Artist Statement: In Wings for Hope, I used personal experiences and observations of our city and its incredible people as inspiration. In 2014, I believed so infinitely in what I was doing, but was barely surviving. I knew I had to make life changes, but refused to stop doing the arts facilitation through my work at the non-profit. I went for a walk to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and had an encounter with a hummingbird. I was invigorated with inspiration and a plan to change my life. Since, I have been exploring the hummingbird in my fine art, celebrating his symbolic values of internal hope, eternal love and survival.
AnnCharlotte Tavolacci, a NYC School of Visual Arts (BFA) and LI University (MA), alumna, resides in Long Island, NY, where she works as a fine artist, Art Therapist, and professor. She has taught fine art at NYC's Ashcan Studio of Art and was also the Fine Art Educational and Therapeutic Specialist at CUCS, a government non-profit, serving homeless and mentally ill residents of NYC. As a graduate professor at LIU she teaches Art, Research and Social Action courses, blending fine arts with psychology and arts community outreach. AnnCharlotte has had several gallery exhibitions and she is currently preparing for a solo show in 2019. She has completed Artist Residencies and recently attended an international residency in Nova Scotia. She has presented lectures through universities, galleries and museums on her fine art and therapeutic arts/outreach in Cincinnati, L.A. and Denver and locally, at Parsons New School, Museum of Art and Design and Frank Sinatra School of Design.
