forensic Ward at St. Elizabeth’s in Anacostia, and San Quentin Prison. As the Art teacher at Leadership High School in San Francisco, Kate designed a curriculum aimed to engage students in creative self reflection and local activism. She holds a BFA in Painting from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a MA in Creativity, Arts & Healing from the Union Institute of Vermont College, and Single-Subject California Teaching Credential in Art K-12 from San Francisco State University. You can view more of her work here.