Ohio Art League - Board of Trustees

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Portrait of Julian Cennamo next to a blue painting on a white wall. Cennamo has a beard and is wearing a white shirt with a black jacket. Julian Cennamo, President

Exhibiting Artist

Julian Cennamo

Julian Cennamo, is a contemporary landscape Painter, and collage Artist. He has exhibited his

with the Georgian Museum, and Bryn Du Mansion. Cennamo, also served with the Columbus Museum.

Portrait of Nikki Swift sitting in a chair in a grey jacket Nikki Swift, Treasurer

Video Artist, Film Producer, Art and Video Curator, Multi-Media Designer

Nicolettecinemagraphics

Nikki Swift has been a practicing filmmaker and artist for most of her life. Recording day-to-day life since she was a teenager, she imagines herself a tinkerer of sorts exploring various image making devices to fit her creative whims. Her most recent works move in two directions. The first is a continued series of personal experimental video essays on her life as an American orphan. The second is a series of video installations that combine social commentaries with archival materials, found footage, and a connection to the historical avant-garde film and video movements. Her background includes a Bachelor of Art in both Film Studies and Art History from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Library and Information Science with a focus in digital collections preservation and access from Kent State University. Since 2003, she has been working as an artist, curator, and media consult for businesses, non-profits, and residents of the Central Ohio area while producing her own work which have shown at festivals and competitions across the US and abroad. In 2014 she was awarded a Greater Columbus Arts Council Media Arts Fellowship.

Over the past decade Nikki has provided many services to the public offering workshops for the Greater Columbus Arts Council, 4-H, and Adobe. She has a long history of curating moving image programs around Columbus, Ohio as part of organizations such as The Columbus Moving Image Art Review, The Columbus International Film + Video Festival, Comfest, and the Independents Day Festival.

In 2020 Nicolettecinemagraphics was awarded the Ohio Governors' Award for Small Business Supporting the Arts by the Ohio Arts Council.

Portrait of Matt Swift with video art behind in the background. Swiftis standing with arms folded and has a beard and is wearing a black and white striped shirt.

Matt Swift, Secretary

Exhibiting Artist

Nicolettecinemagraphics

Matt Swift is a Columbus based artist, filmmaker, educator and community organizer with a background that includes a Bachelor of Arts in both Film Studies and Art History with a Minor focus in Fine Arts from the Ohio State University and a Masters in Library and Information Science with a focus in digital collections preservation and access from Kent State University. For over 15 years he has been performing freelance work locally in the form of providing audio/visual digitization consultation and creating video, photo, graphic arts, and paintings for the purpose of art exhibition as part of his personal art career and as a member of Nicolettecinemagraphics a local small multimedia business operated by his partner Nikki Swift . He has led workshops in media arts for non-profits such as 4-H and The Greater Columbus Arts Council. He has a long history of curating moving image programs and teaching film around Columbus, Ohio as part of organizations such as The Columbus Moving Image Art Review, The Journal of Short Film, The Ohio State Film Studies Program, Reelabiltites Film Festival, The Columbus International Film + Video Festival, Comfest, and the Independents Day Festival.

In 2014 Matt was awarded a Greater Columbus Arts Council Media Arts Fellowship for his work in moving image art.

In 2020 Nicolettecinemagraphics was awarded the Ohio Governors Award for Small Business Supporting the Arts by the Ohio Arts Council.

Brent Elam, Board Member

Amanda Clearcreek High School Art Teacher & Exhibiting Artist

Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition Regional director

Brent Elam

Brent Elam's work is based on what every artist's artwork is based on, their own perception of the world. In Brent's world his art deals with things as superficial as pop icons, cartoons and pro wrestlers to more existential concepts as the meaning of life, religion, and politics. He finds his thoughts and ideas vary wildly where as his style and techniques are fairly consistent which creates a very recognizable body of work. Through layers of wood collage and paint his artistic voice seems to scream at the viewer rather than whisper.

Portrait of Michol Childress. Michol has dark curly hair, is wearing glasses and a black shirt with a white jacket. The background is a stone building.

Michol Childress, Board Member

Exhibiting Artist

I am a professional artist and long term resident of Columbus, Ohio.

I have studied Painting and Art History at The Ohio State University, and The Columbus College of Art and Design and an active member of Creative Women of Color since 2012 to the present.

AJ Vanderelli, Board Member

Exhibiting Artist, Curator and Community Organizer

Alicia Jean Vanderelli (AJ) was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Panama City, Florida. In 2003, she settled in Columbus, Ohio. She obtained a Bachelors of fine arts with a concentration in oil painting in 2008 from the Columbus College of Art and Design, graduating magna cum laude.

From November 2014 through December 2023, AJ created an alternative gallery space called the Vanderelli room. The gallery was located in Columbus, Ohio, within the Franklinton arts district. The space was multifaceted housing a variety of art exhibitions, performances, luncheons, private parties and events. Although the gallery closed its doors on December 31, 2023, AJ continues to shape an inclusive environment, one that enables individuals to reach their potential through self-expression and exploration. AJ continues to work closely with artists’ exhibition opportunities, artists’ workshops and community outreach.

Michael Halliday, Board Member

Exhibiting Artist

Represented by Marcia Evans Gallery

Michael J. Halliday is a native to Columbus, Ohio. He began studying art at Columbus West High School and went on to study at the Fine Arts Department at The Ohio State University, majoring in painting.

As a young and aspiring artist, Halliday led a bohemian lifestyle and in the mid-70s, he ventured to the West Coast. During some of this period he had abandoned painting altogether as he struggled to stay sober. After returning to painting Michael grew to excel in large-sized, abstract painting; drawing inspiration from daily, mundane objects, and nature.

In 2010, he returned to Columbus to begin a new chapter of painting. His artistic achievement has been recognized by the acquisition of his work for such locations as Red Sky at Morn and the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Columbus.

Amy Tillinghast is the Vice President of Marketing at Experience Columbus, the Greater Columbus Convention and Visitor Bureau, where she is responsible for marketing, communications, interactive and events. She also leads initiatives to improve national awareness of the city's image. Previously, Amy was Creative Director at McGraw-Hill where she spent nearly a decade strategically managing creative development, marketing communications and digital to promote the company's educational products. Her early experience includes niche marketing and advertising firms. Amy earned her B.S. in Marketing from Missouri State University. She and her husband, Sean, reside in Sunbury, Ohio.