CV
Mel Favors-Oliver (she/they)
B. December 1999
Currently lives and works in Philadelphia
[email protected] | melsorbit.carrd.co
Artist Statment
Mel is a 25 year-old multimedia artist, poet and research archivist who attended Temple University Klein School of Communications for Journalism with a minor in German Language. Receiving an associates and certificate in german language. As an artist Mel explores themes of queerness and suburban mundanity interwoven with environmentalism, isolation, memory and grief. Mel's work often consist of landscapes, geometric lines, shadows, while incorporating their fiber art and basketry to weave together her indigenous heritage in combination with her environmental awareness, in order to, interrogate memory, identity and sovereignty. Mel's work is a lucid, poetic and obscure blend of research and rugged documentation. A practice that aims to examine and confront inpermanence, beauty/aesthetics in art, and the isolation of queerness.As an Environmental Educator and Conversationalist by trade, this worldview impacts Mel's approach to her art practice, conscious of the tools she uses, how information is presented and an acute attention to environmental impact. Which she believes pays homage to her Choctaw ancestry of maintaining cultural memory, practices, survival skills which informs their queer, lesbian womanhood existence and identity.
Experience
Haddonfield Historical Society, Archival Intern + Research Journalist, January 2025-Present, Haddonfield, NJ.Index Space, Digital Archiving: Gallery of Anonymous Memories 6 week course, March - April 2025, New York City, NYLesbian Herstory Archives, volunteer, November 2024- February 2025, Brooklyn, NY.Tilt Institute for Contemporary Image, Teaching Assistant and Gallery Exhibition Curatorial Associate, October 2018- May 2021, Philadelphia, PA.
Residency
2023 Letter Press on Legos, First Proof Press +InSitu Polyculture, Westminster, VT
Exhibitions:
April 2025 Queer & Proud, San Francisco LGBT Center, CA (Group)February 2022, Not for Sale, Iglesias Gardens + Pilot Project, Philadelphia, Pa. (Group)September 2020, Online Exhibition, WindowRoom + Krissytalkingpictures.net, Philadelphia, PA.
Skills & Abilities
Computation, Software, and Tech
Google Suite: Docs, pages, Slides, Drive, Calender-
Microsoft Office, word, excel, powerpoint-
Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge-
Figma, Framer, & Carrd-
Database Entry & Management-
Mega, Trello, Airtable, Notion, wetransfer-
Google scholar, awesometable, librarything-
Datawrapper, PamPam, Softr, Retool, New Art CityArchiving
Digital cataloging systems and databases
Digital Preservation
Paper preservation
Developing collections
Time and space management
Management of inventory, schedules, libraries and logs
Scanning, Printing and Restoration
Digital Documentation & Photography
Descriptive Writing for Catalogs
Auction & Estate Sale
Coordinating acquisitions and Inventory Tracking
Patience & Precision
Organized and detail-orientedEnvironmental
Understanding of how materials interact in different environments
Knowledge of fiber arts, natural dyes, and experimental material
Ethical Foraging and wildcraft
Community Organizing and environmental Justice
Sustainable land and Plant stewardship
Wilderness survival and First Aid
American Red-Cross CPR & AED Certified
US Archery Instructor 1Education
Public speaking and workshop facilitation
Creating and implementing syllabi
Creative problem-solving and adaptability
Organized and detail-oriented
Collaboration with Indigenous and local communities
Engaged and interactive teaching methods
Conflict Resolution and group dynamics
Mentorship and Guidance
Teaching diverse learning styles and abilitiesAdmin
Confidentiality & Discretion
Budgets and Grant writing
Efficient Typist
Organizing, comprising and sending emails to executives, parents, and organizations
Fundraising
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