Patricia Triumpho Sullivan

Sculptor, Photographer

Born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1961, the artist has been a resident of Salinas, California on the Monterey Bay for 20 years. Working in various mediums, Ms. Sullivan feels her art has matured over time. She has participated in many group shows, and from 1998 to the present has held six solo exhibitions of her ceramic sculpture, paintings and photographs.

A 2000 graduate of Hartnell College with an Associate of Arts Degree in Fine Art, Sullivan is currently attending California State University Monterey Bay. She will graduate in spring 2002 with her B.A. in Visual and Public Art, and a minor in Spanish.

"Although I am continuing my formal education, I know that I will never cease to learn from life…this is one of my gifts, to keep searching for knowledge, to be open to new experiences, use these in my art, and share what I have learned with others."

Sullivan was twice the recipient of the coveted Boronda International Art Scholarship, where she studied the art and culture of Spain, Mexico City and Oaxaca. She has also traveled and researched art in Guadalajara, Mérida, and Guanajato, Mexico.

Ms. Sullivan has recently received two generous scholarships from the Fort Ord Alumni Association towards her education at CSUMB, as well as her continuing internship with the Monterey Art and Historical Association. She has worked in this capacity with the new Monterey Presidio Museum, The Smithsonian Show at the National Steinbeck Center for Woody Guthrie, the retrospective exhibition for the Monterey Pop Festival, and the Steinbeck in Hollywood show in 2001.

As the curator/organizer of Bailando con la Muerte - Dancing with Death, an annual multicultural celebration at Hartnell College for El Día de los Muertos, Ms. Sullivan was amazed by the overwhelming community support and encouragement of the participants. Through these experiences, Sullivan was inspired to create an environment for artists of various backgrounds to gather on a year round basis. She began to organize Artistas Unidos - Artists United, a multicultural, multi-disciplinary center for the arts located in Oldtown Salinas due to the desire of local artists, educators, students, and community members to have an inclusive venue for all artists to create, display, and perform their work.

"This nonprofit organization is an asset to the artistic community, as well as the residents of Monterey County, since Artistas Unidos - Artists United provides a space for everyone in the area to have a forum for new ideas, to express themselves without inhibition, therefore strengthening bonds between cultural groups within the community as a whole."