EDUCATION
2019 MFA, Studio Art, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2010 BFA, Photography and Media, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
SOLO/ TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2025 Title IX (with Dakota Noot), Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA (Upcoming)
2021 A Top in a Bottom’s Skin (with Dakota Noot), Coaxial Arts, Online Stream
Forbidden Photos of a Doctor Above Suspicion for Window Dressing, Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk, CA
2019 Fresh Donor, Glassbox Gallery, UC Santa Barbara, CA
2018 At Dawn, They Feast (with Dakota Noot), Glassbox Gallery, UC Santa Barbara, CA
2014 You Found Me: Photographs by Christopher Anthony Velasco, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Any Color You Like, D301 Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA. BFA Thesis Exhibition.
This Project Has Been Supported by a Grant from Excel Energy, A402 Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS/PERFORMANCES
2025 The Boy is Mine, Tiger Strikes Asteroid LA, Los Angeles, CA
Kiki’ing with the River series, Maywood Riverfront Park, Los Angeles, CA
What’s My Thesis, podcast group show, Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA
The Print Center 99th Annual International Competition, Online Exhibition
2024 MAS ATTACK 13, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Original Sources, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
El Cuerpo: The (Performing) Body and the Photographic Stage, Curated by Christina Fernandez, Gallery Luisotti, Los Angeles, CA
Go Figure-Now!, ArtBug Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Mapping My Queer, Glendale OUT at Brand Library & Art Center, Glendale, CA
Brief and Spectacular, SCRANCH, Wonder Valley, CA
Collective Memory Installation, L.A. Department of Arts and Culture, Grand Park, Los Angeles, CA
The Body by Design: LGBTQ+ Chicanx Art, Hyperallergic, New York, Online Exhibition
KCHUNG PUBLIC: Care: Radio Plays, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Coaxial Fundraiser, Robinson S.P.A.C.E., Los Angeles, CA
For Some Land and Some Memory, Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA
The Fluffy Crimes Digital Exhibition, Fluffy Crimes space, Chicago, IL
Common Ground: Artists Reimagining Community, William Rolland Gallery, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA
2021 What’s Blood Got to Do with It, Other Places Art Fair, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
“Los Angeles Edition” M_M_Artspace, Online exhibition
Daddies Day, Cuddle Chunk, Online Stream
I REMEMBER 2020, MATA ART Gallery, Online Exhibition
Lydia Takeshita Legacy Exhibit Series: 2, LA ARTCORE, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Holiday Special, Cuddle Chunk, Online Stream
Common Ground: Artists Reimagining Community, William Rolland Gallery, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA, Online exhibition
“Halloween,” Cuddle Chunk, Online Stream
Artists and Poems, Durden and Ray, Online exhibition
Sentinels, Site-specific works throughout the City of Long Beach, CA
Blemishes (with Juan Gomez and Dakota Noot) for MAIDEN LA, The Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Landscapes, USC Roski Graduate Building, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Cerritos Collects: Highlights from the Permanent Collection, Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk, CA
Performing Abstraction, LAST Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Useless Man, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA
Glendale OUT, Ace 121 Gallery, Glendale, CA
Generational Aesthetics, Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA
Through Places, Kamikaze hosted by Pøst at MiM Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Girl, It Was Camp, Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
Temporary Clash, MFA Thesis Exhibition, AD&A Museum, University of Santa Barbara, CA
Multimodal Performance Festival, Curated by Maiza Hixson, Glassbox Gallery, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2018 Partita, Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, CA
Viva Las Fotos: A Day of The Dead Memorial for Laura Aguilar, Ave 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Changes: Works at Union Station, Los Angeles Union Station, Los Angeles, CA
Hacer, Deshacer y Rehacer, Self-Help Graphics and Art, Los Angeles, CA
What If Utopia, Queer Biennial, Navel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Dreamteam: UCSB First Year Review Exhibition, Red Barn Project Space, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Paraisos: Queer LA Latinx Art exhibition, curated by Ruben Esparza, Advocate and Gochis Galleries, The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
Images of Power, Freight Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2017 I AM ERICA, UCLA New Wight Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Pain/2, Hoyt Gallery at USC Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, CA
Crossing Boundaries: Engendering LGBTQ Identities, Ave 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Day of the Dead: Honoring Our Ancestors, Ave 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
This Used to be Mexico, Ave 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Chicano International Film Festival Art Show, Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles, CA
The Sixth Expanse (Action 17), Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
The Sixth Expanse (Action 11), Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
Climate for Change for LA, Artillery + Photo L.A., Los Angeles, CA
Dudes, Bros & Gentlemen: The Man Show, 1650 Gallery, and Studio, Echo Park, CA
