Academics

Teaching Areas/Areas of Expertise: 

•   Sculpture and Installation 
•  Textiles 
•  Mixed-media 
•  Foundations  
•  Professional preparation and presentation (Capstone)  

Professional Activity:  

•  Participation in over one hundred exhibitions, including solo, 2-4 person, and group. Venues include the: Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami, Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Spaces in Cleveland, Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Museum of Fine Arts in Tallahassee, Alexandria Museum of Art in Louisiana, Mobile Museum of Art, Kreft Center for the Arts in Ann Arbor, Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Avampato Discovery Museum in Charleston, Broman Fine Arts Gallery in Miami, and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. 
•  Inclusion in exhibits juried by well known art professionals, including: art critics, such as the Editor in Chief of American Craft; internationally prominent artists; the President of the Southwest School of Art & Craft; and curators from the Andy Warhol Museum of Art, MOMA, Textile Museum of Canada, Oakland Museum of California, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art. 
•  Images and critical reviews of Mesa-Gaido’s sculptures published in books, journals, periodicals and newspapers, including In the Land of Mirrors: Cuban Exile Politics, The Latino Studies Reader, Art Miami, The Nation, The New Art Examiner, Art Papers, The Miami Herald and The Atlanta Journal.  
• Current work consists of 3-dimensional forms comprised of hand stitched and machine sewn textiles, and inspired by construction, details and forms in fashion and interior design periodicals. Mesa-Gaido’s sculptures are intentionally humorous and odd, each embodying an anthropo- or zoomorphic characteristic.  

 Honors and Awards:  

•  The awarding of grants from: Art Matters (Artist Grant) in New York City; Alternate Roots (Alternate Visions Grant) in Atlanta, Georgia; the Kentucky Arts Council (Al Smith Fellowship and Professional Assistance Award), the Kentucky Foundation for Women (three Artist Grants); and MSU (two Creative Production Awards and a Summer Fellowship). 
• Awards for Innovation and 3-dimensional work, as well as recognition through Merit, Festival and Placement Awards for juried exhibited work.  
• Three public art commissions: the Lexington Arts & Cultural Center’s “Horse Mania” in Lexington; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s  “Dinomite Days” in Pittsburgh; and the Speed Art Museum’s “Beyond the Walls” exhibit in Louisville. 
• Inclusion of sculptures in the nationally juried Women’s Caucus for Art’s “Women of Color Slide Portfolio: Hispanic” 
• Invitations to serve as a juror for the awarding of grants to artists, or the selection of artists for exhibition.