Valley Forge Tourism's New Installation At King Of Prussia Mall Celebrates Montgomery County's Diverse Artists

Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board has announced a new installation that celebrates the diverse artists within Montgomery County at the region's premiere shopping destination, King of Prussia Mall.

The large-scale display, which is located in The Connector corridor across from Macy's, highlights Hispanic, Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Latina, and Venezuelan makers in the Valley Forge area and will be on display now through the holiday season. This is a new addition to the Art Wall project; previous installations featured BIPOC and LGBTQ+ creators.

"We are thrilled to partner with the King of Prussia Mall, the country's leading shopping destination, to celebrate the incredible and diverse artists who call Montgomery County home," notes Valley Forge Tourism's Associate Vice President of Communications Rachel Riley. "This installation is an important element of our Arts Montco brand, and a wonderful way to provide exposure for these incredible artists with the mall's high foot traffic."

The installation features 4 artists who produce their work or have it displayed in one of the Montgomery County region's dozens of galleries. The wall is part of the Tourism and Convention Board's ongoing Arts Montco initiative, which highlights the county's over 200 arts and entertainment venues, attractions, and galleries. The arts and culture sector represents $100 million in positive economic impact for Montgomery County, not to mention hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs.

Artists featured in this new display include Amanda De Souza (Ursinus College), Melanie Rodriguez (Moody Jones Gallery), Yonnys Díaz (Exhibit B Gallery through November 12), and Pedro Fuller. Full bios on each artist are below

The installation is free and open to the public. For more information on Arts Montco, visit artsmontco.com.

Amanda De Souza is a Brazilian artist, and believes that art can change the world for the better. Through art, Amanda express herself and explores aspects of her culture.

Melanie Rodriguez is a 26 year old Puerto Rican and Dominican self-taught abstract artist. Obsessed with getting to the root of things, Melanie uses her art to process strong emotions. She begins with a meditation and from there uses her paints to explore different feelings through abstract art. Melanie is open to viewers' interpretations. What you see is what you feel. Instagram: @arthealsall Website: ArtHealsAll.com

Yonnys Díaz leal is a Venezuelan artist who moved recently to the United States of America due to the political issues in Venezuela. For more than fifty years he has dedicated his life to teaching, researching, and artistic creativity including engraving, screenprinting, photography, graphic design, and above all, art. His career has been closely linked to sharing his knowledge with many university students in Venezuela and Ecuador in áreas related to art, stimulating and promoting creativity in the art scene as a fundamental element of humanistic development. The countless hours of research and learning have allowed him to gain a very good understanding of colors. His work mostly focuses on the simplicity of everyday life that is perceived through the force of light and colors.

Pedro Fuller was born in Managua, Nicaragua. As a child he loved to draw and spent much time drawing maps. He became so good at it that he would fool his teachers: they could not believe that he had drawn them because of their high quality. Hi smentor advised him to enroll in art school and he attended the Escula de Bellas Artes while he continued his regular studies. In 1973, the famous Spanish painter Picasso died. This was a great tragedy in Fuller's country; he felt a great sense of loss. Picasso would become one of his influence as a mature painter, and to this day, he greatly admires Picasso's contribution to modern art. In 1979, Fuller's family left Nicaragua because of the political upheavals of the Civil War. They settled in Camden, New Jersey, and after he graduated high school, he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The common themes in his work are semi-political, romantic, and spiritual. He believes that when there are problems, art accommodates through the rhythms of colors and forms and takes us to a calmer, more spiritual place.

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