Interview with alina balseiro as told to Tori Weston.
Artist Bio
alina balseiro uses photography and sculpture to empower their collaborators in the lgbtqia+ community. as they explore the social codes and cues within this group, they depict the common experiences of Queer individuals. alina interweaves concepts of vulnerability, identity affirmation, balance and care within relationships, and found communities in their work. alina’s delicacy when collaborating with friends and strangers shows their ability to create spaces that welcome authenticity of lgbtqia+ experiences.
often maneuvering between varying perspectives of viewers, alina balances the shifting weight of representation, education, and normalization. their photographs depict the ways that the lgbtqia+ community wants to be seen leave a multidimensional impression on those that access their work. as they continue making, they build deeper connections on a larger scale with Queer individuals seeking to share their narratives. alina is committed to generating ethical making processes and maintaining the comfort of their collaborators.
Please tell us about your background and how you came to Somerville.
I grew up with a single mom in Jersey City, NJ and moved to Massachusetts for college at Lesley University College of Art and Design in 2018. After being sent home in 2020 due to the Covid-19 
Pandemic, I moved to Somerville in 2021 to be closer to my school for when classes returned on campus. The move gave me easier access to the people I was and currently am photographing which aided me in expanding my work. I was drawn to Somerville because of the thriving art scene and how many opportunities it has to offer to be involved. For more, see my artist bio above!
At what age did your creative journey begin?
I began photographing as a teenager with a focus in photojournalism but, my concentration in lens-based art matured when I began college at 18. Going into college, I had a vision of photographing public forms of activism and that quickly transformed into using my fine art photography as advocacy in itself. I use my creativity as a liaison between listening to and highlighting people’s experiences in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Who or what inspires your work?
My collaborators are the biggest points of reference that I look towards when making work. The process I have developed includes finding participants for specific projects, asking them a series of questions, and photographing them with inspiration from our conversation. Their experiences directly impact the authentic images I produce and motivate the identity rights I am advocating for through art.
As an artist and educator, I am consistently visiting museums and galleries, attending artist talks, & talking with other artists about their practices to form community. Getting to know other people has a direct impact on my work and way of making.
You work in various mediums, do you have a favorite?
Photographing is an extension of how I interpret and insert my perspective for others to understand. It is a way to honor someone’s essence at a specific time. Therefore, when I have the opportunity to photograph a person multiple times, I enjoy seeing their confidence, style, etc. evolve. For Queer people especially, phases and changes are inherent to our identity affirmation and progression.
Once I get to know someone through photography, my entire understanding of them shifts. I notice the smaller things about them more and the way that those seemingly insignificant things can be amplified into something much larger. It’s important to document fleeting moments or aspects of someone’s personhood in order to preserve the various phases in the human experience, especially when Queer experiences have not been documented in that way enough in the past.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, MA along with continuing my artwork. This year, among 5 group exhibitions, I was awarded the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Grant for Creative Individuals and earned my first solo-exhibit at Bentley University of my work shear pleasure. The photographs and sculptures represent Queer people in Generation-Z’s relationship with their hair.
I am continuously adding to my projects, including shear pleasure which includes a plethora of new collaborators that have expressed interest in being part of my work. It is exciting that people want to share their experiences and be part of Queer art history.
At any part of my practice, I interweave research with active art making to elevate the natural cycle that runs between both. Images guard #2, 2019 it was a night vision, 2024 wife pleaser, 2022 shorter & shorter & (it’s buzzcut season), 2024.
