Balam Soto CV

Exhibitions

2022

  • “Dendrites”, Five Points West Gallery, CT

2021

  • “LES CINQ: FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING”, Five Points Annex, CT

2020

  • “Mykonos Multimedia Festival 2020” Mykonos,Greece.
  • “Emrg2020,” New Media Arts & Light Festival, New Delhi, India
  • “Bot_ish,”  Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT

2018

  • “Invisible proximity,” Real Art Ways Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Future Playground,” New Zealand Festival, Wellington, New Zealand
  • “Interface,” Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT
  • “Media Wall”, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
  • “Arte Digital,” Galeria del Centro Espanol, Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • “Americana 1,” Windsor Art Center, Windsor, CT

2017

  • “Teknopolis”, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY
  • ”Metamorphosis,” Artecentro, Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • Worlds Fair Nano, Brooklyn, NY
  • UMW Media Wall, Hurley Convergence Center, University of Mary Washington, Virginia
  • Creative Tech Week, Industry City, Brooklyn, NY

2016

  • TedX Navesink, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ
  • Creative Tech Week, Industry City, Brooklyn, NY
  • Capitol Hill Maker Faire,  Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC
  • “World Maker Faire”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY

2015

  • Espacio Enter, Tenerife, Spain
  • “Media Lounge”, West Beth Gallery, New York City, NY
  • “Shared Resources” Whitney Center Gallery, Hamden, CT
  • “World Maker Faire”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY

2014

  • AluCine Latin Media Festival, Toronto, Canada
  • “The Drift”, Netherlands
  • RE/Mixed Media Festival IV, New York, NY
  • “Synthetic Zero”, Bronx ArtSpace, Bronx, NY
  • “World Maker Faire”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • Shared Resources: Participatory. Interactive. Collaborative Art Perspectives …” Gallery at Whitney Center, New Haven, CT
  • “Freedom Dreams: We Belong Here Hartford” Hartford Public Library
  • “Alive with History” Connecticut Historical Society Museum, Hartford, CT, since 2006

2013

  • “Sonic Landscapes”, Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
  • “PopRally MoMA”, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, Art video projection
  • “Espacio Enter 2013”, ARTECHMEDIA, Canarias, Spain
  • “Sidewalk Surfing”, Everhart Museum of Science, Art and Technology, Scranton, PA
  • “AFH”, Ezra & Cecil Zikha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
  • “Catalyst”, FATVillage Arts District Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • VFFF’13 Festival, Quito, Ecuador, Art video projection
  • “World Maker Faire”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • “Paper to Pixel” Vernon Arts Center, Vernon, CT
  • “Mini Maker Faire”, Westport Maker Faire, Westport, CT
  • “Video Under the Subway”, Local Project, New York, NY, Art video projection
  • “Makers Manual”, Institute Library, New Haven, CT
  • “Un Nature”, New Haven Arts Council, Whitney Center Gallery, New Haven, CT

2012

  • “Art Controller”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • My installation was added as an interactive, hands on exhibit
  • “File Rio 2012”, Art Galery of Oi Futuro – Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • “World Maker Faire”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • “Westport Mini-Maker Faire”, Westport Public Library, Westport, CT
  • DysTorpia Media Series, Fluid New Media Lab, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
  • “Correlacion Ilusoria”, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY
  • Connecticut Culture Gallery, Bradley International Airport, Windsor, CT
  •  “Envision Fest”, Bushnell Park, City of Hartford
  • “Ensemble”, The Russian Lady, Hartford, CT
  • “Alive with History” Connecticut Historical Society Museum, Hartford, CT, since 2006
  • Movement Museum, online museum