SNAP to Grid: The Un-Juried Exhibit, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
2015 The Sixth Expanse (Action 7), Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
The Sixth Expanse (Action 4), Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
A Mystery and a Dream, PhotoSynthesis Gallery, Manchester, CT
Toupee Touche, Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
Bozlta Journal presents Untamed: Cultivating Collaboration in Arts, Activism, and Scholarship, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Los Angeles, CA
2014 Bent-Con 4th Annual Pop-Up Gallery exhibition, Burbank, CA
Stop the Cloud I Want to Get Off: The Art of Instagram 2, 1650 Gallery, Echo Park, CA
Sidewalk Quinceañera, Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
2013 The Occidental and NELA Bicycle Art Show, Weingart Galleries at Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
Queue, Los Angeles, CA, a Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
Stop the Cloud I Want to Get Off: The Art of Instagram, 1650 Gallery and Studio, Echo Park, CA
2012 Los Angeles Road Concerts presents: Mulholland Drive, Mulholland Drive, CA
Leveler’s Discourse, Los Angeles, CA, Performance piece by Harry Gamboa, Jr. (with Virtual Vérite)
ISM: 10th Anniversary Show, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA
SEMAP presents: How’s the Water? Metro Art Gallery, Pomona, CA
Black, Brown, and Blue at CU: Toward an Archive and Beyond a gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY
2011 SEMAP presents: How’s the Water? El Monte, CA
Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2010 Instant Gratification: A Tribute to Instant Photography, Corpo Gallery at Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA
2009 We Might End up with Nothing, Main Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Wild Ones, D301 Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Sculpture and Photography, D300 Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Instant Gratification: A Polaroid Party, Hibbleton Gallery, Fullerton, CA
Interventions, Lime and Mint Galleries, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Queer Arts Collective, Main Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2008 Art Center at Night Open House, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
East Los Angeles College Student Art Show, Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, CA
East Los Angeles College Photo Department Show, Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, CA
2007 East Los Angeles Student Art Show, Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, CA
2006-7 Where We Live: Student Perspectives, Valley College, Los Angeles; College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita; Santa Monica City College, Santa Monica; and East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
LECTURES & WORKSHOPS
2025 iPhone Photography Workshop, Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
CSSSA Masterclass, Ryman Arts, Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
2024 Artist Talk, Visual Literacy, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Polaroid Workshop, Greetings from South-Central Los Angeles, South Central LA, CA
Artist Talk, Contemporary Chicana Art, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
CSSSA Masterclass, Saint Mary’s Academy High School, Inglewood, CA
CSSSA Masterclass, Venice Arts, Venice, CA
Art Talk: Sybil Venegas, Christopher Velasco, and Emmy Mickevicius, Presented by Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2023 Through Our Lens: Laura Aguilar’s Latina Lesbian Series, CIRCA presented by One Archives Foundation, Advocate & Gochis at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Los Angeles, CA
Polaroid Workshop, Greetings from South-Central Los Angeles, South Central LA, CA
CSSSA Masterclass, Saint Mary’s Academy High School, Inglewood, CA
CSSSA Masterclass, Girls Academic Leadership Academy, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Artist Talk, Art Museum Futures, Caltech, Pasadena, CA
A Conversation with the Laura Aguilar Trust, Fralin Museum of Art, Charlottesville, Virginia
Colloquium, Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, Germany
2021 Curator Talk with Dakota Noot, Art 1A, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Hair-Pulling Between Good and Evil Panel Discussion, Angel’s Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
Visiting Artist Lecture, California State University, San Bernardino, CA
Getty Museum Talk, California Summer School for the Arts, Valencia, CA
Artist Talk, Identity and Visual Representation, University of Southern California, CA
Artist Talk, Visual Literacy, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Manufacturing Nature, LA ARTCORE, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Artist Talk, Portrait Photography, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA
Artist Talk, Beginning Drawing, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Barbara, CA
Artist Talk, Contemporary Chicana Art, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2019 “The Fellowship: Subverting the Imagined Family Portrait in Photography,” Society of Photographic Education, Santa Clara, CA
“Re-Queering Fan Fiction” for Lambda Litfest, ESXLA, Los Angeles, CA
In Conversation/ Emerging Leaders in the Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Artist Talk, Contemporary Chicana Art, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2017 Artist Talk, Contemporary Chicana Art, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 Artist Talk, Creative Photo-Vision, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
