VICTORIA
MARIE
BEE

I dwell in Possibility—  (Emily Dickinson)

Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions & try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive & moribund. I consider one of my few virtues—I don’t have a lot of them—but one of them would be a deep sense of curiosity. It’s inconceivable why anyone would want to not experience as many colors in the spectrum as possible with our limited time on Earth. (Anthony Bourdain)

Victoria Marie Bee is an artist, educator, printer, photographer, & art worker. She exhibits, & is published, nationally & internationally. Bee’s work is in public & private collections around the world. Currently living & working in Texas, she is exploring options for the next chapter & is mostly offline to continue transforming her artistic practice, learning new processes, & developing more fluency in other languages.

A few recent recognitions include: commissioned by the Dallas Museum of Art for letterpress artwork regarding their van Gogh exhibition of his Olive Trees series; commissioned by Planned Parenthood for letterpress artwork regarding birth control; letterpress printing & design of the 2021 Visitor’s Guide for VISIT LUBBOCK; selected for What We Eat & Wear, a juried exhibition at the CICA Museum (Czong Institute for Contemporary Art) in Gimpo, South Korea; invited for Eat Lead, an international exhibition of letterpress printing at Atom Gallery in London, curated by Pixel Press; invited & featured on the front cover of the 50 year anniversary journal of Southern Humanities Review, published from Auburn University; selected for the juried exhibition RED, at SE Center for Photography in South Carolina; the juried exhibition Still Life: The Ordinary Made Extraordinary, at PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont; Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum's "New Impressions: An International Exhibition of Letterpress Printing" in Two Rivers, Wisconsin & Brisbane, Australia & Armadale, Australia;  selected for West, Far West in Marfa, Texas; awarded the SPE National Award for Innovations in Imaging; a Penland School of Crafts Scholarship in Letterpress; the Penland Partners Program Award; the Helen DeVitt Jones Print Studio Fellowship; &, many others. 

Victoria has numerous poetry publications & is currently translating a book of poetry from French by a Tunisian poet, while pursuing additional literary translation projects. Her artwork & practice have been featured in journals, books, & various publications.

She was instrumental in shaping Charles Adams Studio Project (CASP), a nonprofit arts organization where she spent over a decade in various roles. As Program Manager, she developed & oversaw programs promoting artistic expression, engagement, & social change, coordinating events including FLIP OVER CASP, CLIP: AN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF WORKS ON PAPER, CASPFEST:ART+FILM+MUSIC, & CENTRAL PIVOT. She also installed, marketed, curated, & managed finances for over 150 exhibitions. Most significantly, she initiated & grew engagement with the Helen DeVitt Jones Print Studio, focusing on letterpress printing & community education, exposing thousands to printmaking. Committed to fostering creativity, collaboration, & inclusion, she now works remotely with a gallery under new ownership on projects showcasing the power of art & community engagement.

Bee holds an MFA in Studio Arts, Photography & Letterpress/Printmaking from Texas Tech University (2016) & an MAE in Art Education & Creative Writing/Poetry (2013). Education remains a central passion. She has served as Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University’s School of Art & South Plains College, Graduate Part-Time Instructor for numerous courses, & worked with neurodivergent students in special education at a public elementary school. She continues teaching classes & workshops to people of all ages & skill levels in diverse environments.

Born in Houston & raised across the country, she discovered her passion for the arts in the South, particularly during time with her grandparents in New Orleans. Her first art award came at age 5—a blue ribbon for a drawing of mermaids & trees. She fell in love with photography & poetry in New Orleans, where her grandparents gave her her first camera & took her on frequent library visits. She discovered letterpress printing in graduate school in Lubbock, creating her first broadsides of poetry with wood type, Garamond type, lace, & real tulips on a tabletop Linoscribe press in her tiny darkroom.

Bee remains deeply dedicated to her artwork & evolving practice while actively collaborating with artists & writers nationally & internationally, teaching across age groups & settings, & engaging communities through her love of art.