Maria del Carmen Montoya

Bio

Maria del Carmen Montoya is a multidisciplinary artist and collaborative creative professional who explores the intersection of art, community, and human connection. Her artistic practice centers on collaborative processes and creating meaningful social interactions through creative expression. As an artist, she designs innovative situations that encourage collective meaning-making and human-scale experiences.

Her methodology emphasizes dialogue, participation, and shared creative exploration. Montoya's work celebrates the transformative potential of art to connect people and illuminate different perspectives. She approaches her craft with a nuanced understanding of beauty, memory, and human creativity.

Carmen’s artistic work has been featured in prestigious international venues, including SIGGRAPH, PERFORMA, the New Museum Festival of Ideas, ZKM | Museum of Contemporary Art, the Venice Biennial of Architecture, and Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras in Morelia, Mexico. She is also a co-founder of an artist residency for multimedia performance art.

As a core member of Ghana ThinkTank, an international artist collective, she participates in innovative public art projects that explore cultural connections and challenge traditional perspectives. Their work focuses on creative exchanges that bridge different cultural experiences, encouraging mutual understanding and collaborative problem-solving.

Distinctions

Creative Capital Grant
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Grant
Black Rock Arts Grant
Puffin Foundation Arts Grant
Finalist for Frieze Foundation Cartier Award
Queens Museum of Art Public Art Commission
Rhizome Commission for New Media
Artist-in-Residence Arab American National Museum
Artist-in-Residence Grand Central Art Center
Humanities Facilitating Fund Award, The George Washington University

Education

BA in Philosophy & Women's Studies, Loyola University of Chicago
MFA in Digital Media, Rhode Island School of Design

Professional Organizations

• Ghana ThinkTank, international arts collective