Dana Heng

Dana Heng is an observer and an experimenter. Growing up in Providence, RI cultivated a sense of commitment to center the community that contributed so much to her personal development as an artist. She is currently an artist-mentor at New Urban Arts, an after-school open studio for high school students, of which she is also an alum. She often works alongside local grassroots organizations to make banners and effigies for political demonstrations. Heng also co-founded Binch Press, a cooperatively owned print and ceramic studio in Central Falls, RI. Much of her work is tied to social engagement, and is an exploration of space, material, and ways of thinking. Woven throughout this grassroots community and collaborative based practice is work pertaining to questions of her own identity as a young, first-generation Khmer woman in Providence. She is investigating concepts surrounding diaspora, institutions, gender, labor, the environment, and the nuances that arise at each intersection. Her interdisciplinary and process-based approach to art-making often manifests in mixed media and/or performance. The process of her practice is ever-expanding, with evolving intentionality in response to the local socio-political climate, specifically the need to make space for and by people with marginalized identities.

Residency/Fellowship

2020 Labor

Website

danaheng.com

Location

Providence, RI USA