Gallery Fellow: All That We Carry

"All That We Carry" is a mixed media and collage-making fellowship led by Artist-in-Residence Cathy Bernardino Bailey, inviting you to repurpose everyday items into patchworks of color, texture, and imagination that tell the story of your lived experiences. You'll learn upcycling techniques and promote sustainability through the transformative layering, patterning, and reshaping of discarded materials. This is your chance to spark nostalgia, stir emotions, and build bridges with other people through carried memory and shared storytelling.

Your work won’t just stay in the studio. It will be exhibited at 1001 Colors Gallery, a community-centered exhibition space created to showcase original work by emerging artists and make contemporary art accessible to everyone. Whether you’re considering a future in the arts or just want to explore your creativity in a meaningful way, this fellowship gives you real tools, real experience, and real visibility.

About the Artist: Cathy Bernardino Bailey

Cathy Bernardino Bailey was born and raised in Weirton, West Virginia, before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio to pursue higher education. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati. She worked for years as a water utility professional locally and nationally but has shifted and evolved into a self-taught mixed media collage artist in recent years.

Beneath the surface, Cathy Bernardino Bailey is an artist and storyteller who breathes new life into reclaimed paper. Her work draws deeply from personal memories, cultural traditions, and playful reinterpretations of everyday moments. Through a rhythmic process of upcycling and joining magazine pages and images, she creates layered compositions that explore identity, heritage, and the joy found in the ordinary. Cathy’s practice transforms storytelling into a shared experience—each piece inviting viewers into a space of reflection, conversation, and discovery.

What You’ll Do

• Embrace simplicity and promote sustainability by discovering beauty and new purpose in discarded items.
• Develop a cohesive body of work that reflects your perspective and ideas.
• Receive direct feedback and mentorship from a working artist.
• Collaborate with peers and contribute to a group exhibition.
• Gain hands-on experience installing and presenting artwork in a professional gallery.

What You’ll Learn

• How to upcycle everyday materials into story-driven mixed media collages.
• How to use storytelling as a tool to foster empathy and build shared understanding across diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
• How to document your work through photography.
• How to write an artist statement and talk about your work with confidence.
• How to prepare your work for exhibition and sale.

Why This Matters

This fellowship acknowledges the power of repurpose as a tool for storytelling and asks us: how can we transform memory into meaning and meaning into connection?

You Are Expected To...

•  Be aged 16–24 at the start of the program
•  Attend all studio sessions and key program dates 
•  Participate in exhibition installation and opening 
•  Engage fully in the creative process and group experience 

Key Program Dates

Studio Sessions: October 13 – December 3, 2026 |Tuesdays & Thursdays | 4–7 PM

Installation & Professional Development: January 19, 21, 26, & 28, 2027 | 4–7 PM

Exhibition Dates: January 29 – March 10, 2027 

Opening Reception: Friday, January 29 | 5–7 PM

Deinstallation: Thursday, March 11, 2027 | 4–7 PM 

Artwork Pickup: Friday, March 12, 2027 | Time TBD

To Apply, You Will...

• Complete this online application by the deadline on September 20, 2026
• Submit 3–5 portfolio samples (PDF or website) using the additional materials button on the application. If needed, email your PDF to Grace Thanasiu at [email protected]. Portfolio is required and most important part of application. 
• Include: title, year, medium, dimensions, and brief description for each sample in the portfolio
• Show work that reflects your perspective and creative voice 

Final Note

You don’t need to have it all figured out. This is a space to experiment, take risks, build skills, and discover what’s possible whether art becomes your career or simply a powerful tool for how you see and move through the world. Your perspective matters. Let’s build what’s next.