Melissa Yes

Background

About Melissa Yes

My roles as an artist, curator, teacher, and neighbor work in concert with one another. As an artist I work in video, installation, sculpture, and painting. As a teacher I introduce students to digital art practices at the University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History. I teach subjects such as video art, animation, audio and sound design, 3D modeling, multi-channel video installation, and projection mapping. As a curator I facilitate exhibitions through Vinegar, a nonprofit organization I co-founded in 2019 that curates expanded art projects in Birmingham. We contribute to the central Alabama arts ecosystem with programs emphasizing expanded art practices such as performance, installation, and video art. As a neighbor I share art and music experiences from my home and neighborhood. Engaged with art, culture, and technology in Alabama, I enjoy cross-sector connections and am eager for conversations about the way creative practices interact with place-making, ecology, technology (especially the emergence of AI), and free thought. I believe that art can be entertaining or beautiful, but that it can also reach beyond mere entertainment to challenge and uplift our culture.