(Volume II: Paris)
(Volume I: Berlin)
Projects
Contact
a retrieval of parts
smooth,
circular
rocks,
stones,
like ley lines,
like a pilgrim’s path
the totality of a blankness which once was full
The Last Knickerbocker in New York
the care is not a contingency
but as the clouds descended on us, I could see you
Maitreya Ravenstar is a multimedia documentary artist and producer whose practice is rooted in oral history principles and collaborative ways of knowing. She explores these methodologies’ private and public possibilities both as a catalyst for creating spaces of meaningful recognition for narrators as well an important vehicle for communicating larger systemic truths to an audience. She highlights individual voices, the nuances of memory, and the context of place, leading to the superimposition of perspectives and timelines to explore the complexities of people’s relationships to eachother and their environments. This public-facing work has taken the form of publications, websites, installation, film, photography and prose. Maitreya is the co-founder of the traveling artist interview project SCEPTER, which proposes an alternative collaborative approach to the interview while exploring international perspectives on community, art, and politics. Though originally from below the welcome shadow of the Adirondack Mountains, she currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Maitreya was a 2026 Oral History Summer Institute fellow at Columbia University and a 2025 Storyteller’s Institute Fellow at Skidmore College. She is a recipient of a SEE Beyond Award, a Van DeWater Award, a DIS Ambassador for Sustainable Travel Grant, and the Skidmore Student Opportunity Fund twice. Her book but as the clouds descended on us I could see you was selected for Printed Matter’s Decolonization, Resistance, and Interconnected Solidarity table and was made available at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne, Australia. Maitreya graduated from Skidmore College (‘25) with departmental honors in a Self-Determined Major in Nonfiction Media Arts. Her thesis, The Last Knickerbocker in New York, was one of 4 winners of the all-college Periclean Scholars Award, and also won a Golden Acorn.
maitreyaravenstar@gmail.com
@maitreya_ravenstar
CV:
Education:
Columbia University Oral History Summer Institute, New York, NY
August 2026
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY 2025 Bachelor of Arts (with honors) in Self-Determined Major of Nonfiction Media Arts, Minor in Studio Art, Phi Betta Kappa
Awards, Grants, and Fellowships:
Storyteller’s Institute Fellow (2025)
Periclean Scholars Award for Senior Thesis (2025)
Phi Betta Kappa (2025)
Golden Acorn (2025)
Student Opportunity Fund grant, Skidmore College (2025; 2023)
SEE Beyond Award, Skidmore College (2024)
Van Dewater Award, Schick Gallery Juried Show (2024)
Ambassador for Sustainable Travel, DIS Copenhagen (2024)
Audrey Longley Award, Richmond American University London (2022)
Exhibitions, Screenings, and Distributors:
· but as the clouds descended on us, I could see you, Printed Matter, New York, NY, 2024-present
· Selected photographic work, Slideshow at the Hancock, Brooklyn, NY, 2026
· SCEPTER Volume II, Behind VA Shadows Gallery, Cambridge, MA, 2026
· Unsaid, Unseen, Picture Lock One, Troy NY, 2025
· a retrieval of parts, Storyteller’s Institute Exhibition, Schick Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY, 2025
· The Last Knickerbocker in New York, Case Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY, 2025
· Looking Toward the free state of Transpendency—Curator, Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs NY, 2025
· Our Shared Acquiescence, Schick Gallery Juried Show, Schick Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY, 2025
· SCEPTER Volume I, Paper Moon, Troy NY, 2025
· SCEPTER Volume I, Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs NY, 2025
· The Undulation of a Clock Hand in November (2024!), Schick Gallery Juried Show, Schick Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY, 2025
· but as the clouds descended on us, I could see you, The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia 2024
· but as the clouds descended on us, I could see you, Printed Matter St Marks, New York, NY, 2024
· but as the clouds descended on us, I could see you, Schick Gallery Juried Show, Schick Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY, 2024
· And branches reach for each other, Inevitably, we;, Case Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY, 2023
Published Interviews:
· SCEPTER INTERVIEWS: 11 interviews with artists, 2024 and 2026
· WSPN Radio Station: Interview with Portland, ME Musicians Jeff Beam and Domonic Lavoie, 2025
· SHIFT BOOKS: Interview with Swan Collective [published on artist’s app Lexi.exe], 2024
· WSPN Radio Station: A Berlin Musician’s Persistent Connection to the Capital Region’s Hip-Hop Scene, 2023
· Tang Teaching Museum: Artist Interview with Alice O’Malley, 2022
Work Experience:
Associate Producer,
Argo Films, remote
March 2026-Present
