You can view even more recommendation letters on my LinkedIn
Linlin Yu - Industrial Design Student at RISD, Creative, Illustrator
I'm Linlin Yu and I'm an assistant art director for Sista Creatives Rising's virtual show titled "Art and Mind: I Know Who I Am!"
In my experience working alongside her, Amaranthia has demonstrated skills in accessible storytelling, team management, quick learning, community engagement, executive planning, and public speaking.
Amaranthia possesses a talent for making narratives accessible to diverse audiences, both visually and verbally. This is reflected in all the months of planning leading up to the final event where people came together to celebrate marginalized/invisible artists. Amaranthia effectively delegates tasks for the team behind the scenes and triple checks that people are getting the right job that speaks to their strengths and interests.
What sets Amaranthia apart is her remarkable ability to swiftly adapt and learn. When we worked on creating open and closed captioned videos and designed images for our open call, she was always present and patient as we both were new to the software. Her capacity to not only oversee teammates one on one but also gather and engage people around a common vision is inspiring.
Amaranthia's prowess in storytelling, team management, adaptability, community building, planning, and public engagement make her an invaluable asset to any project or team.
I wholeheartedly recommend Amaranthia for any graphic design, communication arts, and art direction roles that leverage her diverse skill set.
Nabila Nugroho - Indonesian Graphic Designer & Founder of Rebel Girl Maquire
To whom it may concern,
My name is Nabila Nugroho. I am an artist and graphic designer, as well as the owner of the illustration brand Rebel Girl Maquire. I am writing this letter to vouch for my dear friend and colleague, Amaranthia Sepia.I met Ama through social media and was featured in one of her events called Art & Mind back in 2021. I have since been invited to join Art & Mind 2023 as part of her team, serving as Assistant Graphic Designer.
I can attest that Ama is an amazing person with the ability to create, collaborate effectively with others, connect with people, and possesses a heart of gold that enables various small creators to meet and be represented. As a struggling small artist from Southeast Asia with dreams of making it internationally, Ama has significantly supported me in my projects, broadening my connections and enhancing my creativity.
As a graphic designer who has worked with various corporations in Indonesia and taken on several international side jobs, I can confidently say that Ama is very easy to work with. Alongside her mother, Claire, they meticulously gather creatives from all over the world and are willing to collaborate with someone like me, situated on the other side of the world.
Their detailed planning, creative ideas, punctual schedules, and amazing execution showcase Ama's exceptional capabilities. Despite our significant time difference, she is adept at managing projects efficiently. For further inquiries, you can contact me through maquiremqr@gmail.com.
Mel Chilianis - Disabled Australian Musician & Art & Mind 2023 Art Direction Team Member
I am Mel Chilianis, a music artist working in a range of styles including instrumental improvisation and electronic production. Some of my work extends to social practice with a focus on disability justice. I had the joy of working with Amaranthia Sepia and Claire Jones on their 2023 virtual film, fundraiser & art event, "Art & Mind: I Know Who I Am! Journeys of Women of Color & Femme-Expressing Creatives." I was part of the Art Direction Team and my role was to develop several emotively appropriate themes, soundtracks and jingles for two documentaries as well as promotional material.
Amaranthia and Claire coordinated the art direction team behind these documentaries, the aforementioned "Art & Mind: I Know Who I Am" and Claire's cancer journey,"A 50% Chance of Paralysis: Get Ahead of Life Before Life GetsAhead of You!". Their communication was responsive and they were open and empathetic in discussions and art development meetings. Meetings were clearly planned and well facilitated. They knew how to bring out the best in me, trusting in my process and outcomes.
I was also impressed with the accessibility built into the project at many levels. This especially showed in Amaranthia and Claire's project-based social media, which was not only well-managed and planned, but helped reach a community of sick and disabled women and femmes of color. Over the year this community grew signicantly and Amaranthia and Claire fundraised for future art grants for marginalized women and marginalized genders. I admire their leadership in this area.
