Bio:
Transmedia artist, writer, curator, educator and "animal" advocate Alysse Stepanian was born in Iran and currently lives in Southern California. She is a Master of Fine Arts graduate in painting and her work is socially and politically engaged. Her videos, installations, paintings, photographs, web art, performances and curations have been presented in over 230 shows in 42 countries. Stepanian is the creator and curator of Manipulated Image videoart screenings and multimedia events, and URBAN RANCH PROJECT on Facebook. URP is a 2013 recipient of a Culture & Animals Foundation Multi-media Research Grant. It features work in all media, bringing awareness to the interconnectedness of racism, sexism, ageism, speciesism, and other social and hierarchical prejudices; using the power of social media, URP inspires change. In Dec 2012 her book review was published in the Journal for Critical Animal Studies. An interview and article about her video, “What Is My Name, Sister?” (2011) was published in a special issue of STIGMART10, VIDEOFOCUS 2013.
Her 2013 video is featured in Magmart ‘s 100×100=900: 100 VIDEOARTISTS TO TELL A CENTURY. Other screenings of her videos include: The Museum of Actual Art, Mexico City; Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, Maryland; Arad Art Museum in Romania; Anthology Film Archives in New York City; Vasteras Konstmuseum in Sweden; 4th Gaza International Festival For Video Art; Teatro Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Arte Cubano in Havana; and Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin. Her webart was presented on HZ Online Journal.
Stepanian has created installations with Philip Mantione under the the name BOX 1035. These works are multi-sensorial, with social, political, psychological and philosophical references. L.P. Streitfeld has described their work as "a wry and profound commentary on the conflicted state of America's emotions." Between 2005 to 2007 BOX 1035 created installations in Berlin, Beijing, and New York. Beijing’s City Weekend magazine listed "Don’t be afraid, be ready" (2006) as number one of the top 5 exhibits.
