Alicia McDaniel is an artist and curator exploring themes around colorism, indigenious relations, and oppressive systems aimed at marginalized communities. Alicia’s connection with the Bay Area is a product of her studies at Mills and CCA along with the many professional opportunities she procured and succeeded at. She finds that the San Francisco creative community challenges and stimulates her ideas. “The rich history of San Francisco as both a gay mecca and a major contributor to contemporary art has further informed how I approach art.” 

Taking cues from her own lived experiences, Alicia’s overarching theme found in her diverse body of work is longing: “I long to make sense of a world that does not see myself and my sister equally (despite our same racial background) on the basis of our skin color difference. I long to reconnect to our ancestors and lost cultural customs. Most importantly, I long to make sense of my place in this world.” Alicia is the type of artist that brings her ideas into a discourse with her girlfriend and other creatives working with similar conversations. With a refined concept, she selects her medium via historical contexts and proceeds to initiate a project. Media like brown paper bags, glass beads, or even revered botanicals harking to her Mexican and Indigenious heritage all play a pivotal role in her thought-provoking work. 

Alicia founded The Virtual Gallery Online [@The.Virtual.Gallery.Online] to present artists’ work virtually in a curated fashion. She noticed how many galleries paused exhibitions during the pandemic and she sought for a solution to display and promote artwork during such a tumultuous time. Other developments included a solo show in Root Division’s Frank Ratchye Project Space [@RootDivison] in September 2021.

For Alicia, Pride “is both a celebration of queerness and a mourning of queer loss.” Knowing the history of why Pride exists is a core value to Alicia; she wants to continue the fight for rights of all LGBTQ+ community members against police brutality and larger systems of oppression. “Each year I celebrate Pride by being my most authentic self, surrounding myself with my found family, and honoring those who fought for our right to love.”
- Alicia McDaniel. 

Feature Published: July 2, 2021
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