United States, 1972
Vanessa Vanek is a fiber and digital media artist, as well as an art educator, originally from Lawrence, Kansas. She earned her BFA in Textile Design and a graduate teaching certificate in Visual Art Education from the University of Kansas. With over twenty-three years of teaching experience in middle and high school art and design, she has worked both in the United States and abroad, including Thailand, Korea, and East Africa. Living with Spina Bifida and using a wheelchair, Vanessa brings her personal experiences into both her teaching and her artmaking. She is now based in Shanghai, where she teaches art and design at an international high school while continuing to develop her own artwork and exhibiting it.
Her art explores the deeply personal connections between identity, disability, and resilience. Through fiber works and digital pieces, she reflects on her journey with Spina Bifida and the challenges she has faced, often touching on themes of loss and trauma. Each piece tells a story about her own idea of “normal,” inviting viewers to reflect on the meaning of their own.