now and then: Sheila Oliveira is a Massachusetts artist currently living in Westport, MA. She received a MFA in design and photography from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and continued as adjunct faculty for over 20 years. In addition to her art making, Ms. Oliveira has curated exhibits for museums and galleries including the Carpenter Museum, the Grimshaw - Gudewicz Gallery, Westport Library Gallery, The Greater Fall River Art Assoc., Fall River Maritime Museum, Bristol Elder, The Narrows Center for the Arts and Cherry & Webb Gallery where she was acting director/curator for several years. Her experience in the arts has been varied recently enjoying a return to painting in oils and acrylic. Moved by natural forms and the intersection of color, contrast and light her more recent work is informed by the exploration of these elements as notes of personal experience derived from time and place, simple observation and the wonder of fleeting moments. Sheila is now offering Painting Classes at various locations including her large studio located at Kilburn Mill 127 W. Rodney French Blvd. New Bedford, MA 02744 suite 2-115. Contact: sheilaoliveira1949@icloud.com for more information.
history & memories: then
"I became interested in darkroom photography as an undergraduate at UMass, and reconnected a long time visual interest. As a child I would study the faces of people in old black and white photos my mother kept in a hat box. I loved those pictures of people most although I didn't recognize many of their faces. They had changed so much over the ensuing years. At that time I was unable to connect the past to the present in terms of how people evolve. I began to understand the power of photographs to transport & connect to our past. For me a photograph is a recording or proof of a moment, frozen, whether truthful or fanciful, they are a personal journal, record of memory. I think of photographs as a connecting visual path often reflective of what was and what will be.".....
education/experience: Sheila Oliveira earned a BFA & Masters in Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Visual Design/Photography. She has been working in design/photography for over 25 years, at one time owning a wedding & portrait studio in Warren, RI. An art educator for over 25 years she offers art classes in individual and group classes.
community service: Mentor for New Bedford Art Museum TAIP (teen internship program)
Mentor Individual art lessons for teens working in the visual arts 2023 (Exhibition of Artwork June - July 2023)
Mentor Individual art lessons for teens heading for careers in the visual arts 2022 (Exhibit of Artwork Feb - Mar. 2022)
Tenant Association of the Kilburn Mill Member of AHA! New Bedford, MA 2020 - present
Board of Director, Secretary YEAH! 2020 - 2022
Served as President, Secretary, Curator and Resident Artist at the Greater Fall River Art Association, Fall River, MA 2010 - 2020
2021 - 2023 commissions & public art/permanent collections: Artwork for Cultivator Shoals, New Bedford, MA, curated by Sarah Hale Folger; Portraits of Sarah Anna Lewis & Joe Raposo permanent collection of the Fall River Public Library, Fall River, MA; Portrait of Elizabeth Buffum Chace permanent collection of the Fall River Preservation Society "Fiske House" preservation project; Portrait of Marquis deLafayette permanent collection of the historic Lafayette Durfee House, Fall River, MA; Portrait of Henry Martyn Robert permanent collection of the restored historic landmark First Baptist Church, New Bedford, MA.
2022 Awarded a Fall River Cultural Council Grant for paintings of historical personages of Fall River, MA 2022 Exhibited May - Oct. 2022 at the Heritage State Park, Department of Conservation & Recreation. "not so Famous" beginning 9/11/2022 & "Famed & Framed" including portraits of under recognised Fall River activists, agents of change, songwriter, historical personages. Paintings included Joe Raposo of Sesame St. fame on exhibition for the "Joe Raposo Day" an official Mayoral city wide acknowledgement of August 3rd for his outstanding contributions.