Artist Talk, Art Club, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Artist Talk, Creative Photo-Vision, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
2011 Photography Department Alumni Panel, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND INTERNSHIPS
2018-19 Israel Levitan Graduate Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara
2017-18 Doctoral Scholars Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara
2015-17 Lincoln Heights Historic Preservation Overlay Zone Board, Lincoln Heights, CA
2011 Getty Marrow Multicultural Undergraduate Internship, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2010. Getty Marrow Multicultural Undergraduate Internship, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Los Angeles, CA
The James Irvine Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2009 The Michael Eisner Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2008 Art Center at Night Scholarship, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
The Fred Aves Scholarship, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2018 – Present
Co-Trustee, Laura Aguilar Trust of 2016
2025 Photo Instructor, Los Angeles LGBT Senior Services (Workshop)
Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Adjunct Professor, Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA
Beginning Photography, Advanced Photography, and History of Photography
Adjunct Professor, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
Art Appreciation
Adjunct Professor, (Dual Enrollment) East Los Angeles College, Steam Virtual Academy
Art Appreciation
2024 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Adjunct Professor, Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA
Beginning Photography
Adjunct Professor, Ventura College, Ventura, CA
Color Photography, Adobe Photoshop
2023 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Adjunct Professor, (Dual Enrollment) Los Angeles Valley College, Valley Glen, CA
2D Design
Art Appreciation (North Hollywood High School)
Adjunct Professor, Ventura College, Ventura, CA
Color Photography and Adobe Photoshop
2022 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Adjunct Professor, Allan Hancock College, Lompoc and Santa Maria, CA
Art Appreciation, Portrait Photography
Alumni Mentor, California Institute of the Arts
Mentorship: Won Seok Chang and Lucinda Trask
2021 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
2020 Mentor, Society of Photographic Education (SPE) LGBTQ Caucus
Alumni Mentor, California Institute of the Arts
2019 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Introduction to Photography, Introduction to Printmaking (Rose Briccetti)
2018 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Introduction to Photography (Rose Briccetti, Sunny Samuel)
2017 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
2016 Photo Instructor, California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Museum Assistant, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
Teaching Assistant, Academic Tutoring Services, El Monte, CA
2010 Chemistry Technician Assistant, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2009 Student Instructor, Community Arts Partnership (CAP), Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies (LACPS)
Teaching Assistant, East Los Angeles College
Beginning Black and White Photography, Creative Photo-Vision, and History of Photography (Mei Valenzuela)
Beginning and Advanced Color Photography (Aaron Lyle)
Beginning Black and White Photography (Lynne McCreedy)
2008 Photography Lab Assistant, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA
Museum Assistant, Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, CA
2007 Teaching Assistant, East Los Angeles College
Beginning Commercial Photography: Introduction to Medium Format Cameras (Kathy Russell)
Beginning Black and White Photography (Mei Valenzuela)
Beginning Black and White Photography (Lynne McCreedy)
COLLECTIVES
2024-current Queer Photo Booth
2019-current Co-founder, Scream Queen (with Dakota Noot)
2019-2020 Monte Vista Projects
2012-2017 Virtual Verite with Harry Gamboa, Jr.
2011-2013 South El Monte Arts Posse (S.E.M.A.P)
AFFILIATIONS
2022-2023 Co-Leader, SPE Pride Caucus Leadership Team, Mentorship
2019-2023 Society of Photographic Education (SPE)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2024 Garcia, Nahui. “El Cuerpo: The (Performing) Body and the Photographic Stage.” ArtForum, November 2024.
Scott, Chadd. “Phoenix Art Museum Shares Laura Aguilar’s Unique Photographic Voice.” Forbes.com, January 31, 2024.
2023 Noot, Dakota. “The Founding Mother of Southern California’s Chicano Drag Scene.” Hyperallergic, January 11, 2023.
2020 Morris, Asia. “This utility box art, ‘Sentinels’, presents an Artsy Reason to Get Out and about.” Long Beach Post, October 8, 2020.
2019 Stromberg, Matt. “A Screening of Short Horror Films Celebrating Queerness.” Hyperallergic, 2019.
Dambrot, Shana Nys, “Art Pick: Useless Man at Highways at Highways Performance Space.” L.A. Weekly, 2019.
City of L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs. LBGT Heritage Month Book, 2019.
2018 Freight Gallery. Images of Power, Exhibition Catalog. San Antonio, TX. 2018.
Harrity, Christopher. “100 Images Explore Queer Utopia at the Queer Biennial.”
The Advocate, May 18, 2018.
Esparza, Ruben. “62 Polaroids of Queer Folk—A Warholian take of L.A.” The Advocate, July 9, 2018.
Self-Help Graphics and Art. Hacher, Deshacher y Rehacer. Exhibition Catalog. Los Angeles, CA. Self-Help Graphics and Art, 2018
2017 Crooks Press. Making the Cut, Vol 1: The World’s Best Collage Artists. Melbourne, Australia, January 18, 2017.
2016 Miranda, Carolina A. “We Watch Artist Harry Gamboa, Jr. Stage a Fotonovela at the Site of L.A.’s Demolished 6th Street Bridge.” L.A. Times. December 24, 2016.
