Nia Celeste Parks

Nia Celeste is a Baltimore-born multidisciplinary teaching artist utilizing various visual and written art forms as tools of introspection to explore herself, her juxtapositions in the world, and others in similar contexts. She creates to explore. And explores to create. Her love and personal history of Baltimore, undergraduate studies of African American history, and longstanding attraction to abstraction frames her approach toward each medium she utilizes; often collaging visual thoughts together to express one or more conclusions from her times of reflection. Her personal work acts as an ongoing study of relationship with self. As a life-long participant of community arts programs in Baltimore, she uses arts-integration to create spaces where the act of creating art is both an instrument of introspection and a tool that promotes civic engagement and fosters hope. She believes allowing students the space to create freely, with limited parameters, helps them to trust their decision-making skills and teaches them to respect the rules that shape their environment. For much of her childhood, it was the act of creating that equipped her to focus her energy, maintain control of her anger, and to release the pain and disappointment that can be associated with growing up in a low-income household in Baltimore City. The shared experiences between her and her students create community; a bond formed from their commonalities in a space that celebrates and respects their differences.