2025/26 Merit Scholarship Recipient: Mikha Dominguez

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

The work I submitted reflects the core of my practice: transformation, storytelling, healing, and queer empowerment through materiality and color.

The Empty Space You Left Behind is a grief-driven collection of transformed domestic objects, a tribute to love, loss, and memory after the death of my partner Scott. It uses household items filled with insulation foam and adorned with glass, glitter, and his favorite cereal, turning grief into beauty.

La ChipiChipi Boom Boom and Misplaced are playful soft sculptures made from discarded materials. These works embrace joy, chaos, and childlike curiosity, inviting audiences to interact, feel, and reconnect with their inner child.

Helechoskopios Lunar is a screenprinted wallpaper that brings together a cosmic celebration of texture and vibrant color, referencing cycles, growth, and spiritual metamorphosis.

Each piece embodies my identity as a queer Venezuelan artist reclaiming space and making meaning from both trauma and joy. These works are my healing process, my resistance, and my offering to the world.

Why did you decide to come to MCAD?

I was a full-time artist back in Venezuela, but when I moved to the U.S., my focus shifted to survival—finding a job that wouldn’t kill my dreams while still paying the bills. Every day on my way to work with Minneapolis Public Schools, I’d pass by MCAD and think, “Will I ever be able to go there? What a dream…”

In September 2022, completely burnt out from teaching and the system, I applied—just to see if it was even possible. By January 2023, I quit my job and became a full-time student at MCAD.

MCAD has made that dream come true. It’s given me the chance to grow, amplify, and expand my artistic practice. It hasn’t just made me a better artist—it’s helped me reclaim my purpose.

What are your plans for your senior year? And beyond?

My plan is to keep taking up places and creating spaces; through my art, my voice, and my presence. I want to keep telling stories that matter, and continue building platforms for queer, immigrant, and underrepresented communities. I plan to apply for the MCAD MFA program and keep pushing my practice further. Beyond that? I’ll keep creating until the end of my days, because this isn’t just art, it’s my life.

Favorite thing about college life (so far)?

One of my favorite things about college life is the constant flow of creativity, there’s always something in motion, always something to build, write, paint, or dream up. I love being surrounded by people who are just as passionate about making as I am. Sometimes I’m older than my professors, and sometimes they’re my coworkers or even friends—but that’s what makes it special. It’s a space where everyone is learning from each other, no matter the title or age. The energy never stops, and I thrive in that nonstop creative rhythm.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by many things: by my classmates and the incredible ways they interpret and reshape the world around them. I’m constantly inspired by their vision, vulnerability, and creativity. I am inspired by the power of community, by what we can build when we join forces, uplift one another, and create space for everyone to be seen and heard.

I am inspired by life itself—by the resilience of humans, by the complexities of identity, by moments of joy and grief, and by how we transform pain into beauty. I find inspiration in overlooked objects, stories left untold, and the quiet strength of those living on the margins. Every day offers something to learn, something to feel, something to make. Life is a Playground, go have fun.

Do you have a favorite piece you've made? Describe it!

Honestly, all my pieces are my favorite, they each hold a part of me. I love the act of creating, the process itself, the healing, and the letting go. My work is my therapy, my journal, and my way of navigating life. Every sculpture, photo, or installation is a step in my ongoing journey of healing through the power of transformation. It's never just about the final piece, it's about what I release and what I reclaim through making it.

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

I’m pretty obsessed with sewing right now, it’s been one of the most joyful things I’ve done lately. But beyond that, I’m deeply focused on creating spaces and places where queerdos like me can feel safe, seen, loved, and supported. That mission fuels everything I do.

What's the best thing you've found on the Free Shelf?

EVERYTHING IS AMAZING in the free shelf. When the core of your work is found materials, the free shelf is an endless world of possibilities. The free shelf gives me life. ARRIBA EL FREE SHELF!!!