The James Castle House is thrilled to welcome interdisciplinary artist Ariana Martinez for a 10-week residency. Selected after a nationwide call and announced in October 2024, Martinez works across print, sculpture, and time-based media to explore processes of sensory perception and spatial navigation. As an artist living with neurological and autoimmune illnesses, Martinez is interested in how experiences of sickness and disability present new ways of moving through and communicating with the natural world.
“From what I’ve come to understand through my research, James Castle’s work builds on itself when experienced in context; when you can connect one image to another, finding echoes and resonances across multiple works,” says Martinez. “I’d like to follow these paths through his world, pass through the doors of Castle’s perception, and draw inspiration not just from the work’s material qualities but from his ingenious spatial reasoning.”
Martinez plans to closely observe, map, and respond to the James Castle House through visual and tactile language and produce work that invites curiosity about all of our different navigational strategies. As part of this work, Martinez intends to create zines — small handmade publications — as a way to document and experiment with how objects can help connect us to personal and collective memory.
Martinez holds bachelor's degrees in sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design and in urban studies from Brown University and a master’s in fine arts from Rutgers University. They have been an artist in residence at The Steel Yard, Arts, Letters, & Numbers, The Ragdale Foundation, and Directangle Press. Martinez’s work has been shown nationally and internationally at the Barbican Cultural Centre, the Open City Documentary Festival, Hearsay Audio Arts Festival, LUCIA Festival, Banguoja Festival, UnionDocs, The Wurks, Fort Adams, The Gelman Gallery at the RISD Museum, and the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts at Brown University. Learn more at arianamartinezstudio.com.
The community is invited to engage with Martinez and their work at the following events (all times MT):
Inside the Studio
Workshop (details forthcoming)
Final Presentation
Learn more about the James Castle House residencies: jamescastlehouse.org/residencies/the-residencies
About the James Castle House
The James Castle House is a historic site and museum serving as a testimony to the legacy of self-taught artist James Castle. As stewards of this legacy, the James Castle House is responsible for managing Castle’s historic living and working spaces, art and artifact collections, and offering public opportunities to engage with the site. More information: jamescastlehouse.org
About the Boise City Department of Arts & History
The Department of Arts & History is Boise’s local cultural agency dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging through accessible and place-based arts and history. Our mission is to cultivate a distinct sense of place which reflects Boise’s rich past, diverse communities, and unique natural setting. Our operations empower and serve Boise residents as we create opportunities that nurture and sustain Boise’s past and its creative economy. More information: boiseartsandhistory.org
