From robots that hold protests, extruders that birth populations and machines that are designed for the dead to operate, Fernando Orellana has collaborated with automation for over twenty years to create transmedia artwork. As a machine designer, a technologist and a user, Orellana has blurred the line between himself and the machine in the creative process. The imagery and narrative that Orellana explores spans a spectrum that includes giving agency to automata, embraces the generatively made, celebrates the wonder of absurdity and is most often driven by the universes of his subconscious mind.

He has exhibited at a variety of regional, national and international venues, most recently at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Speed Art Museum, the Spring Break Art Show and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. He received a Master of Fine Art from The Ohio State University, a Bachelor of Fine Art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently an Associate Professor of Digital Art in the Visual Arts Department at Union College. He was born in El Salvador, San Salvador.

Learn more about Fernando.

Quill Harrison is an artist based in Troy, New York. She received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Russell Sage College, where she studied Art + Extended Media. Her work consists of narrative illustration and sculpture. Her art explores communication, relationships, social anxiety, and the endless questions about this existence. She has exhibited her artwork at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, Saratoga Arts, Albany Center Gallery, Opalka Gallery, and more. Currently, Chloe is working as a freelance illustrator, muralist, and exploring her studio practice. When she isn’t making art, she’s usually outside bird watching in her free time!

Learn more about Chloe.

Oba! is a Nigerian American Artist, Teacher & M.C. based in upstate New York. He is a Graduate of the University of Michigan & Massachusetts College of Art and Design with degrees in Art & Education. He has delivered Art Education Workshops within Community Centers, instructed students in levels K-12 & College in addition to hosting Art Therapy Sessions.

His illustrations have been published in social cultural educational resource publications for agencies and organizations. He creates performance Art Sculptures and Props such as Hula Hoops and Puppets featured at Educational Conferences, Cafes, Restaurants, Night Clubs and Day Markets. His Performance Art Demonstrations, Assemblages, Props, and Sculptures have been featured in national & Internationally broadcasted TV Programs, at Live Entertainment Venues and on Streaming Platforms.

He holds multiple Guinness World Records for Hula Hooping. As a Fitness Performance Artist, Teacher & CraftsMan Oba uses the hoop as a tool in the process of inspiration, creation and narration.

An ongoing feature of Oba!s work involves a Challenge To Find & Follow Our Flow Through a Series of Investigative, Creative & Expressive Exercises. This current project with Street Piano Troy honors finding and following our flow with music as keys open pathways and function as guides for collective harmony.

Learn more about Oba!