Local artist Angela Lian discussed the process behind her print and video art on Thursday, November 14 at Mount Saint Mary College.
When she made a TikTok video titled “A Love Letter to Baggu,” artist and designer Angela Lian of Beacon, N.Y. had hoped that she might be hired as a freelancer for the reusable bag company.
Baggu did one better: They offered her a full-time, remote position as an assistant graphic designer. With that in mind, her advice to young artists was simple.
“Share your work,” said Lian. “You never know who’s watching.”
That was just one of the things Lian noted about her journey as an artist during a well-attended talk at Mount Saint Mary College on Thursday, November 14. The event was part of the college’s CADM Speaker Series.
When she’s not using her artistic skills at Baggu, Lian is focused on her personal art. Her works range from conventional identities to illustration, printed matter, and video art. Across her personal work, Lian combines dance and design.
Personal art is about more than creativity, she noted.
“The most important thing…is work/life balance,” Lian said. “You need hobbies and passion projects to make sure we’re not overextending ourselves with our jobs.”
Lian’s work is currently on display at the Mount’s CMA Galley. The exhibition, “Moving Making Moving: Embodied Ecologies,” takes its title from the artist’s undergraduate thesis, which presented movement and chance as a framework for creation. The gallery features video art pieces from 2021-2024, alongside “Scores for Dreaming,” a set of handwritten scores that pay homage to the relationships between the human and nonhuman consciousness of pain, memory, and ecology.
The gallery is located on the first floor of Aquinas Hall on campus. It’s open Monday through Friday during normal business hours, or by appointment, through Friday, December 6. Email cma-gallery@msmc.edu for more information.