Mark is a cultural organizer who uses art as a vehicle for connecting diverse communities, building empathy and support for social justice movements.

At the core of his practice lies the belief that those most impacted by the criminal justice system are the experts that society needs to listen to. His Performing Statistics project in Richmond, Virginia, asked incarcerated youth to create their own police training manuals and a virtual reality police encounter, which are now being used to train every police officer in Richmond.

Strandquist has received multiple awards, fellowships, and national residencies and has presented his work at a multitude of conferences. He teaches Art and Activism as adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University and the International Center for Photography and is a Professional Fellow at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. He is one of the founders of Philadelphia’s Reentry Think Tank and the People’s Paper Co-op, an ongoing initiative at The Village of Arts and Humanities.

Contact: mark@villagearts.org