Wednesday, September 30, 2020
ACHiEVE podcast presents Art & Racism, a panel discussion with Marcela Florido, Regina Herod, and Phung Huynh. Moderated by Aseem Giri.
The virtual panel shares firsthand experiences of racism from artists and explores how the art community can create a more accepting culture. From large institutions to collectors to gallerists to artists, the panelists discuss ways to combat bigotry and rally behind unity and equality for all creators.
Marcela Florido
Panelist
Marcela Florido was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and left her home country and loved ones to study art in London, as she found the course of study there more rigorous. She also completed her Master’s of Fine Art at Yale University. She now resides in New York. Florido paints to develop a new and more appropriate vocabulary to re-narrate the intimacy of different bodies and experiences. Her images question the notion of presence, of how a person can inhabit spaces.
Regina Herod
Panelist
Regina Herod started her career studying theater at Juilliard but re-directed her life to her childhood passion of art. Herod evaluates themes of oppression drawn from current events which she portrays through sculpture and through the process of encaustic painting, relying on drawing over burnt wax to share her narrative.
Phung Huynh
Panelist
Phung Huynh initially pursued a career in medicine, then opted to align with her passion for art. Hailing from a refugee family, Huynh’s journey involved escaping Vietnam with her parents and arriving in the US. Huynh explores cultural identity in her work, marrying Eastern and Western aesthetic sensibilities in a manner that mirrors her own life experiences of cultural slippage and cultural collision.
Aseem Giri
Moderator
Aseem Giri has over twenty years of experience as an entrepreneur, private equity investor, and investment banker. He loves sharing journeys of facing adversity and overcoming obstacles on his ACHiEVE podcast. Giri has founded and sold three health and wellness businesses. He is also fond of art, serving as Art Advisor and/or Finance Advisor to art-related businesses.