Biographical Information

Interdisciplinary artist and educator, Brandie Maddalena was born in La Mesa, California, and grew up in rural northern California. She earned her BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA from San Diego State University’s School of Art +Design. Maddalena explores materials and their relationships to create symbols of shared human experiences in her process-based sculptural and participatory work. Empathy, egalitarianism, and interpersonal connections are consistent pursuits in her work. She believes that art has the capacity to build bridges between people and expands their understanding of the world.
Much of her past work has been dedicated to facilitating community-driven artworks, many centered around disadvantaged children and youth. She co-founded and then directed a bi-national social artwork, Dot-to-Dot for six years, which facilitated the collaborations between hundreds of children on the opposite side of the Mexico/USA border, and countless opportunities for artists to transcend the limitations of the border through collaborative artmaking. Through her Creative Catalyst Fellowship project, The Nature of a Door is to be Opened, Maddalena recorded the favorite memories of small children, the sculpture of high school students, threading the community of City Heights together through a resulting installation. In partnership with AjA Project of San Diego, Maddalena collaborated with teen Karen refugees to create an interactive installation, Sights & Sounds of Transition. In addition to her socially engaged art practice, Maddalena taught as a teaching artist in Title 1 schools (TK -12th grade) for five years.