The Safe Spaces Project continues to make strides in our mission to facilitate meaningful dialogues within circles of women, mothers, and caregivers. Our aim is to illuminate unseen scars while fostering tolerance, understanding, and solidarity. To further this cause, we've partnered with Rosa Centrum Pro Zeny to raise awareness about domestic violence and support their projects, including the Rosa women's shelter. In this episode, Valentine is joined by two remarkable activists, Branislava...

Welcome to Safe Spaces, an initiative by Art Connect Society dedicated to fostering community engagement through contemporary art. Our mission is to facilitate meaningful dialogues within circles of women, mothers, and caregivers, shedding light on unseen scars while nurturing tolerance, understanding, and solidarity. A behind the scenes look, we've curated a diverse collection of voices from our community, offering insights into our shared experiences and journeys. Join us in this movement...

Leila Angelina Freiburg put her longing in a tiny box, until she realised she could break the stereotype in herself that an artist was someone who only concentrated on his/herself. The belief that being an artist meant taking the art more seriously than the needs of ones family. Realizing that taking time for her art was an essential part of meeting her basic needs, she never looked back.  “I thought, I decided to become a lawyer. And, my impression of a lawyer was someone who was straight...

Join Valentine and inspiring Dutch artist Ellen Holleman as they unpack small but mighty steps toward a more conscious practice and living. In their fun and inspiring conversation, they explore differences in environmental factors, some practical steps for making incremental sustainability shifts in the studio, the concept of doing the least harm, presenting visual narratives in a way that open dialogue from a non-judgemental wonder perspective, even the ways that how we move about the world...

“You can plan out success, but you have to leave room for the magic.” What is it to facilitate community and connection? Dive in to some inspiring examples of real life superheroes? Or maybe just artists putting in the work? ;)  “Experiencing things is the most important thing and to learn and to know about yourself.” @artsisterspodcast @artconnectwomen www.artconnectsociety.com Support the show

Join us for this incredibly fun and inspiring conversation with KAT FURTADO! Valentine connects with Kat, a dynamic multidimensional contemporary mixed-media artist from San Diego, California. Furtado is a certified and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) with a Master's of Art in Communication Science and Disorders. Her background as an SLP informs her work as an artist. Storytelling, emotions, and recurrent themes of humanity are woven with care into her ethereal, abstract artwork....

What led these two hardworking striving artists, sisters in Nigeria to found an international art magazine? What was the best bit of advice given by a MOMA consultant during Matilda's artist residency? Let's dig into the raw behind the scenes.  We battled a power outage during the recording, nevertheless persisted and are delighted to share this honest and open conversation with you...

Valentine, Kristi, and multidisciplinary visual artist Klara Siska sat down for a warm, connected conversation highlighting the critical need for each of us to trust and lean in to our gut, try new things, and cooperate openly within safe spaces. Klara, has been an instrumental founding member of the Art Connect Society community since its inception as the Mama Create Collective, co-organizing and taking part in many exhibitions, workshops, and collaborations over the years. In this episode,...

Take a listen to this special episode with inspiring Ukrainian artist and mother of two, Oleksandra! With some laughs and tears, we dive into her art journey following the start of the war and her new relationship with art in her temporary home in Sweden. She was awarded an artist residency through the SWAN residency network, specifically the Artists At Risk Network, who provide emergency residencies for artists displaced by war. Her strength is unrelenting as she seeks ways to seize her...

Camille Myles is an inspiring multi-disciplinary contemporary artist and creator of public art working and living in Tiny, Ontario. She's a conservation activist and brings this perspective to all her projects. Camille joins the Art Sisters to unpack what it looks like when we trust our value and acknowledge the importance of priorities in order to set healthy boundaries in our art practice and business. They share lots of practical tips as they dive through burn out, developing a gratitude...

Valentine interviews talented San Francisco based painter and dear friend Ellen Burgin. Ellen talks about the impact of growing up in the South and how it has been woven into the fabric of her life, the importance of her daily practice- even in the so called quieter periods of her life, the role of community and tips for identifying and settling in to your creative sweet spot. Ellen Burgin is an abstract artist who works in a variety of mediums on paper and canvas.  Burgin’s paintings can...