2011

  • “Day of the Dead”, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
  • “Maker Faire”, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • “Strata Mini Maker Faire” Strata Conference: Making Data Work, New York Hilton, New York, NY
  • FILE – Electronic Language International Festival, SESI Art Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • “Subversive Technologies”, Toronto Free Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • “Flip the Switch: A Night of Music, Media and Mayhem”, 3LD Arts and Technology Center, Manhattan, NY
  • “Phoenix Art After Hours”, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
  • “Billboard Art Project”, Route 222, Reading, PA
  • “Future Tense Billboards”, Hartford, CT Billboard
  • “Traveling State: Celebrating Diversity of Art”, Warwick Museum of Art, Warwick, RI
  • “The 10th State Latin American Visual Arts Exhibit”, Atrium Gallery, Providence, RI
  • “time analysis”, Pump House Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • Connecticut Cinematic Celebration, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
  • “Celebramos: A Latino Community Exhibition”, City Hall, Providence, RI
  • UCONN Law School, Hartford, CT
  • Open Studio Hartford, annual participation since 2004

2010

  • “Subversive Manipulations of Technology”, aluCine Latin Media Festival, Toronto, Canada
  • “Art and Technology Corridor at the Three Rivers Arts Festival” Pittsburgh Technology Council, Pittsburgh, PA
  • “Maker Faire,” The New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • Guatemala Consul, Los Angeles, CA
  • “Celebrating Diversity” Attleboro Museum, Attleboro, MA
  • “3er Mayan Festival” Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
  • “Immigrants’ Art Exhibit”
    • CUNY Law School, Queens, NY, 2010
    • Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ, 2010
    • Rio II Gallery, New York, NY, 2009
    • Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center, New York, NY, 2009
    • Suffolk County Community College, Long Island, NY, 2009
    • American Friends Service Committee, Newark, NJ, 2009
    • South Ocean Art Gallery, Freeport, NY, 2009
  • “Customs and Traditions of Guatemala” Westchester Arts Council Gallery, White Plains, NY
  • “Digital Transition” Augusta Savage Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
  • Guatemala Consulate, Providence, RI
  •  “Re.invent”
    • West Charleston Library, Las Vegas, NV, 2010
    • Sahara West Library, Las Vegas, NV, 2009
  • “Immigrant”, Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT
  • “ Multicultural Expressions” Farmington Library, Farmington, CT
  • “Global Online Event” Interactive online group show located on facebook.com

2009

  • “AmericAura”
    • Centre Cultural, Brussels, Belgium, 2009
    • Teatro Cesare Volta (digital images), Pavia, Italy, 2009
    • “AfricAura”, National Library of Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon, West Africa, 2008
  • Augusta Savage Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 2007
  • “Day of the Dead: Art and Culture in the Americas” Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art, Scranton, PA
  • “Media Fluid, Art and Technology” Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
  • “Media Lounge, Art and Technology” Room 404 Media, Brooklyn, NY
  • “e-voluciòn: del arte guatemalteco” [“e-volution: of guatemalan art”] Miraflores Museum, Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • “2012 Interact” Colo-Colo Gallery, New Bedford, MA
  • “Guatemalan Art Beyond Borders” City Hall, Providence, RI
  • Guatemalan Consulate, Providence, RI
  • “Tzolkin 0.1: An Interactive Exploration of the Mayan Calendar” Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT
  • “Tzolkin 0.1: Version 2” Director’s Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Sensorial” Colo-Colo Gallery, New Bedford, MA
  • “Something Old- Something New”, 8TH Annual State Latin American Visual Arts Exhibit Atrium Gallery, Providence, RI
  • “Museum After Dark Summer Art Auction”, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
  • Farmington Valley Arts Center, Avon, CT 2006 – 2009

2008

  • “Hispanic Heritage Art Show, Elmhurst Hospital, Queens, NY, Curated by the Queens Museum of Art
  • “Ancestors: A Day of the Dead Celebration”, Institute for Community Research, Hartford, CT, Organized and curated by Balam Soto
  • “The Latin Perpective… a touch of Contemporary Art,” New Brit. Art League, New Britain, CT, Curated by Latins in the Borough Art Gallery
  • “Forgeries,” Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT, Art auction fundraiser
  • “Menage A7,” New Haven, CT
  • “Solo: Myth 0.1”, Colo Colo Gallery, New Bedford, MA
  • “Origins”, Latins in the Borough Art Gallery, Stonington, CT
  • Hartford Hospital Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Perceptual,” Director’s Gallery, Hartford, CT

