The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
2025 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Bio
Nikki Swift has been a practicing filmmaker and artist for most of her life. Recording day-to-day life since she was a teenager, she imagines herself a tinkerer of sorts exploring various image making devices to fit her creative whims. Her most recent works move in two directions. The first is a continued series of personal experimental video essays on her life as an American orphan. The second is a series of video installations that combine social commentaries with archival materials, found footage, and a connection to the historical avant-garde film and video movements. Her education includes Bachelor of Art in both Film Studies and Art History from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Library and Information Science with a focus in digital collections preservation and access from Kent State University. Since 2003, she has been working as an artist, curator, and media consult for businesses, non-profits, and residents of the Central Ohio area while producing her own work which have shown at festivals and competitions across the US and abroad. Over the past decade Nikki has provided many services to the public offering workshops for the Greater Columbus Arts Council, 4-H, and Adobe. She has a long history of curating moving image programs around Columbus, Ohio as part of organizations such as The Columbus Moving Image Art Review, The Columbus International Film + Video Festival, Comfest, and the Independents Day Festival.
In 2014 Swift was awarded a Greater Columbus Arts Council Media Arts Fellowship for her work in moving image art. She is currently the treasurer for the Ohio Art League and helps facilitate the OAL Tonight! Monthly meetings with the members. In 2020 she was awarded a Governor’s Award for the Arts for her support of Ohio artists and arts organizations. She is currently an adjunct instructor at Columbus College of Art and Design.
Artist Statement
I’m a tinkerer of sorts and my work is fueled by that. Each piece is a fresh look at how I can do something different. I play with the unconventional: from unique cameras, rigs, angles, and audio to rhythmic editing, to the finished display. My camera is often found mounted to my body, hanging out my car’s sunroof or falling towards the ground for that perfect shot. The camera of choice depends on the end goal or the experiment. From braille as editing dots, to Morse Code, my editing reveals a hidden message or mimics a song that the viewer cannot hear. A right, left, right, left directional flicker, stereo pan, or cut on motion can toy with my audience’s perception and recollection. To top it all off I think about my output. Am I making a black box or white cube piece? Can it cross between the two? How could I display work without revealing cords, cables, and playback devices? I like gadgets and gizmos that further my installation. I want my viewers to participate in the experience physically and/or emotionally. The end result is a work that encompasses the experiment, through one or more senses, activating emotional and/or critical thinking about the experience that has just taken place.