Artist Statement
Marissa strives for her works to reflect her whimsical outlook on life with bright scenery, cute details, and colorful characters. She is heavily inspired by her upbringing as an aromantic asexual second gen Filipino-American and her passion for identity, diversity, and community. Her art style is also influenced by the media she consumed as a child and today such as cartoons, anime, and comics. They have a passion for storytelling that disrupts the “conventional” and celebrates that disruption through pride, silliness, and normalization of the “unconventional.” Marissa wants people to feel laughter and joy from her works even though the topic can be uncomfortable at times. They also want people to feel a sense of home within their works – a place or idea where the viewer is comfortable to be themselves and to understand they are individualistically worth celebrating in many ways. Overall, Marissa wants to express the love and care for one’s identities – something she unfortunately lacked in her upbringing.
About Marissa Domantay
Marissa Domantay (they/she) is a proud queer and Fil-Am artist, cartoonist, and illustrator. She was born and raised in multiple parts of Chicago along with her four siblings. They grew up loving animation and cartoons, video games, and comics. Marissa developed her passions and skills as an individual and artist by going to Connecticut College. She graduated in 2020 with a BA in Art (and minor in Mathematics). Marissa has been part of many artists groups and initiatives such as Sinag, DeclarASIAN Artists Initiative, and the Filipino Artists Directory. She has received awards for her leadership and artistic practice such as the Posse Scholarship, Vanguard Award for Equity and Inclusion, the Anique Ashraf Prize, and most recently an art prize from the Philippine Independent Week Committee. She continues to follow her creative passion by running her art shop called domantics shop and engaging with the local Fil-Am community through the arts.
