VCS Mentorship Program Overview
After their visit, each of the VCS curators chooses one artist they will continue to mentor for the following six months (approximately). In addition to regular conversations, in-person encounters are made possible through the duration of the program via a travel budget provided to each artist to visit their mentors in their home cities. Collaborations in Albuquerque and the curators’ hometowns – including public conversations, the presentations of projects in progress or exhibitions – are encouraged so that regional partnerships can be activated or strengthened. As part of their mentorship, artists may also gain recommendations from their curator-mentors for residency programs and other opportunities.
The program is organized following a template from Independent Curators International's successful partnership with Liverpool Biennial on the Associate Artists program.
After their visit, each of the VCS curators chooses one artist they will continue to mentor for the following six months (approximately). In addition to regular conversations, in-person encounters are made possible through the duration of the program via a travel budget provided to each artist to visit their mentors in their home cities. Collaborations in Albuquerque and the curators’ hometowns – including public conversations, the presentations of projects in progress or exhibitions – are encouraged so that regional partnerships can be activated or strengthened. As part of their mentorship, artists may also gain recommendations from their curator-mentors for residency programs and other opportunities.
The program is organized following a template from Independent Curators International's successful partnership with Liverpool Biennial on the Associate Artists program.
2018 VCS Mentorship Program Artists
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Artist Fatemeh Baigmoradi
+ Curator Rotem Rozental 
Fatemeh Baigmoradi, born and raised in Iran, explores issues of identity, nationality, and their dialogs in societies. Her thesis work It’s Hard to Kill received CENTER's 2018 Director's Choice Award, third place in the LensCulture Exposure Awards of 2018, and was chosen as one of the finalists in the Photolucida 2017 Critical Mass competition; a selection was presented at the Arles Festival in 2017 and the London Photo in 2018. Baigmoradi received her Master of Fine Arts in photography at University of New Mexico in 2017, and in 2008 she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography at University of Tehran.
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Artist Szu-Han Ho
+ Curator Patricia Carino Valdez 
Szu-Han Ho's work in sculpture, performance, installation, and text addresses the practice of exchange through diverse forms of collaboration. Recent projects include BORDER TO BAGHDAD, an exchange between artists from the US-Mexico border and Baghdad, Iraq; The Mirror Duet, a series of performances based on W.A.Mozart's Der Spiegelkanons; and Shelter in Place, a sculptural installation and performance originating from trauma and personal histories. Szu-Han lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Artist Apolo Gomez
+ Curator Julio Morales 
Apolo Gomez (b. Austin, TX) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a focus in photography from the University of New Mexico. His work has been exhibited at spaces including the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO; University of Art, Hamilton & Arronson Galleries, Philadelphia, PA; and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM. Gomez is currently working as a Studio Assistant for Judy Chicago and Donald Woodman.
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Artist Nora Wendl
+ Curator Humberto Moro 
Nora Wendl is a writer, artist and educator who uses disciplinary strategies drawn equally from historiography, creative writing, visual art, and architecture to amplify overlooked or suppressed narratives within the built and unbuilt environment. In 2018, she is artist-in-residence at Santa Fe Art Institute. In 2017, she was awarded a seat at Tin House Writers Workshop to workshop her current manuscript, Glass. Nora holds the position of Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of New Mexico.
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VCS is funded in part by Common Field, Fulcrum Fund, and the FUNd at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.