2007

  • “Interwoven,” ArtSpace Gallery, Hartford, CT, Curated, organized and participated in by Balam Soto
    • 2007: “Interwoven 3: Avant-Garde”
    • 2006: “Interwoven 2”
    • 2005: “Interwoven: Cultural Identity of 3 Latino Artists”
  • “Mùsica! Mùsica! Mùsica”, Arte Inc., New Haven, CT
  • The Pump House, Hartford, CT
  • Farmington Unity Day Cultural Festival, Farmington, CT
  • “Apartment # __ ,” ArtSpace Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Ofrendas: A Day of the Dead Celebration,” Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT, Organized, curated and participated in by Balam Soto
  • “Ofrenda 2: A Day of the Dead Installation,” Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT
  • “A Rainforest of Color,” The Art Station, Hartford, CT

2006

  • “no.mad,” Park Street, Hartford, CT
  • “Ancestral Spirits,” Director’s Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Inaugural Opening,” The Art Station, Hartford, CT
  • “Holiday Show,” Farmington Valley Arts Center, Farmington, CT
  • “Jazz Up the House,” Hartford, CT
  • “Ancient Voices,” ETC Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Mystic Within,” Pegasus Gallery, Middlesex Community College, Middletown,CT
  • “Realms of Color,” Exposure Ltd., Manchester, CT

2005

  • “Through the Eyes of Culture and Tradition,” Capitol Community College, Hartford, CT
  • “Dia de los Muertos,” Rocking Horse Cafe, New York, NY
  • “Winter Treasures,” Exposure Ltd. Art & Framing, Manchester, CT
  • Oddfellows Playhouse, Middletown, CT
  • “Cultural Spirit”, Director’s Gallery, Hartford, CT
  • “Mysticism,” Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT
  • La Paloma Sabanera, Hartford, CT
  • Webster Bank, New Haven, CT
  • Kafe, New Haven, CT

2004   “Fifth Sun,” Wethersfield Public Library, Wethersfield, CT

1998 – 2000

  • “Individual Concerns,” Gallery of Social and Political Art, Boston, MA
  • “Misticismo,” DeSales Hall Ballroom, Hartford, CT

1999    “Violence and Society,” Gallery of Social and Political Art, Boston, MA
1998

  • Barnes & Noble, Farmington, CT
  • City Store, Hartford, CT

1991    University of San Carlos, Guatemala City, Guatemala


Honors + Awards

Honors, Awards and Speaking Engagements

2021

  • Independent Artist Grant, Free center
  • Artist Fellowship Award, The Connecticut Office of the Arts

2020

  • Speaker, “Ai and Aesthetics ” Guatemala Funba: Fundación Nacional  de Bellas  Artes, Antigua  Guatemala , Guatemala
  • Award “International Winner 2020,” International Mykonos Multimedia Festival, Greece

2019

  • Speaker, “Culture of Innovation,” Guatemala STEAM Festival, Guatemala City, Guatemala
  • International Exchange Alumni, US Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs

2018

  • Chosen as Design Lead, Art-a-Hack NYC 2018, Brains Interface Challenge

2017

  • Citation recipient, Mayor Neto Bran, Mixco, Guatemala
  • Book reference, “Make: Musical Inventions,” Kathy Ceceri, 2017: Book references Balam as a musical inventor and describes his installation, the Experimental Instrument, and its development.

2016

  • Winner of Best in Class and Editor’s Choice Ribbons: World Maker Faire, New York Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • Semi-finalist, Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
  • Official Recognition by the Hartford City Council (CT) for the positive impact his work has had on the region.
  • Speaker, New England Maker Summit, University of Hartford
  • Guest Speaker, 15th Biennial Symposium on Arts and Technology, Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology at Connecticut College
  • Speaker, “Art and Technology: The Fusion of High Tech/Low Tech with Aesthetics,” Connecticut Science Center

2014

  • Recipient of the Hartford Arts & Heritage Jobs Grant, Hartford, Connecticut
  • Winner of  Editor’s Choice Ribbon at New York Maker Faire, NY Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
  • Guest Speaker, MakeHartford Opening Ceremony
  • Guest Speaker, Simsbury Library, Hartford, CT, “Innovation at Work: How Will Innovation Change Our World & Workforce”

