Anna Welch's Projects

BFA Student

Major: Printmaking

Graduation Year: 2017

Artist Statement:

Through traveling performance and storytelling I aim to erase the line between what is art and what is life. My thesis ensemble is about my summer journey across the United States with my partner where we played music, made live paintings at house shows, sold artwork in the streets, volunteered at music festivals, farmed, hitchhiked, and met up with new and old friends. All of this is told as if from the perspectives of a traveling circus crew with performers from the original journey. Participants are invited to record their own stories as well as take pictures using the cassette tape recorder and disposable camera within the tent. Mini Matchbox Crankies, bandanas, paper puppets, and patches serve as affordable Fine Art souvenirs at the opening of the performance.
Using shadow puppetry, poetry, music, and through a Victorian theater medium known as the "Crankie," I aim to create a safe space that invites communal storytelling, a venue for artists and a kind of festive community where spontaneity is art.

Biography:

My name is Anna. I’m a freelance printmaker and public engagement organizer who prints tapestries and tents, binds books, makes shadow puppet Crankies, and up-cycled art and clothing out of trash. I hail from the small woodland town of Peterborough, NH and have illustrated for Hal Leonard Corporation and have done numerous tours across the country with Hidden Ladder Collective, participating in collaborative performances with poets and musicians. Some of my many passions are vending street art, contra dancing, and taking time to appreciate the small things. I also make time for learning banjo, traveling, being a pet sitter and spiritual shenanigans.