Galveston Residency Artists Aliyah Cydonia, Francesca Fuchs, Germán Benincore Embrace Repetition

The Galveston Artist Residency cohort for 2025-2026, consisting of Aliyah Cydonia, Francesca Fuchs, and Germán Benincore, began their journey last fall with unique artistic approaches. By March, during their second visit, the residency's immersive environment had greatly influenced their creations. A shared instinct emerged among them: the desire to repeatedly create and witness transformation. Cydonia, who transitioned from a nine-to-five job, initially aimed to paint but spent her first two months drawing. She now produces expansive butcher paper drawings showcasing silhouettes of dancers, utilizing block printing and hand-carved stamps, inspired by her family's history in Oklahoma's Black-founded communities from 1865 to 1920. Fuchs engages in a meticulous iterative process, often recreating her paintings multiple times, influenced by her aunt Charlotte's collages. Benincore, who arrived in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, creates rubbings of Colombian and American coins on paper, layering drawings over them. His wing designs, inspired by pixelated military camouflage, serve as templates for kites. The trio is not concentrating on the June exhibition; the residency's duration fosters organic development of their work without the pressure of tight deadlines.