Mona is beyond thrilled to share her interview with a London-based artist Joanna Pilarczyk Radecka. In her current body of work, Joanna focuses on a relaxing atmosphere, intimacy, femininity, self-awareness and her relationship with nature. After finding herself in a new city and country 10 years ago, she started looking for opportunities to exhibit her work while learning to be braver and more confident in her abilities and skills. She shares her insights from the London art scene and gives...

Take a listen to a quick conversation between Valentine and Kristi (plus two surprise guests) all about prepping for a show! The Art Sisters dive into what it is like to connect with a multilingual audience, how they mentally prepare for a show, publicize it, and so much more! @artsisterspodcast @kristileimusic @bellavalentinaart www.artconnectsociety.com Support the show

Valentine speaks with dear friend Marianna Jimenez Edwards. Marianna has developed a clear voice and vision for her work over the years. She shares about the hard work she's putting in and how being specific about how you share and where you show up can support you in your goals. Frequent trips to stay with family in Mexico exposed Marianna to the roots of her Mexican culture. Curiosity to investigate and create was nourished by her family. She studied at the San Francisco Art Institute,...

Join Valentine and Kristi as they sit down with Andrea Ehret, a painter, art therapist, and mother based in Prague to share experiences in building a sense of security while navigating the art world. From finding financial stability to stealing moments in the day to breathe, paint, and create. Andrea and the Art Sisters try to figure out how to not overfill their cups. How does inner confidence and security affect your art practice and business? How do you give yourself and your family...

Join Mona and Lindsay Dauphinee, a self-taught emerging artist currently building her dream home and studio in Belize, as they chat about Lindsay's re-entry into the art world.  After weeks of exposure to inspiring art while spending time in the waiting room of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with her first son, Lindsay knew that her calling needed to be heard. She left the corporate world to fully embrace her creativity and started her healing process through art. Her practice focuses on...

Join Valentine and Atlanta, Georgia based, Leslie Anne as they dig into the behind the scenes. Leslie shares about the benefits of staying open and seeking collaboration with other visual and performing artists, and trusting what feels good. Her intuition leading her into claiming her unique space as she creates her art world. Leslie Anne is a self-taught contemporary artist based in Atlanta, Georgia by way of East St. Louis, Illinois. Leslie describe's her work as emotionally expressive,...

Join Mona as she interviews Antoaneta Tica, a Romanian visual artist and art educator whose practice includes performances, wearable arts and textile works. Follow Antoaneta's journey as she describes many years of experience in fashion and costume design and how she began experimenting with unconventional materials during her college years.  Currently, she is deeply involved in sustainable art, which, in her opinion, is also conceptual. She believes that art must be beautiful, but it also...

This special episode of the Art Sisters Podcast takes place at the Bella Valentina Artist Residency that took place this weekend in the Czech Republic. Valentine shares in conversation with Laura Hanganu, a talented and widely collected abstract artist who shares openly about her creative path. She describes the behind the scenes of her vulnerable journey and how she copes with the emotions surrounding creation, feedback, and criticism in order to develop a sustainable art...

Curious about how a song is built? Is there a formula? Is it gradual process? How does journaling play in? Kristi unpacks and plays pieces from a new song she's working on as she and Valentine explore the meaning of "Home." Join them as they contemplate the symbolism behind Bedroom Set. www.tinyurl.com/ArtSistersPodcast @artsisterspodcast @bellavalentinaart @kristileimusic Support the show

Join Valentine and Camille as they dive openly into the behind the scenes of building a cohesive practice as a multipassionate artist.  Camille Myles is a French-Canadian multi-disciplinary contemporary artist and conservation activist exploring imagery that is grounded in our identity and reflects our impacts on the environment. Working in public art, painting, sculpture and installation, she creates art that tells a story linked to community connection, self-reflection and the restorative...

The Art Sisters dig into Valentine’s husband Jan Svihaleks’ path and how that led him to Hill Country Blues and finding his niche. Recently, Jan assisted in managing and producing Kristi’s EP album, Becoming Memories, and continues to be a musical mentor for her. Brno guitarist, singer, composer, and lyricist, Jan Švihálek. In 1995, he founded Hoochie Coochie Band, which is still active today, based mainly on the legacy of urban blues of the ’50s. In the 1990’s he was firmly rooted in the...