Balam Soto CV

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 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   

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