CV
Oscar Miguel Santos is a transdisciplinary artist, composer, musician, event organizer, and educator who has exhibited and performed in North America, Europe, and Japan. Oscar has been active in the Los Angeles art community, creating video, sound, and performance work since 2002. Oscar organizes music and performance events in non-traditional spaces seeking to create communities of reciprocity which explore, redefine, and celebrate the notions of Punk and Queerness. Additionally, Oscar co-organizes with artists and community members to discuss the effects of racism in the art world through a series entitled ‘Decolonizing the White Box’ at Human Resources Gallery Los Angeles.
Oscar has been an art educator at the High School and College level since 2005. Oscar currently teaches Digital Media, Visual Art, Design, and Visual Communications at both Los Angeles Community College and FIDM. Oscar has fronted a psychedelic, brown futurist, pop performance art and musical group called Sister Mantos since 2008. Oscar holds bachelor’s degrees in Art and History from UCLA and a Master’s in Education with an emphasis on Computers and Educational Technology from Cal State Northridge. Oscar was born in El Salvador and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
EDUCATION
2013 M.A. in Education – Computers and Educational Technology, California State University Northridge
2005 Visual Arts Teaching Credential, California State University Northridge
2002 B.A. in Art + B.A. in History, University of California Los Angeles
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 Sister Mantos Record Release, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA
2007 1884: An Experiment in Sound and Color, Eighteen-Thirty, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCES
2014 Native Strategies: N (enter) S, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Confusion is Sex #3, Sepulveda Dam Basin, Burbank, CA
2012 HR IN JAN, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Tour d’Arts, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2011 Thank You Rosekind, Mark Golamco, Rachel Mason, Oscar Santos, Human Resources, Los Angeles CA
2010 Gutted, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Bicycle Bell Ensemble Workshop, UCR Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, CA
2010 Little Tremors: An Exhibition of L.A. Artists, Atelierhof Kruezberg, Berlin, Germany
2010 Peform! Now! Festival, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Luz Y Sombra (An Eletro-Bilingual-Opera), Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA
2010 Sister Mantos and Trevy Trevwa, Bradford Playhouse, Bradford, UK
2009 TRAUERMUSIK, Eighteen Thirty, Los Angeles, CA
2009 In Accordance with Necessity, Five Thirty Three, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Queer Mondays, Highways Performance Space, Los Angeles,CA
2009 100, Sugar Hair Salon, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Queer 9000, Aaalborg, Denmark
2009 Negative Charms, The Company Art, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Copenhagen Queer Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
2008 Coxpon Ambient Tent / Sziget Festival, Budapest, Hungary
2008 Human Resources, The Company Art, Los Angeles CA
2008 Is It Music?, Dangerous Curve, Los Angeles CA
2008 Thank Tank 2008: Going Public, Elysian Park, Los Angeles, CA
2006 The Dream Show, Circus of Books, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Money is No Object, AMProject, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Die Prof. Winkler Kunst-Und Literaturtage, Circus of Books, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Christmas in July, Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Black Dragon Society, Apex Art, New York, NY
2004 LA’s Illest Artists, Davies Residence, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Oscar Santos)
2003 3D 7DEEP, Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Works Space, Moon Residence, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Swan Moon)
2002 Trance Plants, The Latch Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Ry Rocklen)
2002 Nick Lowe + Oscar Santos, Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Face Off, The Smell, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Hannah Greely)
2000 Spoils, Coleman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
CURATORIAL
2014 Primary Source: Artifacts of Contemporary Queer Latin@ Performance Art, Advocate & Gochis Galleries, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Los Angeles, CA
2014 Programming Committee Member, HRLA Human Rescources Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (ongoing)
2012 Cool World Party LA, nomadic, Los Angeles, CA (ongoing)
2013 Confusion is Sex #3 (co-organized with Dino Dinco and Dawn Kasper), Sepulveda Dam Basin, Burbank, CA
2010 Confusion is Sex #2 (co-organized with Dino Dinco and Dawn Kasper), The Other Side, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Confusion is Sex (co-organized with Dino Dinco and Dawn Kasper), Pieter, Los Angeles, CA
LECTURES, PANELS & OTHER ACTIVITIES
2017 Panel Guest, Music in Action: Queer Punk Los Angeles, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA
2014 Guest Lecturer, Visual Media and Social Justice – Arts Education Undergraduate Practicum, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2013, Guest Juror, Graphic Arts Final Critique, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA
2013 Guest Lecturer, Educational ‘App’ Design, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA
2012 Visual Communications Instructor, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, CA (ongoing)
2005 Digital Photography Teacher, Crescenta Valley High School, Glendale Unified School District, Glendale, CA
2003 Panel Member & Instructor in ‘Taking Flight: Migration Dreams’ presented by
L.A. Commons and The Institute for Urban Research and Development, Mac Arthur Park, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Workshop Instructor at ‘MAK Day 2004: Fashion Statement’ at the MAK Center, West Hollywood, CA
2001 UCLA Creative Team Member in ‘MAKING’ presented by The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
PRESS
2014 “Center Notes”, Vanguard Now, LA LGBT Center, July 3
2013 “Confusion Is Sex #3, Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve”, Another Righteous Transfer, August 5
2011 Harris, Sara, “Hear in the City”, KPFK, August 9
2010 Martins, Chris, “Vinyl of the Week”, LA WEEKLY, July 23
2009 Wilk, Thomas, “Sister Manots:Blind Love”, Jezebel Music, July 25
COLLECTIONS
Dean Valentine Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Elat Leviton Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA