McChrystal, Carol Anne

Carol Anne McChrystal is an internationally exhibiting multi-disciplinary artist and grassroots organizer. Grounded in a self-taught process of mat-weaving alongside advanced studio methodologies, her work investigates how traditions inevitably transform within diasporic communities when subsequent generations are separated from their ancestral lands.

McChrystal bridges her intensive gallery output with political activism, serving as a dedicated community organizer on unceded Tongva land with progressive grassroots organizations, including the Filipino women's alliance GABRIELA and the arts collective SIKLAB. Her complex, research-heavy studio actions position her as a key contemporary voice in the global conversation surrounding art and environmental sustainability.

Education & Academic Foundation
MFA: California College of the Arts (CCA), San Francisco/Oakland, CA

Major Fellowships, Grants & Residencies
2025: Resident Artist – Project Space Pilipinas, Lucban, Quezon Province, Philippines

2024: Named Fellow – Puón Institute (Ecologies of Flourishing Collaborative Workshop)

2021: Recipient – Ecosystem X Award, Mozaik Foundation (Recognizing artists driving social change)

Institutional Grants: Recipient of competitive creative production grants from the Puffin Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, California Arts Council, and Arts Council Ireland.

Historic Residencies: Completed fully-funded residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (USA), Sitka Center for Art & Ecology (USA), Emerging Islands (PH), and the Cill Rialaig Arts Centre (Ireland).

Selected Exhibitions & Public Projects
2026: Where is the Middle of the Sea? (Weaving Workshop & Interactive Performance) – Organized in collaboration with Project Space Pilipinas for International Museum Day at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Metro Manila.

2026: A World of Islands: On Palms, Storms & Coconuts (Global Group Survey) – A landmark traveling exhibition examining ecological and diasporic complexities, staged across the Stanley Picker Gallery (London) and the Ateneo Art Gallery (Manila).

2026: The Irish Contemporaries {v} – Multi-site survey hosted by CIACLA across the 18th Street Arts Center (Santa Monica) and Angels Gate Cultural Center (San Pedro, CA).

2022: The Riddle of Materials – A critical research exhibition examining the semiotic parallels and physical agency of contemporary media, Manila, Philippines.

International Showcases: Sculptures and site-specific items historically exhibited at Galleria Duemila (Manila), Horse & Pony (Berlin), Mata Gallery (Los Angeles), and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA).

Collaborative Practice (Nightmare City, 2008–2016): Co-created immersive video environments and multimedia installations featured across Alter Space (San Francisco), The Luminary (St. Louis), Essex Flowers (New York City), and ACRETV (Chicago), earning critical coverage in Artforum and Modern Painters.