As the 2026 New City Arts Initiative Summer Intern, Dream Mattison (she/her) supports exhibition installation, event programming, and general gallery needs. Working at the intersections of Urban & Environmental Planning and Art History, the University of Virginia has fostered her passion for creative placemaking and arts-based third spaces. After co-creating a student exhibition, “Sally Hemings’ University: Connecting Threads” (2023), and interning with the Fralin Museum of Art, Dream is able to utilize formative experiences with curatorial and archival work.

In her free time, she engages with mixed media projects, often merging photography, graphic design, and painting in her studio art practice. Her craft often centers girlhood’s evolution and the role of BIPOC in building our urban fabric. When she is not at the gallery, you can find her baking pastries or at a local vinyl record store.