memberships: Portsmouth Art Guild, Westport Art Group, and Kilburn Mill Artists
Recent Exhibition & Curator Schedule:
2023- April 7 - May 26 "Art Making Women" Realities and Fantasies, Curator
2023 - Feb 2023 Fall River Public Library "unveiled" presentation of two paintings permanent collection "Joe Raposo & Friends & Sarah Anna Lewis"
2022 - May 2022/October 2022 Heritage Park Hudner Memorial Building, Fall River, MA "not so Famous" & "Famed and Framed" series of oil paintings portraits
2022 - March/April 2022 "Unexpected Surfaces" invited artists Judith Klein Art Gallery
2022 - February/March 2022 "Artful Identities" New Bedford Art Museum
2022 - January/February 2022 Spring Bull Gallery, Newport, RI "Fakes and Forgeries"
2021 - October 23 & 24 Open Studio at the Kilburn (design of marketing materials) Tenants collaborative Art Exhibit designed Ad for Artscope
2021 - July/Aug Night Stage Performance Center at the Kilburn Mill invited artist exhibiting
"Bob Dylan & Paul McCartney/John Lennon"
2021 - July/Aug Judith Klein Art Gallery "Summer Sparkle" New Bedford, MA
2021 - Jan/Feb Spring Bull Gallery "Fakes and Forgeries" juried exhibit, Newport, RI
2021 - Dec. - Jan. 2021 "12th Anniversary Exhibit Judith Klein Art Gallery/Invitational" New Bedford, MA
2020 - November "Isolation Contemplations" Virtual, Kilburn Mill Artisan Center, New Bedford, MA
2020 - September Open Studios at the Kilburn Mill, New Bedford, MA
2020 -June -July "Photography" Open Subject, juried Exhibit Portsmouth Art Guild Virtual Exhibit, Portsmouth, RI
2020-June - August "Toward the Light" juried Exhibit, Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA
2020-March "Artists & Students", Group Exhibit, Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA
2020-Feb. LUMINARIA - Invitational In Support of American Cancer Society, Attleboro Art Museum, Attleboro, MA
2020- Feb. GFRAA "Winter Wonderland", Group Exhibit Fall River, MA
2020 - Jan/Feb Spring Bull Gallery "Fakes and Forgeries" juried exhibit - won Honorable Mention, Newport, RI
2019 - 2020 Portsmouth Art Center Holiday Smalls, Portsmouth, RI
2019 - 2020 Judith Klein 11th Anniversary Exhibit Invitational Group Art Exhibit, New Bedford, MA
2019 - 2020 Attleboro Members Exhibit, Attleboro, MA Art Museum
2019 October - Nov. Juried Members Exhibit at Portsmouth Art Guild and Art Center
2019 Sept. Clifton Assisted Living Art Exhibit group Exhibit works by residents and students
2019 July - August: "Building Blocks/Architecture of Fall River, MA" at the Greater Fall River Art Assoc.
2019 June - August: Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA Summer 2019 Group Exhibit
2019 May 30 - June 29 "Full Circle Alison Horvitz"; invited curator of the Horvitz Painting estate www.bristolcc.edu/gallery
2019 May - June GFRAA "All About Love" exhibit featuring mentors and students; Sheila Oliveira with works by Clifton Assisted Living Art Program & Maggie Fichna
2018 "Judith Klein 10th Anniversary" Group Exhibit November 2018
2018 "What is Art?" Curator of Exhibit at Westport Public Library December - January 2019
2018 February "Imagine & Inspire" Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA through April featuring the work by students and their teachers.
2018 Feb - Apr. "Color Me Red" Greater Fall River Art Association, 80 Belmont St., Fall River, MA
2017 May - June "4" Exhibition of four women artists 80 Belmont St., Fall River
2017 SummerJudith Klein Art Gallery in New Bedford, MA. Participation in juried exhibits at Attleboro Art Museum earned "Artists Merit Award in Photography"
2017 Nov. Anniversary Exhibit Judith Klein Art Gallery Dec. 2017, Fall River Historical Society Nov.
2017 Exhibition Curator: "Nature & Innocence" artworks by Maggie Fichna at the Greater Fall River Art Assoc. Sept. 2017
history & memories: then
"I became interested in darkroom photography as an undergraduate at UMass, and reconnected a long time visual interest. As a child I would study the faces of people in old black and white photos my mother kept in a hat box. I loved those pictures of people most although I didn't recognize many of their faces. They had changed so much over the ensuing years. At that time I was unable to connect the past to the present in terms of how people evolve. I began to understand the power of photographs to transport & connect to our past. For me a photograph is a recording or proof of a moment, frozen, whether truthful or fanciful, they are a personal journal, record of memory. I think of photographs as a connecting visual path often reflective of what was and what will be.".....
education/experience: Sheila Oliveira earned a BFA & Masters in Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in Visual Design/Photography. She has been working in design/photography for over 25 years, at one time owning a wedding & portrait studio in Warren, RI. An art educator for over 25 years she offers art classes in individual and group classes.
community service: Mentor for New Bedford Art Museum TAIP (teen internship program)
Mentor Individual art lessons for teens working in the visual arts 2023 (Exhibition of Artwork June - July 2023)
Mentor Individual art lessons for teens heading for careers in the visual arts 2022 (Exhibit of Artwork Feb - Mar. 2022)
Tenant Association of the Kilburn Mill Member of AHA! New Bedford, MA 2020 - present
Board of Director, Secretary YEAH! 2020 - 2022
Served as President, Secretary, Curator and Resident Artist at the Greater Fall River Art Association, Fall River, MA 2010 - 2020
2021 - 2023 commissions & public art/permanent collections: Artwork for Cultivator Shoals, New Bedford, MA, curated by Sarah Hale Folger; Portraits of Sarah Anna Lewis & Joe Raposo permanent collection of the Fall River Public Library, Fall River, MA; Portrait of Elizabeth Buffum Chace permanent collection of the Fall River Preservation Society "Fiske House" preservation project; Portrait of Marquis deLafayette permanent collection of the historic Lafayette Durfee House, Fall River, MA; Portrait of Henry Martyn Robert permanent collection of the restored historic landmark First Baptist Church, New Bedford, MA.
