“I am a Baltimore-based painter, photographer, muralist and community artist. I use art-making as a tool to brings people of diverse backgrounds together, empower participants to confront social issues, encourage dialogue and promote mutual exchange. Whether I am facilitating a workshop in my neighborhood or collaborating with organizations overseas, I strive to enhance people’s understanding of each other across differences in language, religion, culture, and upbringing. I strive to bring art out of the gallery setting and recognize its power to produce social change through the process of creation as well as the final product.”
Moira grew up in the small town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she graduated from Dickinson College in 2005. Art has always played an important role in her life. When she was a child, one of her favorite pastimes was drawing with a set of crayons. This love affair has never ceased. However, as she became more familiar with the art world, she felt that art is often segregated from the rest of society, and primarily viewed by an elite few. After an internship with the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, Moira recognized her interest in the field of community arts. She knew that she wanted to work in a field where the power of art was accessible to all people as a way to uplift their voices and enable them to speak out about issues that are important to them.
After graduation from Dickinson College in 2005, Moira taught English in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for a year. This experience reinforced her interest to work with underserved populations when she returned to the US. Upon her return from Southeast Asia, she lived and worked on an organic vegetable farm in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, and worked with senior citizens through a non-profit organization in Harrisburg, PA. In June, 2009, she completed her Masters Degree in Community Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art. After graduating, Moira started her second year of Community Art Corps with Baltimore City Community College’s Refugee Youth Project (RYP).
She continues to work with RYP and also engages communities in Baltimore and abroad through the arts.
http://moirafratantuono.yolasite.com
Website
http://moirafratantuono.yolasite
