Valentine Svihalek
Valentine is a Belgian and American abstract painter, international educator, community director, podcast host, author, and mother of two. After the birth of her first child in a Czech village surrounded by people who spoke a different language, she felt isolated. Supported by the Artist Residency In Motherhood Program, she developed a process of artmaking that liberates expressive energy and establishes connection. Graduate studies in philosophy and postgraduate studies in teaching, literacy, and culture in San Diego and mentorship with Multimedia Artist, Isadora Stowe provided the foundation for her work.Passionate about education and connecting people with opportunities, Valentine founded the Art Connect Women’s Collective (formerly Art Mums Europe) and the Art Connect Society. Inspired by her community work, she published Mama Meditations: The Imperfect Artist Mother Journey, Mindful Mantras, and The Bright Side: Affirmations For Overcoming as reflections on postpartum experience. She founded the Bella Valentina Artist Residency Program in Czechia. Valentine has exhibited her abstract paintings and poetry in galleries in Europe, with the Jewish Museum Prague, Canadian BHA Gallery, curated solo and group exhibits. She’s been published in international art magazines. In 2022, she published Painting Our World, US: An Artist Diary, and was longlisted for the Women United Art Prize. She hosts the Art Mamas and Art Sisters Podcasts and is a member of artist organizations and galleries such as Spilt Milk Gallery, The Art Queens Society, Create Magazine, Artist-Mother Network, ARIM, Victory Art Gallery.
