Rosezetta Petri: "I am a mother, artist, and multimedia storyteller from Milwaukee, WI and am committed to creating work that honors and validates the experiences of individuals looking at life through the lens of outsider. As a woman of color making art, creating work is one of the few areas in life where I freely name, embrace, and honor my own identity. I endure daily for the right to birth my own personal mythology as daughter/sister/mother/woman/servant/priestess/pharaoh/goddess. Because society has placed such stock on what is valued as ‘normal’ I am challenged by balancing complimentary and opposing facets of my personality. Walking a blurred line between sacred and profane, beauty and utilitarianism, warrior and lover, humility and pride—I’ve come to know it as balancing my Malcolm out with a little bit of Martin. I am attempting to create meaningful work that conveys and celebrates the complex nature of human life and relationships while further exploring my own personal spiritual journey and commitment to community service. I work to open social dialogue that is accessible regardless of age, class, origin, gender, sexual identity, or personal spiritual path. Using photographs, mixed media, textiles and storytelling, I hope to contribute to the creation of long-term social equality and a truly free society. I am proud of my diverse background, as well as the gifts and traits passed down to me though traditional and non-traditional avenues. I am especially proud of my family, and their continued struggle to do what is right, not what is easy. In my art, I hope to honor the ancestors (known and forgotten) by carrying on cultural traditions as they have manifested in my life. I also hope to shed light on the shared struggle of survival—of existence and emotion—in terms and images that resonate with those who experience it. I stand in solidarity as and with the oppressed people of the world and hope to use my work as a respectful way of sharing the valuable stories and lessons brought to the table."