2013

  •  
    • Guest Speaker TEDX Talk, TEDX Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT
    • Received third citation from the Governor of Rhode Island
    • Guest Speaker, Central University of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

2012

  •  
    • Recipient of the Business Development Grant for Innovative Entrepreneurs from the City of Hartford, Connecticut
    • Winner of 2 Editor’s Choice Ribbons at New York Maker Faire, NY Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
    • Received second citation from the Governor of Rhode Island

2011

  • Received citation from the Governor of Rhode Island

2010

  •  
    • Winner of Editor’s Choice Ribbon at New York Maker Faire, NY Hall of Science Museum, Queens, NY
    • Recipient of the Hartford Arts & Heritage Jobs Grant, Hartford, Connecticut
    • Massachusetts Governor and Lt. Governor presented Governor’s Citation
    • Attleboro, Massachusetts Mayor presented Certificate of Recognition
    • Solidarity Chapina Foundation presented Certificate of Recognition
  • Guest Speaker, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York

2009

  • Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell sent an Official Statement of congratulations
  • City of Hartford Mayor presented the award and an “Official Citation. . . in recognition of [Balam’s] outstanding contribution in art”
  • Golden Latino Award for Arts & Culture in Connecticut, Identidad Latina, Hartford, CT
  • Connecticut State Treasurer Denise Nappier sent a Public Leadership Citation
  • Co-recipient of a project grant from the Westchester Arts Council, White Plains, NY
  • Guatemalan Consul in Rhode Island presented official thank you for Balam’s support
  • Rhode Island Governor “Extends His Greetings and Appreciation”
  • Guest Speaker, Sahara West Library, Las Vegas, Nevada

2008

  • Guatemalan National Congress awarded a Diploma of Recognition and the title of “Maestro,” [Master Artist]
  • Guatemalan Cultural Office in New York presented award for Balam’s “outstanding artistic career in the visual arts”
  • Guatemalan Consul in New York presented a Diploma of Recognition

2006

  • Scholarship Recipient, Arte Inc., New Haven, CT

2005

  • October Artist of the Month, Liquitex Artist Materials

Public Works

Public Works   

2017

  • 2016-17 ZERO1 American Arts Incubator Artist, Guatemala City – Creative exchange program funded by US State Dept. Created an innovative, new media art installation. Trained local artists in new media techniques.

2016

  • “Interactive Map”, Jack Jackter Intermediate School, Colchester, CT – Leading low tech- high-tech project of middle school students creating interactive map of US and CT with custom software and multi-media elements
  • “E-Garden Interactive Mural”, Girls for Technology, Hartford, CT – Leading low tech- high-tech project of middle school students creating mural from textiles, custom software and custom electronics.
  • Maker-in-Residence, Danbury Public Library, Danbury, CT

2015

  • “Interactive Map”, Farmington Schools and Library, Farmington, CT – Leading low tech- high-tech project of high school students and adult community members creating interactive map of Farmington with custom software and multi-media elements

2014

  • “E-quilt”, Westport Library, Westport, CT – Led project incorporating quilt blocks, made by community members age 5 to senior citizen, into interactive LED exhibit. Used custom software and custom electronics.

2010

  • Westchester Arts Council and HAGUA, Port Chester, NY

2008

  • Office of Cultural Affairs for the City of Hartford, CT

2007

  • Montessori School of Greater Hartford, West Hartford, CT
  • Artists Collective, Hartford, CT
  • Hartford Public Library and the Coalition to Strengthen the Sheldon/Charter Oak Neighborhood, Hartford, CT
  • Office of Cultural Affairs for the city of Hartford, CT

2006

  • Hartford Public Library and the Coalition to Strengthen the Sheldon/Charter Oak Neighborhood, Hartford, CT
  • Cross-Cultural Academy of Arts and Technology, Hartford, CT

1993

  • University of San Carlos, Guatemala City, Guatemala


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