Sista Creatives Rising (Amaranthia and Claire) use vivid creativity, storytelling, poetry and art to raise awareness of Covid, disability and mental health relating to women and femmes of color. They are an enthusiastic, creative duo who cultivate respectful working relationships with their team and artists, be that in an artist call-out or with their own art direction team. I highly recommend Amaranthia and Claire for project-based work in the disability arts area. Their passion and dedication for disability arts is infectious. Amaranthia's visual art is lively and distinctive, informed by comic art, Japan graphics where she lived as child, and Buddhism.
J. Michael Winward - Co-Founder of Dancing Queerly Boston
My name is Michael Winward and I am a lead organizer of Dancing Queerly: a platform that supports the work of LGBTQIA+ dance and performing artists in the Greater Boston area and beyond. Dancing Queerly partners with individual artists and small organizations on grassroots initiatives and public art projects. Our goal is to support artists in their respective visions, and to make space for artists to focus on the creative process.
In 2023, I had the pleasure to work with Claire Jones and Amaranthia Sepia, organizers of Sista Creatives Rising. Dancing Queerly was an organizational sponsor of their program: "Art & Mind - I Know Who I Am!
- Journeys of Women of Color and Femme-Expressing Creatives." This digital showcase featured Amaranthia and Claire's original artwork (poetry, film, illustration, and storytelling), and it also highlighted the work of five artists based in the United States and Canada.
Throughout the year-long process that led up to "Art & Mind," Claire and Amaranthia were consistently thorough and clear in their outreach and organizing. As the representative of a sponsoring organization, I always had the information I needed regarding my own action steps, and the overall project timeline. On a personal level, I learned a tremendous amount from Claire and Amaranthia, in their focus on honing systems and practices for accessibility. This close attention was evident in the culminating digital showcase, with several audience members noting in the comments, how wonderfully the artists modeled their accessibility practices: through image description, ASL interpretation, and welcoming input and feedback throughout the event.
As an organization, Sista Creatives Rising does necessary and beautiful work: building community around anti-oppressive practices in the arts.
As individual artists, Amaranthia and Claire combine their artistry and activism to powerful effect-drawing on their personal experiences to address pervasive social issues such as medical racism, bullying in public education, and COVID-consciousness (to name only a few). I am so glad to know them both, and am excited to witness their future work.
Amy Layton - Boston Public Library Librarian
I had the pleasure of working with Amaranthia Sepia to present a virtual talk led by Claire Jones entitled "A 50% Chance of Paralysis: How I Utilized Journaling as Self-Reflection During Cancer Treatment." We had been working together on this presentation since Spring 2023 and presented it on August 10th. Amaranthia was proactive and communicative with the progress made on the presentation. We were able to meet as the presentation date came closer, and on the day of the presentation, Amaranthia helped greatly in the necessary troubleshooting and logistics that come along with virtual presentations.
She also ensured that the presentation itself was accessible in terms of visibility and audio capabilities, including captioning, color choice, and font choice. I definitely recommend Amaranthia as a creative and presenter for these kinds of virtual events!
C Carl Smith - Insure America Now
I've seen some of Amaranthia's illustration work and I must say that they are extremely well designed, unique and top notch. She is a rising star. I look forward to seeing more of what her talent produces.
Amanda Sutton - Catalyst Communications Choreography Founder, PR Expert
I have been honoured and enlightened in working with Amaranthia and her mother Claire, in bringing their creative consultancy, Sista Creatives Rising to life! As a speaker and youth advocate, I can say without a doubt that her message and her unique voice is sorely lacking in the Creative Culture space. Amaranthia is an intelligent, passionate thought leader who can tackle many topics and will be a creative force in changing the narrative of today's business and cultural landscape. Her broader messages of inclusion, diversity and equality in the arts, needs to be heard on a larger scale by all types of institutions from museums, education, leadership and cultural organizations - and I strongly suggest that if you are building a panel or generating a creative discussion, that Amaranthia's perspective and voice are included. She is able to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face in claiming their place in our culture and our future.