Arts Directory

About

Artist Bio

Markus Tracy was born in Tokyo, Japan, and raised in Germany, Holland, and the United States. After completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico and his Master of Fine Arts at Otis College of Design in Los Angeles, California, Tracy emerged as a multidisciplinary artist with a socially engaged practice focusing on murals, installations, and site-specific projects. Along with exhibiting his work nationally, Tracy has been awarded numerous public art commissions, project grants, and artist-in-residencies throughout the United States. As a former program director for the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, his program, New Directions Youth Arts, was a recipient of the Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Coming Up Taller Award in 2010.

As a multidisciplinary artist, Tracy teaches, partners, and consults with schools, communities, state art councils and commissions, municipal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and correctional facilities throughout the United States. He is listed as a teaching artist and multidisciplinary artist in the State Art Councils and Commissions of Nevada, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi, and for nonprofit organizations such as Animated Democracy–A Program of American for the Arts, Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts–Arts Teach, and Lifetime Arts Inc.

Artist Statement

Defining community arts is when you explore new artistic strategies through community dialogue, social activism, and partnerships with outside agencies such as: public/private schools, city/county cultural facilities, nonprofit/for profit agencies, and civic institutions. The community artist is “civically engaged” through partnerships in the understanding and celebration of cultural diversity, socioeconomic concerns, conflict resolution, celebration of past histories, current events that help shape individual communities, and hopes for a productive and sustainable future. These relationships promote a positive outlet for artistic expression, community dialogue, access to social services, reduction of negative behavior, and life-skill exercises in and through the arts. During a core group workshop, I will work closely with students and classroom teachers to discuss issues related to their community. The outcome of these ‘shared experiences’ will lead to a community mural and/or site-specific project that will encompass relationship building for all those involved. This relationship building not only promotes a positive outlet for artistic expression but cross-cultural and community relations among students, classroom teachers, and community members at-large.

Tracy was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1967. He was raised in Japan, Germany, Holland, and throughout the United States. In the early 1990s, Tracy emerged as a community artist primarily working on large-scale murals, creative placemaking, and creative intervention projects; which he has organized and completed throughout the United States. Tracy is also an interdisciplinary artist, national teaching artist, and an award-winning cultural arts programmer; winning the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award in 2010. Tracy has collaborated and consulted with artist teams, schools, state, city and nonprofit arts organizations and correctional facilities throughout the United States. Tracy is a roster teaching artist for the State Art Councils of: Nevada, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. He is also a roster teaching artist for the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts in Costa Mesa, California and for the Urban Arts Commission in Memphis, Tennessee.