MEET MICHELLE HANDELMAN
“Having now been alive now for over 65 years, navigating subcultures, the art world, and academia, I now find myself in a place where I have much to share. I am committed to opening up, and doing whatever I can to guide young artists".”
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Disciplines: Experimental film/video art, photography, performance
Michelle Handelman (she/her) is a filmmaker and visual artist whose works push against the boundaries of gender, race and sexuality, while inhabiting the liminal states of fear and desire. Here feature documentary "BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes and Sadomasochism" (1995) has been acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, NYC and is recognized as a landmark in queer film history. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship along with awards from Creative Capital, Art Matters, and New York State Council on the Arts, among others. Handelman’s work has been shown at MoMA, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Pompidou Centre, Paris; British Film Institute; Tom of Finland Foundation; Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum; PERFORMA Biennial, New York; PARTICIPANT INC, New York; Lincoln Center, New York; Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York; The Henry Art Gallery, and many film festivals worldwide.
Work
mentor profile
What interests you about mentoring?
“Having now been alive now for over 65 years, navigating subcultures, the art world, and academia, I now find myself in a place where I have much to share. I am committed to opening up, and doing whatever I can to guide young artists. I look at mentoring as an equal exchange— generously sharing each others experiences and talents, while mutually building collective support systems. We need each other!”
Given your experience and interests, what kind of emerging artist do you feel best positioned to support?
“I am best positioned to support a moving image artist whose work engages film as a visual art form. I'm interested in working with filmmakers/artists/performers whose work crosses boundaries both formally and conceptually. My own background as a queer, bi, sex worker, artist who used to LIVE for nightlife makes me most useful to those who have experienced the same—those who understand the extremes, the ecstasy, the abyss. But ultimately, I am open to working with anyone, and sharing experiences with, learning from, someone who is not like me.”
As a mentor, what would you like to offer an emerging artist? What would you like to receive?
“I can offer advice on: how to get into academia, how to get work into a film festival or art gallery, how to apply for grants, and how to craft multiscreen film installations.”
Have you had mentors of your own? Who have they been?
“I've had many mentors, some were aware that they were my mentor, and others were not. I believe mentoring can take place both directly and indirectly. Some of the important people in my life have been Barbara Hammer, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Flawless Sabrina, and Carolee Schneemann.”
This mentor is open to working with fellows either remotely or in-person!