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Maria De Victoria Courtesy of Maria De Victoria Maria De Victoria has spent the last decade finding creative ways to make art more visible and more human. Whether it’s turning bodegas and hardware stores into pop-up galleries or staging performances in the middle of city streets, her work always centers around people who are often left out of traditional art spaces. For her, art isn’t something that should live behind glass or inside white walls. It should live where people live. “I come very organically to the art world, almost as a necessity,” she says. “Being an immigrant myself, I wasn’t really exposed to the arts until later in life, and I really saw that that’s where I belong.” Originally from Lima, Peru, De Victoria moved to Miami in the early ’90s. Her early years as an undocumented immigrant shaped not only how she saw the world, but how she understood survival, community, and expression. Over time, those values became the foundation of her artistic practice — one rooted in care, activism, and deep connection. Driven by an unshakeable desire to give support and visibility to causes and people that are often overlooked and to make art accessible and action oriented, most of De Victoria’s work is made with and for audiences typically excluded from art world circles. And her performance pieces reflect that. De Maria has organized meals with day laborers. She once cleaned the Queens Museum during open hours as a way to spotlight the often invisible labor that keeps public spaces running. During the pandemic, De Victoria dragged an oxygen tank through the streets to the Peruvian consulate to call attention to the healthcare crisis in South America. Another time, she sang “What a Wonderful World” for 24 hours straight at the AIDS Memorial during Pride to create a moment of unity and remembrance for communities often left out of the conversation. De Victoria’s performance of “Nothing Like the Real Thing Baby,” brought people to Chinatown to witness reenactments of historical paintings depicting despair. It was a way to make financial hardship visible in a world that often ignores it. And in recent years, her focus has turned toward something even closer to home: motherhood. After De Victoria and her wife had their son eight years ago, De Victoria began to feel firsthand how difficult it was to maintain an art practice while raising a child, especially without institutional support. The issue became clearer as her son grew and she started meeting other artist-parents facing the same struggle. “It was really important, especially as I had my son,” she says. “As the reality hit of what it really takes to be with a child and be present for the child, I started thinking of others.” She thought about artists who need to keep a studio and require the process, time, and space to continue their practice. “How do you justify that when your career is about to take off, or you’re working on shows,” she says. “But you still can’t really sustain yourself from your work?” After years of thinking about these issues, she realized something crucial was missing: grants for childcare. It was not about finding programming for when the kids are older. She saw a need for direct, flexible support for artists who are also actively parenting. To further create opportunities for artists to showcase work, De Victoria founded Desnivel, a nomadic gallery that seeks to embed art exhibitions into daily experiences. They include stopping by a bodega to grab a drink and finding art along the cooler doors, going to a hardware store to get an outlet cover and finding a special edition enameled version instead, or doing your weekly laundry and realizing the work on the walls are available for you to hang in your home for loan. In 2023, alongside arts consultant Julia Trotta, she started Artists & Mothers, a nonprofit dedicated to just that. The idea was simple: support artists during the early years of motherhood, when the demands of caregiving are high and opportunities are few. They started small but with clear purpose. “We decided to take a feminist act and make it ourselves,” says De Victoria. “We said, can we redirect the conversation towards this topic, and could people really support this? We are all volunteers giving our time because we believe in this—and every dollar you give goes out to an artist.” In its first year, Artists & Mothers awarded four $25,000 unrestricted grants to working artists—not for materials or projects, but for childcare. Because without time, there is no art. In 2024, artist Carissa Rodriguez received the inaugural grant by nomination. The following year, the organization held its first open call, receiving more than 250 applications. Jurors Robyn Farrell, a senior curator at The Kitchen, and Natasha Logan, chief program officer at the Studio Museum in Harlem, selected three grantees. They included Allison Janae Hamilton, an artist and filmmaker working across sculpture, installation, photography, painting, and film. Her immersive work explores memory, folklore, and the American South. Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, a transdisciplinary artist whose tactile, intimate works draw from her Thai and Indonesian heritage. Phingbodhipakkiya’s practice honors unseen labor and diasporic resilience through reclaimed materials and everyday objects. There is Cecilia Lopez, a composer and multimedia artist from Buenos Aires, now based in New York. Her interdisciplinary work spans sound sculpture, installation, and performance and uses original electronic sound systems. Each unique artist faced a familiar dilemma: how to continue making ambitious work while raising children with limited structural support. And the Artists & Mothers grant gives them more than money; it gives them time, space, and recognition. Support for Artists & Mothers has grown quickly. Major funding has come from the Niki Charitable Art Foundation, Agnes Gund, Anonymous Was a Woman, Sarah Arison, The James Family Foundation, and the Crossed Purposes Foundation, alongside many others who have pledged to support the vision. Also, beyond the grants, Artists & Mothers is building community in small but meaningful ways. They offer gallery tours for families, art-making workshops for kids and adults, and next month they are having their first gala where children and adults of all ages are welcome. Held at WSA on November 16, the epic soiree features a plethora of experiences. Guests will be treated to an installation by Ei Akawara-Nash, a step-and-repeat backdrop from photographer Farah Al Qasimi, a bean bag installation by Maia Ruth Lee, a scent experience with Régime des Fleurs, food by Happier Grocer, and alcohol-free sparkling wines by the women-founded brand, French Bloom. Plus, Ventriloquist Sophie Becker and experimental musicians Cecilia Lopez and Zeena Parkins will perform. All this is capped off with a DJ dance party. Everything that De Victoria has created started at the grass roots, but it is growing beyond what she imagined. While Artists & Mothers is still run by a small but passionate team of volunteers, it is guided by a board of contemporary art professionals including gallerist Bridget Donahue, communications strategist Sarah Goulet, artist Camille Henrot, creative director and publisher Elizabeth Karp-Evans, and artist Maia Ruth Lee. As De Victoria sees it, what began as a response to a personal need will become a national model for how the art world can better support families. “We hope that by valuing the creative process, there will be a ripple effect on the work, the artist, and the child,” she says. De Victoria doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But what she has built is a reminder that motherhood and creativity don’t have to exist in opposition. They can co-exist in harmony. “And luckily,” says De Victoria, “the art world seems to be paying attention and making room at the table.” Artists & Mothers grantees. Clockwise from top left: Carissa Rodriguez, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, Cecilia Lopez and Allison Janae Hamilton Courtesy of Maria De Victoria MORE FOR YOU Art at the laundromat. Desnivel's installation at JJ Cleaners & Laundromat. Artwork by Gloria Maximo Courtesy of Maria De Victoria Desnivel's installation at H&W Hardware. Artwork by Carmelle Safdie. Courtesy of Maria De Victoria Inspired by Picasso's The Old Guitarist Maria De Victoria performs "Nothing Like the Real Thing Baby." Courtesy of Maria De Victoria A Desnivel Gallery installation at Village Gourmet Grocery. Artwork by Juan Heredia Courtesy of Maria De Victoria Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
