We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caroline Bell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caroline below.

Caroline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the most meaningful projects I worked on was collaborating with the artist Cassils to create the performance art piece Etched In Light. This project was made possible by over 140 transgender and gender-nonconforming participants who came together worldwide at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on March 31st, 2024, Trans Day of Visibility.
When the day came, we met at the National Mall to find out where we would be on the canvas. There were four panels of canvas, each measuring 15 x 15 feet, each coated with light-sensitive Cyanotype solution. This performance piece was all members coming together to help create one of the world’s largest Cyanotypes that explored abstraction as a tactic of refusal from the enforced specularity of transgender bodies in a society that perpetuates heightened violence and scrutiny. The Cyanotypes aims to empower the representation of trans solidarity that intervenes with the current increase of political erasure and navigating a polarized battleground environment to exist while simultaneously refusing the surveying and voyeuristic gaze aimed at trans bodies.
The performance lasted about 30 minutes while we lay down in position as the sun etched our bodies onto the canvas. I was one of the anchors, so I was on the first panel in the top right corner that helped stretch out the canvas for everyone else to get on. As we lay down, there was a crowd of people watching us as we lay silently, some moved to tears, as it was a highly emotional time. During the performance, the vocal group Blood Is Here (Carmina Escobar, Roco Córdova, and Dorian Wood), which featured vocal invocations and musical scoring, sprinkled rose petals on our bodies.
After the performance, we all grabbed the canvas and agitated it in the water basins beside us. Once the agitation process was completed, we all grabbed a side of each canvas and wrung them out like a tarp in the air. Once the canvases were dry enough, we held onto them and ran across the National Mall holding them. This experience harkened back to the AIDS Memorial Quilt and fostered ripple effects of community and solidarity worldwide through all of our participants. This was a vital piece to participate in. It affirmed my gender identity as Genderfluid/Genderqueer, and helped culminate such a beautiful community of fitting into a newfound trans family. This piece helps etch transgender existence into history, especially at a time when leaders are constantly trying to erase us from existence, despite transgender bodies always existing in history.

Caroline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I aim to grow consistently by utilizing my platform in the arts. I attended Grand Valley State University, where I recently received my Bachelor’s degree in Art Education with an emphasis in Visual Studies.
In recent works, I have been creating visual art that depicts how memory has shaped my identity. I work in various media and specialize in interdisciplinary multimedia installations. Through my work, I advocate for issues I am passionate about and hope to inspire empathy and positive change. My classroom focuses on maintaining sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure all students are celebrated and continuously strengthening the community through creating.
Professionally, I have taught Visual Art and STEAM, including at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Interlochen Arts Camp, The Boy Scouts of America, Cultivate, and Artists Creating Together. I continue to teach Visual Art and actively practice as an artist to promote and instill a holistic experience. My current focus is creating art on sustainability, inspiring empathy, and advocating for change and acceptance.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Some of the best resources I have found and implemented into my life that have significantly impacted my philosophy of art and education are The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, and Grapefruit, by Yoko Ono. During the summer of 2024, I was honored to teach three adult creative sketchbook classes. The curriculum was designed around influences from Julia Cameron and Yoko Ono, which broke down approaches, thoughts, methods, and ideas about artmaking in abstract and creative ways. I struggled with my artmaking practice and sense of self as an artist. A previous artist friend I had a falling out with made me doubt my ability as an artist and creative, ultimately destroying the majority of my confidence. Once I began teaching my adult sketchbook classes, I found my passion for creating and teaching again.
I started my first class with a listening walk, where students and I went on a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood, paying attention to any noises, visuals, activity, or sensory experiences we noticed. This broke down any anxiety I had leading up to teaching this class, along with the students’ possible anxiety, to create an immediate environment. The focus shift from “What will I create?” to “What do I notice?” helps foster appreciation for the beautiful, fleeting, ephemeral moments that often get lost in the daily bustling life. Seeing what the students created in response to the walk was incredible, and how many different ephemeralities were observed.
One of the most beautiful moments I had with this first class was when a student brought in a bucket of wildflowers his wife had grown for class. We all did observational drawings of the flowers and created art in response to what we observed, and were welcome to take some of the flowers home at the end of class. Seeing how much community was fostered through the three art classes, with some students making good friends, was incredible.
At the end of the summer, I had filled out an entire sketchbook. This hasn’t happened in years. In high school, I would fill up countless sketchbooks, but I stopped creating in a sketchbook over time. I knew that I had done my job because not only were the students reigniting and developing their creativity, but my passion to create had begun to flourish again. To be an effective teacher and artist, you should regularly create alongside students and cultivate inspiration.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In today’s society, I think the arts are at an all-time high risk of being dismantled. In my local community, three major arts organizations have shut down after years of service and providing accessible art. One of my favorite jobs was teaching at Cultivate, which unfortunately closed in Fall 2024. Community fostered through art is essential, especially in such a polarizing and tense political atmosphere.
We must unite to support arts organizations and local artists to help save the world’s future. This happens in small gestures, but is effective in large numbers. It could be shopping at your local farmer’s market, supporting local artists in your community, or advocating for support for the arts in schools. When we shift from competition to community-based actions, endless growth is possible rather than tearing one another down.
It’s terrifying to witness the daily news cycles prod at the notion that the fine arts, museums, and other cultural and historical institutions are being shut down or defunded. Without the arts, we lose our sense of self-expression, community engagement, and a collapsing economy. As an art teacher, I witness daily the importance of including arts education when fostering a holistic education for children. Some students will wait all week excitedly to attend special classes such as art or music. I refuse to imagine a world where I cannot return to my classroom and students, without seeing their smiles every day, or the collective joy from creating, the friendships made through building, and no place for students to express themselves vibrantly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carolinebellart.com/#/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caroline.bell/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialcarolinebellart/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cpbell99
• Other: Art Education Website: https://carolinebellarteducation.weebly.com/

Image Credits

Arie Antonakis, Caroline Bell, Meredith Bell