About
As a research-based artist, I specialize in using clay and other natural materials to create and reimagine ancient musical artifacts from North, Central, and South America that were designed hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Through teaching others how to build and play these instruments, we awaken their ancestral sounds in a unique multisensory experience of ancient art and technology. This helps to deepen appreciation for the cultures from which they originated. By reconnecting with historic traditions of instrument-making, we celebrate the wisdom of our ancestors and the beauty of our human heritage while searching for our place in the world.
Bio
Melissa Hyatt Foss is a Baltimore-based artist who creates instruments, plays music, composes, researches, and educates. Her focus is on developing artistic and educational projects that explore the Pre-Colombian sound artifacts of the Americas, and their applications in contemporary art and music. Before returning to the US in 2021, Melissa spent over a decade in Argentina, where she studied and developed her career. She received her undergraduate degree in Art History at James Madison University and completed her master’s degree in Musical Creation, New Technologies, and Traditional Arts at the National University of Argentina. Melissa was a soloist for seven years with the Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies.
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