Liz Rhaney's Projects

MFA Alumni

Major: Sculpture

Graduation Year: 2020

Artist Statement:

I make videos to help me understand how the parts of my identity combine to shape who I am and my values. I share these videos to connect with BIPOC women who are trying to answer those same questions about themselves.

Building and maintaining a sense of community is an important part of my artistic practice. I blend what I have learned as an artist and an activist by creating videos that center the perspectives of BIPOC women through the content and formal decisions. The conversations that happen after people see my videos are as important in my artistic practice as the videos themselves. I hear the perspectives of other BIPOC women in those conversations and we collectively have a space to center our point of view.

Biography:

Liz Rhaney’s experience in many fields has helped her develop a multilayered creative practice. Her work is inspired by her passion and experience with community activism. Her first experience with art was as a drummer, which she has been doing for 3 decades. Her musical knowledge is rooted in the Gullah/Geechee traditions of her hometown Savannah, Georgia. She studied Graphic Design while obtaining her Bachelors of Fine Art degree from Armstrong State University (now Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University) in 2016. While there, she also minored in writing, taking classes in feminist and cultural studies as well as working for the campus newspaper The Inkwell. She began blending her art and activism, often volunteering for community organizations such as Feminists United, DEEP Kids, and Planned Parenthood’s Southeast Chapter. She moved to Portland, Maine to pursue a Masters of Fine Art from Maine College of Art in 2020.