STONELEAF RETREAT

QIANA MESTRICH: 2024 BAXTER ST FAMILY RESIDENCY FELLOW AT STONELEAF RETREAT

We are proud to announce Qiana Mestrich as the fourth recipient of the annual Baxter St Family Residency at STONELEAF RETREAT, made possible by the generous support of 7|G Foundation.

“As an artist with a full-time job and parenting responsibilities, I am delighted to be granted this time and space to pause and focus on my artwork while having the kids nearby. I look forward to continuing work on a new collage series exploring the inner lives of women of color in the corporate workplace." says Mestrich.

ABOUT QIANA MESTRICH

Qiana Mestrich is an interdisciplinary artist, photo historian, writer. Born and raised in New York City to immigrant parents from Panama and Croatia, Mestrich's autobiographical artwork and research engages issues around Black, mixed-race identity, motherhood/mothering and women’s corporate labor histories. Mestrich’s work is held in various private collections and has been exhibited worldwide including the international Triennial RAY Fotografieprojekte Frankfurt/RheinMain and London Art Fair’s Photo50. She was co-editor of both editions of How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood (Secretary Press), a diverse collection of honest responses from contemporary artists who dare to engage in the creative endeavors of motherhood and making art.

Working primarily within (auto)biography, my art practice incorporates collage, photography, writing, installation, search algorithms and the family album. To support myself and my children, I’ve simultaneously held a full-time corporate job in digital marketing while also pursuing an art career.

My latest series of collages, "The Reinforcements" was inspired by images of my mother, who worked in sales at the Rugol Trading Corporation’s NYC offices in the late 1960s. This collage work has emerged from my ongoing project titled @WorkingWOC: Towards a History of Women of Color in the Workplace -- a multimedia archive that visualizes the labor history of Black and immigrant women of color in America’s workplace.

Limited by the minimal archival materials I could find, I've created my own speculative representations of the labor history of Black women and other women of color. This marginalized workforce of women, despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964, continue to lack representation in leadership roles, receive minimal support for career advancement, face day-to-day race and gender discrimination, and consistently earn less than their white counterparts. Through collages of archival images from fashion and office supply magazines, I intervene in this gap in the historical record to center these women's agency and pursuit of financial independence within late-stage capitalism.

ABOUT BAXTER ST: Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York supports emerging lens-based artists at critical moments of their careers. Founded in 1884, Baxter St is one of New York’s oldest artist-run nonprofit spaces, and has long been a catalyst for innovative creation within the artistic mediums of photography and video practices. Through exhibitions, workspace residency programs, and conversations series, Baxter St is a hub for a vibrant community deeply engaged in the art of lens-based contemporary practices.

ABOUT 7|G: 7|G Foundation champions organizations and individuals that challenge inequality in human rights, education, art and culture. By partnering with organizations, artists and community facilitators we seek to build strong community bonds that elevate local culture, while supporting cultural change founded upon our core values of social impact and sustainability.