· Conduct research on potential partners; organize outreach spreadsheets and correspond with partners
· Organize screening bookings, promotion and requests
· Manage company email and website
· Design assets for promotional material
Associate Producer
Elemental Films, New York, NY
February 2026-Present
· Community engagement/audience development research through various channels
· Outreach research and data entry for potential partners
· Pre-interview research and screening calls
· Edit video with Premiere
Oral Historian and Producer,
Hatricks Public Relations Limited, London, United Kingdom
December 2025-Present
· Prepare for and conduct bi-weekly oral history interviews with collaborator Kate Hawthorne
· Co-produce audio-visual project on the history of the jingle industry, with special interest in London in the 1970s using oral histories with Hawthorne as well as archive of Hawthorne's interviews with jingle industry figures
· Manage and organize project content and archive
· Edit and manage oral history transcripts
Co-Creator of Artist Interview Project,
SCEPTER
June 2024-Present
· Research and reach out to artists to coordinate interviews
· Conduct 2-4 hour interview sessions with artists while collaborating on artworks
· Photograph interview sessions in documentary style as well as portraits of the artists
· Transcribe and edit interview transcripts
· Social media marketing and press outreach
Storyteller’s Institute Fellow,
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
May-June 2025
· Participated in group critiques and workshops
· Spent five weeks self-directing a nonfiction arts project
· Envisioned and executed an installation presenting my work on the project
Curator of Hyde Cabinet #28: Looking Toward the free state of Transplendency,
Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY
March-July 2025
· Conducted research of museum’s archives, selected artwork that aligned with museums main show
· Research and wrote exhibition wall and web text, working with the head curator to ensure tone aligned with the museum
Designer and Editor of publication on Urban Renewal in Saratoga Springs, NY,
MDOCS and C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, Saratoga Springs, NY
January-April 2025
· Transcribed and pulled quotes from archival oral histories
· Selected archival media as well as documentation of recent restorative public art events for narrative in a publication on Saratoga Springs' history of Urban Renewal
· Designed layout of publication on InDesign
· Coordinated with C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studio to adhere to their vision for the project
Co-President,
Art Circle, Saratoga Springs, NY September 2024-May 2025
· Planned and executed screenings, workshops, and the bi-annual Cabaret
· Presented screenings, interviewed visiting artists, led Q&As
· Designed promotional content such as posters and social media posts
Web Master,
WSPN Radio Station, Saratoga Springs, NY September 2023-May 2025
· Redesigned the station’s website using WordPress, directing aesthetic layout and copywriting content
· Ran the station’s blog, outreaching to DJs and artists to send in articles and interviews, editing submissions, sourcing images for posts
· Led interviews of professional visiting musicians, editing transcripts into articles
· Designed social media posts, wrote copy for media, managed various media accounts
Editorial and Research Assistant,
SHIFT BOOKS, Berlin, Germany June-August 2024
· Wrote copy for press and social media, wrote and designed newsletters and various articles for the company’s website
· Organized archived photography for the Lost & Found project, learned photo editing techniques to ensure the order of photos displayed has a proper basis
· Shadowed meetings with photographer during preliminary book designing sessions, aiding in English translations for captions and organizing images for consideration of sequencing
· Researched author/artist for an interview, conducted interview, transcribed and edited interview for an article and app
· Attended the Rencontres d’Arles with company and wrote article summarizing experience
News Assistant,
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Sept 2022-Oct 2024
· Wrote articles for the College’s Marketing and Communications Office by conducting research, interviewing individuals, and going into the field to provide first-person accounts
· Represented Skidmore as the photographer for events, considering lighting, angles, and subjects
· Attended weekly meetings in the office, consulting with different members of the team to acquire knowledge of different departments (ex. Video, social media)
Studio Assistant,
Evan Roth, Berlin, Germany June-July 2023
· Aided in set-up of online shop, researched creation of products and art pieces, created mock-ups of album covers for upcoming record
· Restretched canvases, tested paint, sewed products, shot photographs of products
· Tested and documented various patterns for sculptures, created prototypes of sculptures
· Kept website up to date, created PDF of press, updated inventory list
© 2026 M.R.