Zachary Trebellas – Grand Rapids, MI
Zachary Trebellas is a conceptual artist who takes inspiration from the culture and history around
him. He is inspired by older forms of creativity like folk art or depression-era public art, both of
which insert art into people’s everyday lives and reflect the culture in which it is made. In his
hometown he’s created a street art series asking locals to share their thoughts on the shutdown
of the town’s particle accelerator, in Japan he has recorded stories of the past told by residents
of a depopulating fishing village, and currently he is making work around the concept of pride
among West Michigan’s Dutch-American community.
Originally from Chicagoland, he studied Art History and Visual Art Management at Columbia
College Chicago, graduating magna cum laude in 2010. His personal love of art deeply motivates
him to bring opportunities to enjoy and create art to diverse audiences. Since graduating, he
followed this passion by working and volunteering for non-profit art organizations in Chicago,
namely Marwen and Sixty Inches From Center. Following this, he spent two years organizing
community art projects in rural Japan during his time as an English teacher with the JET Program.
Enthralled by Grand Rapids’ momentum as an art city, he moved there from Chicago in 2015
ready to dive into its art community. Since then he has become director of Avenue for the Arts
and organized art projects with UICA, Art Prize, Grand Valley State University, the Garfield Park
Neighborhoods Association, and many others. He is a co-founder of the art collective Good
Manufacturing. https://www.zacharytrebellas.com/
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