Reflections from 2023 CARD Fellow: Tina Villadolid

The inaugural 12-week CARD Fellowship, a collaboration among the Phillips, the Nicholson Project, and the DC Public Library to support the local art community, concluded in December. Multimedia artist Tina Villadolid from New York reflects on her experience. 

Reflecting on your fellowship journey, how have you grown professionally and personally? 

Personally, the CARD Fellowship was a very internal and reflective time. My creative practice of reclamation of my inheritances as a Filipina American is transformative and also very demanding. My research-based creative output in the last two years was robust. I was encouraged to take some much-needed creative downtime and to envision what the next chapter holds. That is exactly what I needed. Professionally, I was introduced to a network of artists, curators, and organizations with whom I share the purpose of creating counter-narratives to the histories we have been taught. I am excited to build on these relationships in the coming months and years, and I look forward to furthering my research and collaborations within this network. 

In what ways were you able to collaborate with the other CARD fellows and partner organizations, and how may these collaborations/partnerships influence your future projects? 

Anne, Paloma, and I formed our own micro-community during the fellowship. Sounding out our questionings to each other, we discovered we were searching for similar things as we each move in such different directions creatively. Together, we formed a solid, inquisitive, and caring cohort. 

How has this fellowship changed your views about the intersections of art and community? 

Through the fellowship, I’ve gained a fuller perspective of the ways in which the DC arts scene seeks to support artists like me. It makes sense that like-minded artists are here responding to systems and policies that are built to disempower people. Seeing the thriving community that exists through and because of art is one of the most positive things about living in the nation’s capital. 

What advice would you give to artists looking for fellowships or other opportunities to grow their careers? 

My advice to artists looking for opportunities to grow their careers: Find your people. When you feel you’ve found the people who truly get you, who truly champion you in living your life to fulfill your purpose, the opportunities will come to you. Be tenacious about your purpose, rest when you can, and remain open.