Beck Stafford

Beck Stafford is a part-time Lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design and California Institute of the Arts (2020). As part of the collaborative duo Beck+Col since 2014, they create alternate universes through costume-based performance and video, centering queer, anti-capitalist critiques via monster mythology and hyperreal aesthetics.

• Education: BA in Liberal Arts (UCLA, 2010), MFA in Interdisciplinary Art (CalArts, 2019)
• Research Interests: Horror as political metaphor, communal solidarity against capitalism, interdisciplinary art forms blending couture, opera, gaming, and wrestling.

Professional Accomplishments:
• Exhibitions at Hammer Museum, REDCAT, JOAN LA, Royal College of Music (Sweden), and Biquini WAX EPS (Mexico).
• Feature-length film Red Night (2023) screened at Bogotá, San Francisco, and Orlando festivals, winning Golden Tentacle Award (2023).
• Public art commissions (Las Vegas 2024, West Hollywood 2025) and residencies at UNLV (2021) and LACE (2022).

Scientific Awards & Grants

• Multiple Foundation for Contemporary Art Emergency Grants (2020, 2017)
• Rema Hort Emerging Artist Grant Nominee (2019)
• Golden Tentacle Award (2023)
• 3rd Place Terror Feature Film (2023)
• Quarter Finalist, Zed Film Festival (2023)

Collaborative Practice: Their work involves 10+ artists (e.g., Alicia Piller, Marnie Weber) and draws from cognitive science, chromatic theory, and Italian Giallo films. They critique neoliberal individualism through blood-soaked performances and installations.