From The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage: When it comes to the distinctive artistic practices and creative challenges that drive today’s artists, our Pew Fellows have a wealth of insights, representing a diversity of perspectives across age, background, and creative disciplines.
In this installment, interdisciplinary artist Maia Chao and visual artist James Maurelle discuss how they create productive work environments for themselves, their earliest interests in artistic expression, and why they’ve made Philadelphia their home.
Chao’s work in performance, video, sculpture, and social practice investigates systems of value and power within formal and informal institutions such as museums, economic structures, and families. Maurelle works with his hands to create sculptures from wood, metal, and found materials, inspired by five generations of tradesmen and woodworkers in his family.