“Artillery Photo L.A. Instagram Contest Winners.” Artillery Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 4 (March-April 2016), p. 59.
2015 Gallery 136½ at Photosynthesis. A Mystery and a Dream, Juried Exhibition Catalog. Manchester, CT, 2015.
2014 1650 Gallery. Stop the Cloud I Want to Get Off: The Art of Instagram Photography, Juried. Exhibition Catalog. Los Angeles, CA. 1650 Gallery and Studio, 2014.
“Untamed.” Bozalta Journal, Vol.1, No.1, 2014.
Gamboa, Jr., Harry, “Vie, 21.” Photo Journal. August 2014.
2013 Reft, Ryan. “East of East: Using Vacant Space to Create to Place in South El Monte." KCET.org, January 21, 2013.
2012 Palma, Claudia S. “Art Collaborative's Exhibit Explores El Monte, Open Space.” San Gabriel Valley Tribune, March 14, 2012.
2011 Fragoza, Caribbean. “South El Monte Arts Posse: How’s the Water?" South El Monte Arts website (semartsposse.wordpress.com), June 15, 2011.
2009 Staniec, Kevin, ed. Still Developing: A Story of Instant Gratification. Los Alamitos, CA: ISM: A Community Project, 2009.
2007 East Los Angeles College Campus News. “Elans’ Photos Showcased at Museum." November 14, 2007.
Around Alhambra. “ELAC Student Photographers Explore Urban Landscape for the Getty Museum." January 1, 2007.
Cascades. “ELAC Student Photographers Explore Urban Landscape for the Getty Museum." January 1, 2007.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2023 The Queerest Year Roundtable. “Drag Me to Roundtable Hell: Photography, Queer Art & Drag with Christopher Velasco,” Podcast, February 5, 2023.
2021 Olivares-Molina, Gustavo. “Christopher Anthony Velasco Brings His Art to Life.” Cerritos College Talon Marks, September 15, 2021.
2018 Voyage LA Staff, “Meet Christopher Velasco.” Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide, December 18, 2018.
2017 Velasco, Christopher Anthony. “Laura and Me: A Lasting Friendship.” Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell. Exhibition Catalog. Curated by Sybil Venegas. Los Angeles: UCLA Chicano Studies Center Press, 2017.
2012 Fragoza, Caribbean. “Christopher Anthony Velasco’s Let It Sparkle." South El Monte Arts website (semartsposse.wordpress.com), August 10, 2012.
2011 Fragoza, Caribbean. “Rethinking the Tourist Gaze." South El Monte Arts website (semartsposse.wordpress.com), July 17, 2011.
RESEARCHER/ EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT
2017 Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell. Exhibition Catalog. Curated by Sybil Venegas. Los Angeles: UCLA Chicano Studies Center Press, 2017.
2013 Ricardo Valverde, by Ramón Garcia, Los Angeles: UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2013.
2012 Beatrice Wood: Career Woman-Drawings, Vessels and Objects. Exhibition Catalog. Curated by Elsa Weiner Longhasuer and Lisa Melandri. Santa Monica Museum of Art, 2012.
2011 The Oscar Castillo Papers and Photograph Collection, by Colin Gunckel, Los Angeles: UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2011.
L.A. Xicano exhibitions curated by Chon A. Noriega, Terecita Romo, and Pilar Tompkins Rivas at Autry National Center, Fowler Museum at UCLA, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art; editorial development for the exhibition catalog. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2011.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS CURATED
2025 Framing Our Truths (with Mary-Linn Hughes), Advocate & Gochis Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
2023-24 Nudes in Nature (with Sybil Venegas), Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2022 Landscapes of Memory (with Sybil Venegas), Ave 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Hair-Pulling Between Good and Evil (Scream Queen presents, with Dakota Noot), Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
In the Realm of the Senses (Scream Queen presents, with Dakota Noot), Highways Performance Space, Online Exhibition
2020 El Espejo de la Bruja (Scream Queen presents, with Dakota Noot), Flatline Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Kentucky Fried Pop-Up for Maiden L.A (Scream Queen presents, with Dakota Noot), an Online Exhibition
Out of the Closet, into the Internet (Scream Queen presents, with Dakota Noot), Online Exhibition
2019 Scream Queen (with Dakota Noot), AMEX Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Viva Las Photos: A Day of The Dead Memorial for Laura Aguilar (with Sybil Venegas), Ave 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
PUBLIC WORKS
Crown Castle Utility Box, Long Beach, CA
COLLECTIONS
Alta Med Art Collection
Cerritos College Art Gallery Permanent Collection
UC Santa Barbara Department of Art Collections
Keck School of Medicine at USC Research Collection
East Los Angeles College Photography Department Collection