About Raissa
Baltimore City
Raissa Contreras is an artist, filmmaker, and educator in Baltimore City. She has an MA in Film & Video from MICA and an MFA in Painting from the University of New Mexico. Her teaching and work are inter or multi-disciplinary and she has exhibited nationally and internationally. She was a 2019 recipient of a Maryland State Arts Grant for Media Arts.
Five of her films have premiered in LA since 2018 and have won numerous awards. Her most recent film, Fells Point… more
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Jaime & the Tamales
Jaime & the Tamales is a 16 mm, black & white, cinema verite short depicting Jaime selling his tamales on a sunny day in Baltimore. It is imagistic & painterly, informed by my background in painting. It premiered in LA with the Silicon Beach Film Festival in April 2018 where it won Best Cinematography for Short Documentary and in NY with NewFilmmakers NY at the Anthology Film Archives. It made its world premiere May 2019 with the L'Age d'Or International Arthouse Film Festival in Kolkata, India, where it won Best Women's Film. In 2022, it was awarded Best Short Doc with the New Jersey Film Awards and screened in Lisbon with the Lisbon Film Rendevous. It has also screened with the Silver State Film Festival, Experiments in Cinema in New Mexico and the Fisura Int'l Experimental Film & Video Festival in Mexico City.
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Jaime & the Tamales - TrailerThis is a 16 mm, black & white, cinema verite film depicting Jaime selling his tamales on a sunny day in Baltimore. It premiered in LA with the Silicon Beach Film Festival in April 2018 where it won Best Cinematography for Short Doc and in NY at the Anthology Film Archives. It has screened nationally and internationally. It made its world premiere with the L'Age d'Or Int'l Arthouse Film Festival in Kolkata, India where it won Best Women's Film. In 2022, it won Best Short Documentary with the New Jersey Film Awards and screened in Lisbon with the Lisbon Film Rendevous. In It has also screened with the Silver State Film Festival, Experiments in Cinema, and the Fisura Int'l Experimental Film & Video Festival in Mexico City.
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Jaime & the Tamales Posterfilm poster
Porkchop & the 28th St North Carolina Watermelons
This is a 16 mm, black & white, cinema verite piece showing Porkchop selling his watermelons on a summer day in Baltimore. It is informed by street photography and the dreamlike elements of painting. It premiered in LA with the Golden State Film Festival and in NY with the Bushwick Film Festival. It screeened with the Silicon Beach Miami Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Short Doc and with the Southern Colorado Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Award. It has also shown with the Short to the Point Film Festival in Bucharest, Romania, Experiments in Cinema and the Los Angeles Cinefest. It rec'd Honorable Mention with the LA Underground Film Festival.
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Porkchop & the 28th St North Carolina Watermelons - TrailerThis is a 16 mm, black & white, cinema verite piece showing Porkchop selling his watermelons on a hot summer day in Baltimore. It premiered in LA September 2018 with the Golden State Film Festival and in NY with the Bushwick Film Festival in October 2017. It won the Audience Award for Short Documentary with Silicon Beach Miami Film Festival and the Special Jury Award with the Southern Colorado Film Festival. It has also screened with the Short to the Point Film Festival, Bucharest, Romania, Experiments in Cinema, and Los Angeles Cinefest. A 1 min clip appeared on the LED Billboard with Artscape in 2015.
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Porkchop Posterfilm poster
Christmas Retrospective 2018
This work was originally set in San Ysidro Church, an adobe church, in Corrales, NM. I was inspired by the church decorating periods throughout history and the work of Tiepolo in particular, who I researched in travels through Italy. I decorated the entire church as I reinterpreted the Madonna & Child imagery. My ever present symbol, the chicken, acts as messenger, harbinger, visitor. Chickens assist in escorting the Madonna to heaven in my Assumption based on a vision I had in NM. I had been unable to show this body of work since that installation for lack of a proper space. When the West Gallery opened, I had the space to resurrect a good portion it and give a sense of the whole. The work reflects ideas surrounding Christmas so a show this time of year created nice symmetry. I include two shots from the original installation in these examples.
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Installation ShotThe Visitation (left) & The Assumption (right)
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Installation ShotThe Assumption (left) & Putto (right)
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Installation ShotPutto & Chicken in a Tussle
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Installation ShotPutto & Chicken in a Tussle (on wall) & Reconcilation (in reflection)
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Installation ShotReconciliation
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Installation ShotThe Visitation
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Installation ShotPutto
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Installation ShotStudies for Visitation
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Original Installation - San Ysidro Church, Corrales, NMChurch with The Assumption
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Original Altar - Installation ShotPutto - The Assumption - Putto & Chicken in a Tussle
Street Photography
This is digtial street photography. It has exhibited with the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, the Mobile Photography Awards and the West Gallery in Baltimore.
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Dancers from EquadorTraditional dancers from Ecuador at the annual Christmas parade in Hampden - 2022
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The Boys in the BandMarching band at the Mayor's Annual Christmas Parade - Hampden 2022
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FrostyFrosty floats over the Mayor's Annual Christmas Parade in Hampden - 2022
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Circus RingmasterDigital Photo - 2015 - Exhibited with LACDA
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Coney Island SundayDigital Photo - 2015 - Exhibited with LACDA
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Venice Beach SundayDigital Photo - 2015 - Exhibited with LACDA
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Halloween HampdenDigital Photo - 2014
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Halloween HampdenDigital Photo - 2014
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Showgirls MangosDigital Photo - 2013 - Exhibited with LACDA & Mobile Photography Awards
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Union Square MarketDigital Photo - 2016
A Great Day in Charm City
This is a 16 mm, black & white, cinema verite piece showing two of Baltimore's vanishing traditions. They represent times when magic enters the everyday. It is currently available on Amazon Prime. It screened in LA with the Marina Del Ray Film Festival in 2018 & in NY at the Anthology Film Archives. It has also screened with the Puerto Madero Film Festival, Argentina, The Cutting Room, Nottingham, UK and Experiments in Cinema. It was included in the Very Best of Experiments in Cinema Anthology.
Sketchbook Project
This is work I did in conjunction with the Sketchbook Project and the Brooklyn Art Library. I did 3 sketchbooks between 2011 and 2012 which traveled with the Sketchbook Project and were exhibited nationally and internationally. I was inspired by Easter, as some of the sketches were done in the spring, the circus and walks with my dog.
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Chicken & Starry Night - Chinese PagodaInk Wash & Pencil on Paper - 4" X 6"
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Chicken Starry NightInk Wash & Pencil on Paper - 8" x 12"
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Bunny in a Field of DandelionsInk Wash & Pencil on Paper - 4" x 6"
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Chicken in a Cherry Blossom TreeInk Wash & Pencil on Paper - 4" x 6"
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Chicken & FishesInk Wash & Pencil on Paper - 4" x 6"
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Chicken & Fishes 2Ink Wash & Pencil on Paper - 4" x 6"
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FishesInk Wash & Pencil on Paper - 4" x 6"
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Elephant & FriendsGraphite on Paper - 4" x 6"
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Elephant & FriendGraphite on Paper - 4" x 6"
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Chicken at Charles TheaterGraphite on Paper - 4" x 6"