2022 Awarded a Fall River Cultural Council Grant for paintings of historical personages of Fall River, MA 2022 Exhibited May - Oct. 2022 at the Heritage State Park, Department of Conservation & Recreation. "not so Famous" beginning 9/11/2022 & "Famed & Framed" including portraits of under recognised Fall River activists, agents of change, songwriter, historical personages. Paintings included Joe Raposo of Sesame St. fame on exhibition for the "Joe Raposo Day" an official Mayoral city wide acknowledgement of August 3rd for his outstanding contributions.
memberships: Portsmouth Art Guild, Westport Art Group, and Kilburn Mill Artists
Recent Exhibition & Curator Schedule:
2023- April 7 - May 26 "Art Making Women" Realities and Fantasies, Curator
2023 - Feb 2023 Fall River Public Library "unveiled" presentation of two paintings permanent collection "Joe Raposo & Friends & Sarah Anna Lewis"
2022 - May 2022/October 2022 Heritage Park Hudner Memorial Building, Fall River, MA "not so Famous" & "Famed and Framed" series of oil paintings portraits
2022 - March/April 2022 "Unexpected Surfaces" invited artists Judith Klein Art Gallery
2022 - February/March 2022 "Artful Identities" New Bedford Art Museum
2022 - January/February 2022 Spring Bull Gallery, Newport, RI "Fakes and Forgeries"
2021 - October 23 & 24 Open Studio at the Kilburn (design of marketing materials) Tenants collaborative Art Exhibit designed Ad for Artscope
2021 - July/Aug Night Stage Performance Center at the Kilburn Mill invited artist exhibiting
"Bob Dylan & Paul McCartney/John Lennon"
2021 - July/Aug Judith Klein Art Gallery "Summer Sparkle" New Bedford, MA
2021 - Jan/Feb Spring Bull Gallery "Fakes and Forgeries" juried exhibit, Newport, RI
2021 - Dec. - Jan. 2021 "12th Anniversary Exhibit Judith Klein Art Gallery/Invitational" New Bedford, MA
2020 - November "Isolation Contemplations" Virtual, Kilburn Mill Artisan Center, New Bedford, MA
2020 - September Open Studios at the Kilburn Mill, New Bedford, MA
2020 -June -July "Photography" Open Subject, juried Exhibit Portsmouth Art Guild Virtual Exhibit, Portsmouth, RI
2020-June - August "Toward the Light" juried Exhibit, Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA
2020-March "Artists & Students", Group Exhibit, Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA
2020-Feb. LUMINARIA - Invitational In Support of American Cancer Society, Attleboro Art Museum, Attleboro, MA
2020- Feb. GFRAA "Winter Wonderland", Group Exhibit Fall River, MA
2020 - Jan/Feb Spring Bull Gallery "Fakes and Forgeries" juried exhibit - won Honorable Mention, Newport, RI
2019 - 2020 Portsmouth Art Center Holiday Smalls, Portsmouth, RI
2019 - 2020 Judith Klein 11th Anniversary Exhibit Invitational Group Art Exhibit, New Bedford, MA
2019 - 2020 Attleboro Members Exhibit, Attleboro, MA Art Museum
2019 October - Nov. Juried Members Exhibit at Portsmouth Art Guild and Art Center
2019 Sept. Clifton Assisted Living Art Exhibit group Exhibit works by residents and students
2019 July - August: "Building Blocks/Architecture of Fall River, MA" at the Greater Fall River Art Assoc.
2019 June - August: Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA Summer 2019 Group Exhibit
2019 May 30 - June 29 "Full Circle Alison Horvitz"; invited curator of the Horvitz Painting estate www.bristolcc.edu/gallery
2019 May - June GFRAA "All About Love" exhibit featuring mentors and students; Sheila Oliveira with works by Clifton Assisted Living Art Program & Maggie Fichna
2018 "Judith Klein 10th Anniversary" Group Exhibit November 2018
2018 "What is Art?" Curator of Exhibit at Westport Public Library December - January 2019
2018 February "Imagine & Inspire" Judith Klein Art Gallery, New Bedford, MA through April featuring the work by students and their teachers.
2018 Feb - Apr. "Color Me Red" Greater Fall River Art Association, 80 Belmont St., Fall River, MA
2017 May - June "4" Exhibition of four women artists 80 Belmont St., Fall River
2017 SummerJudith Klein Art Gallery in New Bedford, MA. Participation in juried exhibits at Attleboro Art Museum earned "Artists Merit Award in Photography"
2017 Nov. Anniversary Exhibit Judith Klein Art Gallery Dec. 2017, Fall River Historical Society Nov.
2017 Exhibition Curator: "Nature & Innocence" artworks by Maggie Fichna at the Greater Fall River Art Assoc. Sept. 2017