Carmella Dolmer
she / her Filipino - Canadian b. 1997
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I am an emerging multidisciplinary artist, with roots in both Hamilton, Canada, & Bicol, Philippines. With personal struggles restricting my young life, in my adulthood I just try to move and play freely—with free play being my main artistic practice.
I think that art & beauty already make up our everyday lives, and that artmaking-rules & conventions ruin the perfection of what is already naturally demonstrated by children who play freely: something pure, raw, honest & unafraid. I think that free play can produce / act as a study of that raw beauty.
With this, my goal is to unlearn all conventions built into my art making, with the hope of someday becoming
exactly like a child.
Upcoming Installations & Curatorial Events
July 2nd - August 2nd
- Vignettes (Two-Person Exhibition), James Gallery, Hamilton Artists Inc.
July 19th (mural installation)
- to play is to be whole - Free-Play Community Mural (Curated ewby Carmella Dolmer), Hamilton Artists Inc.
Solo Shows
2024
- Baby Steps, Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON
Group Exhibitions
2024
- Sculpture Openhouse, Port Loggia Gallery, Halifax, NS
- Fruit Punch, Merit Brewing, Hamilton, ON
- Total Eclipse of The Art, The Hamilton Artist Inc., Hamilton, ON
2023
- Reset, Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON
- Circle 2023, CICA Art Museum, Incheon, South Korea
- Moma Dada: Room To Breathe, Centre[3] Gallery, Hamilton, ON
- Get Zine-y, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON
- Art at Atlas Volume 1, Creamy Atlas, Hamilton, ON
- Golden Hour, Paul Elia Gallery, Hamilton, ON
2022
- ODD Gallery: Yukon SOVA, ODD Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.
- SOVA 2022 Year End Exhibition, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.
2021
- Mid-Year Rundgang, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.
Collections
Work permanently in the collections of:
- Art Gallery of Burlington's Living Library
Arts Organizing & Curatorial
2024 - Ongoing
- Organizer & host of Freeplay Workshops, community drop-in events, Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON
2023 - Ongoing
- Co-founder & host of Light Lounge Poetry Series, Bi-Monthly Poetry Event, Into the Abyss Records, Hamilton, ON
2021 - 2022
- Sole curator of Freeplay Creation Space Series, Installation and On-Site Performance under the student-run SOVA SkillShare Artist Collective, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.
2021
- Founder & host of Freeplay Outdoor Art Group, Weekly Public Art Event, Gage Park, Hamilton, ON
In Print
2023
- Carmella Dolmer, Kitchen Table Quarterly, Autumn Issue xxiv.i
- Boxes & Blotches, LetterPile, Poetry
- "You Don't Have To Choose", Rattle, Ekphrastic Challenge
- The Light Is Important, The Ear, Issue 26
- Colors in Market, and the ways they touched you, Beaver Magazine, Spring-Issue Six
- To Win the Game, Peatsmoke Journal, Spring 2023 Issue
- burn this fucker down, The Quarter(ly), Quarter Press, Vol. V, pg.26-27
- Puzzle. Riddle. Puddle., Quibble Lit, Issue 9
- Carmella Dolmer, Red Ogre Review, Issue Sixteen
- January 2023 Issue, Artmagazineium, pg.21-24
2022
- Artist Of The Month, UPWARDS Quarterly, pg.17
Awards
2024
- Arts Champion Award, City of Hamilton Municipal Arts Awards, Ontario
- Cliff Eyland Memorial Award
- Friendly Futures Foundation Scholarship
2023
- Dr. Elizabeth Connor Scholarship
- Nova Scotia College of Art and Design Entrance Scholarship
Studio & Gallery Experience
2025 - Ongoing
- Gallery Assistant, The Hamilton Artists Inc. (The Inc.)
2024
- Guest Workshop Host, Monday Press Studios (Monday)
- Painting Studio Assistant, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (NSCAD)
2023
- Guest Workshop Host, Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB)
2021 - 2022
- Gallery Attendant, Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture (KIAC)
Education
2023 - Present
Fine Arts BFA, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, NS
2021 - 2022 (Deans List)
Visual Arts Certificate, Yukon University - School Of Visual Arts, Dawson, Y.T.