Bonnie MacAllister holds an M.Ed. in French Education from Temple University, a B.A. in French, Semiotics, and Film from Albright College. She studied graduate level semiotics and French literature at the Université de Paris, Sorbonne and Paris VIII. She has received grants from the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce, a Fulbright-Hays award (Ethiopia), Teach for America Fellowship (2008), a fellowship award to Lyon (2010), and numerous teaching artist fellowships.
A former student of notated scholars Jacques Derrida, Hélène Cixous, and filmmaker Agnès Varda, MacAllister is an award winning multimedia performance artist. She has participated in textile master classes in Iceland, France, Ethiopia, and the United States. She is most known for felting, embroidery, spinning, weaving, and knitting. Her embroidered portraits have been the subject of pieces by the Huffington Post and WHYY.
MacAllister’s work has been showcased internationally at Galeria 6 (Mexico), la Galeria del MEC (Uruguay), Ar(t)cevia (Italy), L’oficina des Ideas Libres (Spain), Classwar Karaoke (UK), the Leap Second Festival (Norway), and the University of Sussex (UK). In the United States, she has exhibited at Riverside Library (NY), Boricua College (NY), the Woodmere Art Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, et al Projects (NY), Glenview Mansion (MD), the Commerce Square plaza digital billboards in Philadelphia, and the swag bags at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. MacAllister has performed at Sandy Spring Museum (MD), New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Raandesk Gallery (NY), Highwire Gallery (PA), the Rotunda (University of Pennsylvania), Cat Cat Club (Paris), and Pterodactyl Gallery (PA). She is a juried member of NAWA (the National Association of Women Artists) and the Plastic Club.
As a Past President of the Philadelphia chapter and member of the Women’s Caucus for Art, MacAllister has exhibited in internationally focused group shows including Women and Water, The Ragdoll Project for Human Trafficking Awareness, a touring quilt with Afghan Women, a collaborative book project with Philadelphia foster care students at the Philadelphia Free Library, a fundraiser for Every Murder Is Real working directly to help Philadelphia families affected by homicide, and a benefit exhibition for Girls Gotta Run funding female Ethiopia marathon runners to attend school and receive healthy meals while training.
A former student of notated scholars Jacques Derrida, Hélène Cixous, and filmmaker Agnès Varda, MacAllister is an award winning multimedia performance artist. She has participated in textile master classes in Iceland, France, Ethiopia, and the United States. She is most known for felting, embroidery, spinning, weaving, and knitting. Her embroidered portraits have been the subject of pieces by the Huffington Post and WHYY.
MacAllister’s work has been showcased internationally at Galeria 6 (Mexico), la Galeria del MEC (Uruguay), Ar(t)cevia (Italy), L’oficina des Ideas Libres (Spain), Classwar Karaoke (UK), the Leap Second Festival (Norway), and the University of Sussex (UK). In the United States, she has exhibited at Riverside Library (NY), Boricua College (NY), the Woodmere Art Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, et al Projects (NY), Glenview Mansion (MD), the Commerce Square plaza digital billboards in Philadelphia, and the swag bags at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. MacAllister has performed at Sandy Spring Museum (MD), New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Raandesk Gallery (NY), Highwire Gallery (PA), the Rotunda (University of Pennsylvania), Cat Cat Club (Paris), and Pterodactyl Gallery (PA). She is a juried member of NAWA (the National Association of Women Artists) and the Plastic Club.
As a Past President of the Philadelphia chapter and member of the Women’s Caucus for Art, MacAllister has exhibited in internationally focused group shows including Women and Water, The Ragdoll Project for Human Trafficking Awareness, a touring quilt with Afghan Women, a collaborative book project with Philadelphia foster care students at the Philadelphia Free Library, a fundraiser for Every Murder Is Real working directly to help Philadelphia families affected by homicide, and a benefit exhibition for Girls Gotta Run funding female Ethiopia marathon runners to attend school and receive healthy meals while training.
