caldera

Rafael Oses holds degrees from Hartford Art School and Columbia University. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 1998, he received an artist grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in 1999, and was a MacDowell Colony fellow in 2002. His poems have appeared in several national literary journals, his radio play “Violet Enlightens” is archived in the Electronic Poetry Center at SUNY-Buffalo, and “Necessary Monsters”, a staged song cycle written with composer Carla Kihlstedt, was most recently performed at MCA Chicago in 2008.  While at Caldera, he hopes to finish a long comedic poem based on the mythological character Cassandra, her brother Helenus, and the end of the world.

Jessica Burton is a Portland based dancer and choreographer. She studied dance at Lewis & Clark College, CalArts, and Columbia College Chicago. Jessica’s work has been presented at Links Hall in Chicago, Telegraph Arts in Portland and at the Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards in Seattle. Jessica has worked with choreographers such as Chicago artist Asimina Chremos, San Francisco based Lisa Wymore, and with Portland Companies tEEth (NWNW and TBA:07 Festival), and Hot Little Hands (TBA:08 Festival, NWNW 2009, Ill-Starred 2009).

Jason Porter, a graduate of the MFA program at Hunter college, was born in southeastern Michigan in 1972. He has written a short novel titled Why Are You So Sad? and is hard at work on a new novel about a fallen celebrity boxer on an epic search for someone, or thing, to punch. Despite a  perfectly happy childhood, he is now even happier to call Brooklyn his home, where he lives with his girlfriend and their two angelic terrier mutts. He would like it very much if socks were less expensive.

Kevin Cooley lives and works in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and often times collaborator Bridget Batch. He is primarily a photo and video artist who does freelance assignment work as well. His has been widely exhibited and is in several important collections including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Wendy Given was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1971. She is currently producing photo-based conceptual constructions and installations to invoke a willingness in the viewer to search, see and believe. Given received her masters of Fine Arts from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California in 2002 and her Batchelor’s of  Fine Arts from the Atlanta College of Art in Atlanta, GA (now the Savannah College of Art and Design) in 1993. She has received numerous awards including the Betty and Monte Factor Graduate Scholarship and Ahmanson Foundation Scholarship while at Otis, and the Gene Allcott Memorial Scholarship Merit Award at the Atlanta College of Art. Her work in photography and video has been exhibited in Germany, The Netherlands and nationally. Given is a Portland, Oregon based visual artist where the current photographic work is produced with her husband, two dogs and cat. For more information, please visit her website at www.wendygiven.com