The Living Altar Artist Statement
Allow us to introduce The Living Altar, the project of multimedia ritual artists Kiki Robinson and Ylva Mara Radziszewski. As queer, trans & gender non-binary, femme witches and descendants of the Romani diaspora, we dedicate our work to a faithless devotion of collective liberation. We view the work of the modern Witch to nurture and facilitate hope in the world while also disrupting and dismantling oppressive systems born of kyriarchal meritocracy, settler-colonialism, white supremacy, & cis gender-hetero patriarchy. As American Roma who benefit from privilege rooted in colorism and assimilation, we also commit to a personal tending of this disruption and dismantling within ourselves. The work we facilitate through The Living Altar is a collaboration with community, ancestor, and each other; to be interacted with, built upon, and shared. We view art, like magic, as an altar of catalytic reflection and the energy of its creation and witness as a salve for collective healing.
As queer and trans witches of Romani heritage living in diaspora as colonizers on Turtle Island; we seek to embody a faithless devotion to life in support of collective liberation through our art and ritual. We feel that the work of the Witch is to disrupt and transform the circumstances of culture, and that the work of the artist is to document and synthesize the potential of these circumstances. We see the work of the witch and artist to account for, divest from, and dismantle systemic oppression from our altars, our art, and our magic; while at the same time awakening, nurturing, and fortifying pathways of joy, wellness, hope, and remediation across all timelines. The Living Altar’s commitment is to embolden the integrity, power, grace, and will of the inherent magic of community through ritual performances and magical art practice in support of aligning ourselves and community to these intentions.
As queer and trans witches of Romani heritage living in diaspora as colonizers on Turtle Island; we seek to embody a faithless devotion to life in support of collective liberation through our art and ritual. We feel that the work of the Witch is to disrupt and transform the circumstances of culture, and that the work of the artist is to document and synthesize the potential of these circumstances. We see the work of the witch and artist to account for, divest from, and dismantle systemic oppression from our altars, our art, and our magic; while at the same time awakening, nurturing, and fortifying pathways of joy, wellness, hope, and remediation across all timelines. The Living Altar’s commitment is to embolden the integrity, power, grace, and will of the inherent magic of community through ritual performances and magical art practice in support of aligning ourselves and community to these intentions.
About Kiki & Ylva
Kiki Robinson | they/them - she/her |
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Kiki Robinson | they/them |
I am a multi-media artist, tarot reader, and healing arts practitioner. I am a queer and non-binary practicing witch of traditional magic, my altar is centered in sovereignty, justice and compassion. My ancestral background is Irish, British Isles and Romani. My first love of magic came through art of many mediums including printmaking, dance and performance art, and my intention is to embody healing and magic through my Creative Spirit. I live on unceded traditional lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and bands of Chinook, now called Portland, OR. My work in the world involves assisting in healing and liberation within collective, disrupting systems of oppression, and bringing forth transformation through creative modalities. I am deeply committed to community healing and magical activism.
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Ylvadroma Marzanna Radziszewski | they/them - she/her |
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Ylvadroma Marzanna Radziszewski | she/her/they/them |
I am a traditional witch, published author, artist, and herbalist. I am also a non-binary trans woman and a survivor of childhood incest and sexual assault. I currently live on unceded Chitimacha, Houma, Chahta Yakni lands now named New Orleans. I’m a white person of Polish, Romani, and Ashkenazi ancestry. My ritual and art practice are intrinsically woven together; I believe that magic is art and that art is healing. Through art as ritual I attempt to ground my experience living within diaspora as someone who also lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder, CPTSD, Autism, and chronic illness from Stage 3 Lyme Disease. I am the founder of The School of Traditional Magic, former High Priestess of Cunning Crow Apothecary & Witches Temple (both now closed). My debut book A Practical Guide for Witches is available everywhere books are sold. Featured in TASCHEN’s Esoteric Library - Witchcraft.
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