RESUME

Verona Fonte, Ph.D.Art Administrator, Working Artist, Educator, Lifelong Learner

510 524 4150

 veronafonte@gmail.com

WEBSITES

http://www.veronafonte.jimdo.com

http://www.irisarts.org 

EDUCATION 

B.A. 1965 History, Art History Tulane University History 

One year post-graduate Fine Art,1970 San Diego State University 

M.A./Ph.D. Psychology 1976 California School of Professional Psychology 

 

ENGAGEMENT IN ARTS 

  • Executive Director Iris Arts & Education Group 1995 - present 
  • Teaches printing in the printroom at Berkley City College that is affiliated with the MultiMedia Department - 2017 to present
  • Digital Artist Collective, Berkeley City College Chair Venue Committee 2018
  • Digital Artist Collective, Berkeley City College President   2017 
  • Board of Advisors Women’s Environmental Dialogue 2016 - present 
  • Board of Directors Women’s Environmental Dialogue 2012 - 2016 
  • Creative Consultant to Voz Propia Foundation 2008 - 2014 

 

CURATORIAL 

  • Conceived of and curated exhibition at the Jewett Gallery at the San Francisco Main Library called "The Gravity of Today: Visions for Tomorrow" for the Digital Artis Collective at Berkeley City College.  The Exhibition was a journey through different dimensions of the impact of climate change reflecting the polluters, the impact on the human psyche, the impact on the environment, the resistance and chaos of climate change, the secondary consequences of climate change, and finally some reflections of hope.   This exhibition was chosen because it overlapped with the Global Climate Summit in San Francisco and was affiliate with the Summit.
  • Curated show at the Jerry Adams Gallery, Berkley City College 2017

 

EXPERTISE IN THE ARTS AND EDUCATION 

  • Development of digital learning materials: Development of learning materials for graduate school students in psychology as faculty/administrator at Saybrook Institute; Development of interactive learning systems: “Digital Media Biography” of Karl Linn, Founder of Community Garden movement in U.S.; A History of Computer Communications 1968 -1988 which is now part of Computer History Museum. 
  • Fine arts and digital arts mediums: Motion graphics and digital video shorts both video and animations? Digital Printmaking ? Photography ? Painting ? Website development (#15) and graphic design projects for non profits internationally through Iris Arts dating from the mid 90’s. 
  • Digital Media Skills: Fluent in variety of digital media skills including Adobe Creative Cloud Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects,, Premier Pro, Lightroom, InDesign, Bridge, Animate. Cinema 4D; learning AutoDesk Maya. 
  • Administration/ Education: Executive Director of NGO, Iris Arts, focusing on socially relevant art projects; Previous: Academic Dean of graduate program in Psychology; Associate Professor Counseling Department San Diego State University. 

 

EXHIBITIONS 

  • 2008 Guadalupe Urbina Retrospective, “Origenes” 4:05 Animation(based on art and music by Guadalupe Urbina), ?Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica. 
  • 2016 Smaller Footprint, Series - The Elements : “Water”?Museum of Art & History, Lancaster, California, (Curated) 
  • 2017 Digital Art: Power of the Pixel, Series -Escape From Fire: “In Flight”, “Victims of Siege - Damascus 2016”, “Refugee Camp”?Berkeley Central Art Passageway, Berkeley, California, (Curated) 
  • 2017 Bring to Light, Series Parched: “Parched #1” 
  • Jerry Adams Gallery, Berkeley City College, Berkeley, California, (Curated) 
  • 2017 Heart and Soul, Series Escape From Fire: “Maternal Instinct”, “Turtle Island”, “Solitude”?Expression Gallery, Berkeley, California, (Curated), 
  • 2017 Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do without; Lessons from our Grandmothers, Series - The Elements: “Earth” 
  • San Francisco Library, San Francisco, California. (Curated) 
  • 2017 Women and Art, “Jaguar Woman” 
  • Expression Gallery, Berkeley, California, (Curated) 
  • 2018  HomeMade Cafe, "CoExistence or No Existence", "Turtle Island"
  • 2018   The Gravity of Today: Visions for Tomorrow,
  • Jewett Gallery, San Francisco Main Library

 

SHORTS PRODUCED BETWEEN 1996 - 2014 

  • 'A Peaceful Warrior' (11:51) - Short about the work of Gusein and Olga in Dagestan using martial arts to teach peace to youth in the Caucasus. 
  • 'Miracles of Each Moment' (8:06) - Short using paintings and narrative by Zen teacher Kaz Tanahashi. 
  • 'Soul of Oaxaca' (4:55) - animation using deconstructed elements from paintings by Roman Llaguno of Oaxaca. Narrative by Verona Fonte based on interview with Roman about his paintings. 
  • 'Quest For Justice' (11:18) - Film about the Korean Comfort Women using their paintings to tell their story & told through the powerful voice of Korean Comfort Woman Grandmother Soon Due Kim. 
  • 'Karl Linn: Memorial 1923 -2005' (7:19) - Images only of Karl throughout his life in Germany, Palestine, Switzerland, New York, Philadelphia, Berkeley. Throughout his life he sought utopian communities, moving on when disappointed. He founded the urban garden movement in the US. 
  • 'Childhood in Germany: 1923 - 1934' - (3:05) - Short about Karl Linn's formative years before escape to Palestine. This is part of a digital media biography I created about his life, making multiple short about his life events, his mentors, his wisdom words. This was created in the last year of his life at his request. The original footage is housed at the Holocaust Museum in Berlin. 
  • 'Exposing Ansel Adams' (8:23) - A short film presented at the Ansel Adams Centennial in Yosemite about Ansel's two eldest darkroom assistances. 
  • 'Jaguar Woman' (3:27) - animation using music and deconstructed elements from paintings by Guadalupe Urbina. 
  • 'Origenes' (4:05) - animation based of song Origenes by Guadalupe Urbina, using deconstructed elements from her paintings. 
  • 'El Sol Llego' (1:00) - animation of poem by Guadalupe Urbina; music also by Guadalupe Urbina 
  • 'Maya Tzolkin Chichen Itza' (:21) - Preliminary Study about concepts of TIME and is an animation of the observatory at Chichen Itza and the Maya Tzolkin calendar working. Verona constructed and animated everything. 
  • 'Misra Yantra' (1:34) - Preliminary Study about concepts of TIME and is an animation of the Misra Yantra a 60 foot high astonomical instrument at the Jantar Observatory in Delhi, India which was constructed in 1724. Verona constructed and animated everything. 
  • 'Galileo Galilei Pisa Padua Years' (:55) - Preliminary Studyan animation about the Pisa Padua Years of Galileo's life. 

 

SELECTED REFERENCES: 

Jeanne Adams, Ansel Adams Gallery 

Hagit Cohen, Board of Directors of WEAD (Women Eco Artist Dialog) 

Joe Doyle, Founder, Faculty MultiMedia Department, Berkeley City College. 

Additionally Verona Fonte had a career as an educator and clinical psychologist from 1976 to 1995, both teaching and as Academic Dean of a graduate program in psychology.