In September of 2022, Erie Arts & Culture welcomed eight new teaching artists to its roster. These artists will expand our roster through their diverse artistic disciplines, educational expertise, and lived experiences.
Niecey Davis
Deniece “Niecey Nicole” Davis is a poet, performing artist, and activist based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Since a young age, writing has been a talent that Niecey has used to harness her strength and amplify her voice. She has performed throughout Western Pennsylvania, often shattering the expectations or assumptions of her audiences. She has over 10 years experience as a civil servant and remains active in her community through volunteering and her professional work with youth struggling with intellectual and behavioral challenges.
In addition to being self-published, Niecey’s work has been featured in print by Unpopular Magazine and the Erie County Poetry Anthology. She was also a 2021 finalist for the Erie County Poet Laureate program. Niecey is a member of the Erie County Poetry Committee, EAC Creative Crowd, 10/20 Collective and has performed with musicians such as Steven Trohoske, Afro Horn, and the African Heritage Ensemble.
Doug Eberhardt
Doug Eberhardt is an educator, printmaker, and illustrator living in Western Pennsylvania. He received his BFA in Printmaking with a minor in Drawing and Art History from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2010 and his MFA in Printmaking from The State University of New York at New Paltz in 2012. He is an experienced college-level educator that has taught printmaking and drawing courses at Edinboro University, Allegheny College, and Butler Community College. He is the Co-President of the Pittsburgh Print Group, a non-profit printmaking guild with over fifty active members.
Marcy Hall
Marcy Hall is a Western Pennsylvania artist known for her whimsical interpretations of the world. Originally from Erie, PA, Marcy and her family recently relocated to Oil City, PA, where she now works from a studio located inside the National Transit Art Studios alongside dozens of local artists who share this historic space. Marcy has sold paintings all over the world, and enjoys collaborating with writers, artists, and organizations. Some of her more notable commissions and projects have included: long collaborations with the Benedictine Sisters of Erie (over 30 commissions); long collaboration with Abbey of the Arts located in Galway, Ireland (over 30 commissions); public art projects for the County or Erie Courthouse, the City of Erie Celebrate Erie Chalk Mural; the newly opened Que Abides Pitstop in Fairview, PA; an original Peace Pole for the United Way of Erie; award art for both Preservation Erie Awards and The United Way's Tocqueville Society Award. Since moving to Oil City, Marcy has become part of the Transit Authority Artists Association, she is chair of the Oil City Public Art Committee, and she serves on the Arts Revitalization Committee, whose mission it is to try to recruit artists and creatives to come live and work, bike and hike in our beautiful, woodsy river town.
Sarah Jacobs
Sarah Jacobs is a contemporary artist. Her work has been exhibited in the US and in Europe and she has taken part in artist residencies in Grimma, Germany, Cali, Colombia, and Taos, New Mexico. She has won multiple grants, including the Arts Council England Grant, and her work can be found in public and private collections in the US, UK, and Hong Kong. She has had solo and two person exhibitions in New York City, London, Wrocław, Poland and Bristol, England, among other cities.
Born in 1984, Jacobs was raised in Littlestown, Pennsylvania. She was educated in Art History at Gettysburg College and received her MFA from the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore in 2010. There she studied under Joyce Kozloff and Timothy App. Jacobs moved back to the USA in 2014 after 3 years living in London and Bristol, UK where she became a naturalized British citizen.
Sarah lives and paints in Erie, PA. Her mural, “We Make the World Go Round,” is located on the corner on 25th and Ash St.
Ashley Pastore
Ashley Pastore is an artist living and working in Erie, PA. She received her Master of Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus in Printmaking and New Media. Recently her work was displayed in a solo exhibition at the Erie Art Museum titled, Everyday Monumental. Her work is on permanent display in Chicago’s Union Station and the Cleveland’s Downtown Hilton Hotel. She has shown around the country in Chicago, Austin, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Albuquerque, NM. After receiving her graduate degree she was hired as the Print shop technician at the historic Ox Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, MI and has most recently taught at SUNY Fredonia in the Printmaking department. Ashley is currently a teaching artist with Erie Center for Art and Technology.
Ashley is currently building the communal printshop and makerspace, Grounded Printshop in Erie, PA.
Alex Staley
Alex Staley is a designer, filmmaker and videographer from the Lower East-Side of Erie, PA, who spends most of his time working with local artists and music producers on music videos and short films. Alex started shooting music videos in 2018. Between 2018 and the present, Alex has filmed over 200 music videos for artists in the local area as well in our region. (Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo) Most of his work can be found on his youtube channel “lonesav”. Alex is also the creator of LONESQUAD, a clothing brand with a focus on artistic integration. (Alex will create unique pieces of digital art and then put those pieces on clothing using a sublimation method.)
In the fall of 2021, Alex worked with Sovereign Ballet to create a short dance-to-film; working primarily with teens. Alex’s role in this short film was cinematographer and editor. The name of this short film is “John 10:10” and it was shown at the Erie Art Museum for The Erie Dance consorsium’s 2021 film festival. In winter of 2021, Alex worked with Sovereign Ballet and Erie Dance Theater again to create a feature length film; The Nutcracker, working with teens and children between the ages of 7-12. Alex’s role in this film was cinematographer and editor. This film was shown at the Saga Club in Erie, PA. In June - July of 2021 Alex ran a photography class as well as a videography class at Dafmark Creative Arts Center. During these classes, Alex served kids ages 7-9. From December 2021- March 2022, Alex worked as the Youth Leader and daily operator of Dafmark Creative Arts Program; For this position, Alex opened and closed the space Monday through Friday and supported teaching artists during their classes in the space. During this time, Alex served children ages 6-12.
David Tamulonis
David Tamulonis is a multimedia artist, designer, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer from Youngstown, Ohio currently living and working in Erie, PA. David received a BFA in Graphic Design and a BS in Marketing Management from Youngstown State University in 2016. He is currently the Events and Marketing Manager at the Erie Downtown Partnership where he plans and executes over 150 events a year in Downtown Erie's parks and public spaces from farmers markets and concerts to parades and free public movie screenings. As the solo music project Shadow Plea, he has released 23 original studio albums, 3 live albums, and 4 short film soundtracks. As an artist, he has organized and executed several large-scale public art installations including a mural, a lighting installation over an abandoned railway bridge, and several interactive placemaking art projects for community events. He has taught music theory, violin performance, and guitar performance as an educator in community art schools and in private lessons for over 14 years. He performs in several music ensembles including Smilo and the Ghost, This American Song, Elle Taylor Band, Picnic Day, Logan B and Dirty Leaf, and Cosmic Debris and has recorded with several other artists and ensembles. He is a producer and recording engineer at RBD Studios in the historic PACA Building in Downtown Erie and runs the Rust Belt Experimental Music Exchange, a concert series inviting experimental bands from across the region to the PACA building to showcase their talents in the City of Erie.
