Deborah Chi, a public arts curator and founder of Creative Bond, shares her inspiring journey of community building through art in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood. Discover how her initiatives foster belonging, support artists, and create impactful collaborations that transform neighborhoods.

Here’s what we discuss:

1. Creative Bond's mission and community impact
2. Collaborations with local organizations like Powerhouse Arts and Van Alen Institute
3. The role of art in fostering neighborhood belonging
4. Deborah Chi's personal journey as an artist and community leader.

Deborah Chi is a Brooklyn-based educator and artist. She has academic degrees in art (BFA), philosophy, theology & ethics (MTS, STM), and in policy (MPA). Her interest is in the intersection of the arts, ethics, aesthetics, social justice and community organizing.

Website: stlydias.org

IG: @deborahchi_art

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In this episode, Victoria sits down with Mexican-born, Toronto-based artist Janne Reuss to explore her layered, introspective practice rooted in memory, home, and identity. Janne shares how her process combines photography, collage, and installation, using both physical and digital layering to build complex, dreamlike imagery. Working in long-term series, she reflects on how revisiting the same themes over time allows for deeper understanding and expansion.

They discuss the value of art fairs as spaces for connection and insight, and how conversations with viewers can shape an artist’s direction. Janne also speaks about the role of reflection in her practice, and how staying deeply connected to her ideas has helped her evolve her work across scale and medium.

Key Takeaways

1. Layering can function as both a material technique and a conceptual framework.
2. Working in series allows artists to deepen and evolve a single idea over time.
3. Expanding across mediums, including installation, can open new perspectives within a practice.
4. Reflection plays a crucial role in gaining clarity and direction as an artist.
5. Mindset and self-trust are essential in supporting creative growth and taking risks.

A thoughtful conversation on building a practice that evolves from within, one layer at a time.

Janne Reuss, born and raised in Mexico City and now based in Toronto, Canada, is a multidisciplinary artist with over two decades of professional experience. She has lived, worked, and exhibited internationally, with five solo exhibitions and numerous group shows across Mexico, the United States, Germany, Italy, and Canada.

Her work has been featured in multiple juried exhibitions, earning recognition including a Best in Show award. In 2020–2021, she completed residencies at Akin x Collision Gallery and the Akin Studio Program at MOCA Toronto, culminating in her solo exhibition Rewriting the Story, a series of overpainted photomontages.

Reuss has participated in the Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair in Toronto in 2024 and 2025, and was invited to return in 2026. She studied Fine Arts at the Academy of Art & Design in Stuttgart and Art History in Mexico. Working across photography, collage, and painting, her practice explores memory, identity, and the imprint of lived experience.

Her work is held in public and private collections, including the Donovan Art Collection at St. Michael’s College (Canada) and the Municipal Gallery of Ostfildern (Germany), and she is currently represented by Petroff Gallery in Toronto.

Website: @jannereuss
IG: artjanne.com

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In this insightful interview, artist Jelena Hay shares her creative journey, the emotional depth behind her layered drawings, and how she balances her art practice with her life as a mother in New York City. Discover how residencies, personal experiences, and bold experimentation have shaped her unique style.

Here’s what we discuss:
1. Jalena’s artistic evolution from portraiture to abstraction
2. The influence of personal experiences and heritage on her work
3. The role of residencies in artistic growth
4. Balancing motherhood, full-time work, and art practice

About Jalena
Jalena’s practice is all about taking control of the chaos. Her work layers Pen, Ink, Gouache, Pastel and Colored Pencil to create intricate compositions that don’t just ask for your attention—they demand it. These compositions evoke a tension between abstraction and emotion, where every mark becomes part of a larger exploration of themes such as impermanence, resilience, and interconnectedness. Jalena Hay was born and raised in Southern California before moving to New York City to study Drawing and Printmaking at Pratt Institute. Her passion for printmaking took her to Amsterdam, where she dove deep into lithography, pushing the boundaries of line, texture and form.

Website: jalenahay.com
IG: @jalena.hay

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Follow us on Instagram: @visionaryartcollective + @newvisionarymag
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