DVAA Member since 2024

Dominique Samarco

WEBsite: Dominiquesamarco.com

About:

Dominique Samarco is an Artist and Educator located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began her art career by earning an Associate in Arts in Art and Design from Community College of Philadelphia. She earned her B.F.A. in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art. She is currently working on her Masters of Education with a focus on Art Education. She has multiple murals and paintings in art collections on the east coast. She has taught Art Studio, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing, and AP Art and Design at Philadelphia High Schools. She is currently building an Art department at a high school in Philadelphia. She believes throughout her career that art is a tool to empower students through voice and it should be accessible to all.

Artist Statement:

Dreams are positive projections of the utopian future. There is a lot to learn from one's dreams; They can be one's purpose and a place for someone to develop through their journey. As Educators, we are responsible for cultivating dreams, inspiring, and guiding students to create their future. We guide students to bring to life their dreams and ideas. Philadelphia is the poorest big city in America. Often people growing up in cities like Philadelphia dream of escaping poverty. We dream of one day owning a house, or even moving out of our violent neighborhoods. My paintings are projections of the past, present, and the future. I retraced my steps within my community starting from my very first memory of community. I used the process of currere (regressive stage) to take an artistic journey. The process of currere is four stages: the regressive, the progressive, the analytical, and the synthetic. The regressive stage requires the educator to go back into their past to use their experiences as a data source. For my paintings, I reenter my past coming from a working-class family, and revisit important spaces in Philadelphia that I am connected to. These paintings are my visual “Why.”