ALVA CALYMAYOR b. Mexico City Alva is a visual artist living in New York. Alva makes use of a visual vocabulary that addresses social issues, perceptions of safety as well as patterns of mass consumption. She keeps track of its manifestations and the trace they leave as they are discarded, repurposed or become no longer functional. Her work has been exhibited in: Astral America (curated my Keren Moscovitch, SVA, NY), Chaos/Control (curated by Melinda Wang, Doing Living, NY), Harvest the Night (curated by Leah Dixon, Beverley's, NY), Collective Show Mexico (Casa Maauad, México, D.F.), Spring Break Art Show (NY), at MWOW (curated by Grayson Cox, Knockdown Center, NY). Alva was one of five artists selected for ("Air," Ace Hotel Residency, NY), curated by the BHQFU. She was a Mentor in NYFA's Program Mentorship for Immigrants Program (2014), formed part of the 27th Bronx Artist's in the Marketplace during 2006-2007, and received a Grant from the Stephen Sprouse Scholarship Fund for pushing the boundaries within the printmaking field. Alva has been recognized in several publications for exploring and showcasing art in a non-commercial format, for her collaborations with fellow artists through Eyelevel BQE, project that she co-funded in 2008: Interview Magazine (2013), "Alternative Histories," New York art spaces from 1960-2010, MIT Press (2012), Artists in the Marketplace second Biennial; "The Other Marketplace," Lia Zaalof (2013).

McKendree Key founded Artshack in 2008, and turned Artshack into a nonprofit in 2016. McKendree is a professional artist with over 20 years of teaching experience. She is a native New Yorker and taught art with Studio in a School for 8 years. She has taught workshops at Socrates Sculpture Park , P.S.1, and The Whitney Museum of American Art. She taught art education at Pratt Institute for 3 years. She holds an MFA from Hunter College and a BFA from Colorado College. She studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Scultpure, and has exhibited her work at P.S.1, The Sculpture Center, CUE Art Foundation, The Institute for Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Socrates Sculpture Park, and The Brooklyn Museum, among other venues. In 2023, McKendree founded Keepsake Gallery, a space within Artshack where she leads and exhibits collaborative art projects with community members and kids. photo: Gabriela Herman