AFH Artist Panel: Meet the AFH Fellows

Join us for an inspiring artist panel featuring Shima Taj Bakhsh (she, her), Genna Medina-Cook (she, her), and Haniel Wides (they, them), moderated by curator and cultural organizer Jasper A. Sanchez (he/they).

Throughout their nine-month fellowship, the artists have explored how reuse, experimentation, and storytelling can transform materials and meaning. As part of their work, they collaborated with the Peabody Essex Museum exhibition Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World to produce Empire Waste, a photo series that extends Gn’s themes of heritage, craftsmanship, and cross-cultural design into new, thought-provoking contexts.

Meet the artists, experience their work up close, and hear firsthand how the Fellows are exploring what sustainability means in contemporary art.

About the Moderator

Jasper A. Sanchez is a Venezuelan-Colombian curator and cultural organizer based in Boston whose work melds queer diasporas and public space to achieve creative justice. As Assistant Curator for the Boston Public Art Triennial, they produce large-scale, site-specific art experiences and lead the Public Art Accelerator—a fellowship-style program supporting early-to-mid-career artists in developing public art projects across Boston neighborhoods. Through curatorial projects with the Boston LGBTQIA+ Artist Alliance, Boston Cyberarts, and the Boston Center for the Arts, Jasper continues to champion emerging queer and BIPOC artists while reimagining the role of art in community building.

Event Schedule

• 5:00 PM – Open Studios Tour

• 5:30–6:30 PM – Artist Panel (Introductions, Artist Talk, Audience Q&A)

• 6:30 PM – Open Studios Tour

• 7:00 PM (if needed) – Additional Tour

About the Fellowship

Now in its third year, the AFH Artist Fellowship supports five Boston-area artists—two of whom are AFH alumni—in developing research-driven practices grounded in sustainability. Guided by mentor v. nico d’entremont, the nine-month program deepens access and opportunity for diverse creators while fostering an inclusive and environmentally conscious cultural ecosystem.