Biography
Cassandra Reid was raised in New England. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art at Wesleyan University in 1988. After graduating, she lived in New Mexico and New York City. While in New York, she attended the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program and showed her work at Ceres Gallery. During this time she began working collaboratively with other artists as a member of the Cheap Art collective. This group created street posters, murals, and installations around the issues of the first war on Iraq, terrorism, and social justice. The group exhibited at Art in General, Max Fish, Theater for the New City, 10 on 8, and the Kunstlerhaus in Hamburg, Germany.
In 1991 Cassandra moved back to New Mexico to pursue an MFA in Sculpture at the University of New Mexico. While in graduate school, she showed her sculptures in New Mexico, Colorado, and Japan. She continued to work collaboratively on certain projects. Looking for a way to make art more accessible, she began making tile mosaics in private and public locations. Mosaics offered a venue for artmaking which was not dependent on galleries or alternative spaces. Instead, creating mosaics opened up possibilities for making a living as an artist working with communities.
Clay lends itself well to collaboration because it is an accessible medium which can be taught to anyone. Since 1994, Cassandra has worked with thousands of people at community centers, schools, treatment centers, parks, and other public sites. She has created over forty handmade ceramic tile murals around the state of New Mexico. Working with the youth and adult artists in the Mayor’s Art Institute has deeply influenced the development of her technique and style.
Video about Cassandra
Video about completion of the Convention Center