Who’s #OnPatch: Maya Holm
One of the many friendly faces we miss seeing is Maya Holm from ZERO1, our organizational partner that shares our home at the Grand Theater. Meet Maya, Program and Communications Manager at ZERO1, in our series of community highlights. Learn more about what Maya is up to outside of running the American Arts Incubator (AAI), the international new media and digital arts exchange program with U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Read on to meet one of the many essential members of our Gray Area community on Patch!
Tell us about yourself.
I’m the Program and Communications Manager at ZERO1— we’re an arts and technology nonprofit (and organizational partner with Gray Area) that runs creative exchanges, arts education programs, and develops public art projects. I’m currently in the thick of our international artist exchange season for American Arts Incubator, which due to COVID-19, we’ve had to transition to a digital platform. Before joining ZERO1, I was involved with capacity building and community-oriented work with educational organizations.
Where are you sharing this from right now?
I left San Francisco to stay with my family in Boston during quarantime. However, my desk at our office has souvenirs from the countries I’ve traveled to for American Arts Incubator. On most days, you’ll find an iced coffee and a pastry to keep me powering through the day.
Can you share one of your favorite Gray Area memories with us?
Back in April 2018, one of the first shows I attended at Gray Area was ‘discrete figures’ by Rhizomatiks Research x ELEVENPLAY. It was a collaborative performance piece between mathematicians, dancers, media artists, composers, and engineers using drones, AI, and machine learning — it really blew me away with its artistry and opened my mind to the possibilities in the realm of collaborative media arts creation.
Can you share a playlist with us?
I really enjoy stripped down, acoustic versions of songs — here’s a mix with songs in English, Spanish, and Japanese.
Can you describe yourself in a few images?
What have you been up to during quarantime?
Working, dancing, meditating, learning how to use Procreate, taking a lot of walks, and slowly losing my soul to Zoom.
Any words of wisdom you can share?
I think I’d just like to leave a gentle reminder for anyone reading this to be extra kind to themselves right now and relieve themselves of the pressure to use pandemic-time productively. Prioritize your wellbeing, both mental and physical — take time to tap into your inner wisdom to see what that means for you. Take care, folks.
Every week, we’re highlighting the many essential members of our Gray Area family. To support our creative community, join us on Patch.
Patch is an online initiative to connect our creative community. Explore new ways of connecting, learning, and preserving intimacy through live streaming, online education, and virtual spaces.
