sandy  peña

cutting video & fabric
  in brooklyn, NY

dearsandypena@gmail.com


   

exhibitions





Flash Frame

exhibition, 2023
the holland project

curator & participating artist












Flash Frame explores the blurred lines between the digital and the real. Digital spaces we inhabit effectively remove us and transport us to a different realm. They are ephemeral places where the location is not as relevant as your intention and attention. When in a digital space, our terrestrial self goes into an autopilot and our motivated actions exist solely within the screen.

To inhabit space is to belong. When our sense of belonging is stripped, where can we go? Priced out of physicality, we seek refuge in digital landscapes. Video games, films, music – digital media obscures perceptions of the physical and non-physical with the creation of alternate realities to play and exist within. The new Wild West.

We attempt to take viewers into a digital expanse. Open maps of procedurally generated space. Nothing stays forever on a motherboard or SSD, the media is available to be perceived only on its proprietary technology with connection to electricity. It leaves no mark on the landscape but the empty screen that once held it. An expanse of space given only for the emptiness remains.

Our aesthetic choices have been influenced by the early days of digital media, and the few years where the true transition took place from physical media to online only, the 1990s to 2010s. This includes the VHS aesthetic and chunky electronics. The time when “digitality” seemed to be only a novelty, as opposed to now when it has morphed our whole world into just a cradle for the screen.































Far Beyond the Walls

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2024

producer, videographer & editor

✰

Silver Telly Award
Telly Awards 2025

Award of Distinction
Communicator Awards 2025




Take a look inside the decommissioned Nevada State Prison and enter "Far Beyond the Walls," an immerisve art exhibition creating awareness around incarceration in the U.S.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Thali

FoodNotes* on PBS, 2023

videographer

✰

Silver Telly Award
Telly Awards 2024

Gold International Award
2024 Communicator Awards

Award of Excellence (Series)
2024 Communicator Awards




The FoodNotes* team visits Thali North Indian Cuisine in Downtown Reno, Nevada, a restaurant known for their puffed up roti, spiced tea and mouth-watering vegetarian dishes.

FoodNotes* is a multiplatform food series highlighting the rich diversity of culinary expression and identity that exists in northern Nevada. Support provided by Nevada Humanities.









Just Add Water!
with Truckee Meadows Water Authority

STEM Works on PBS, 2025

producer, videographer & editor




Meet the engineers and designers at Truckee Meadows Water Authority who provide the northern Nevada region with clean drinking water every day. Gain insight about the science of surface water, the mains running below city streets, and what it takes to work for an essential water utility.

STEM Works is a multiplatform informative series for children and college students to learn about careers opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.









Zagol

FoodNotes* on PBS, 2025
videographer
✰

Silver Telly Award
Telly Awards 2025







Learn more about Ethiopian cuisine at Zagol in Reno, Nevada. Chef Shita shares sour injera rolls, spicy Kitfo, and the backstory behind coffee ceremonies.

FoodNotes* is a multiplatform food series highlighting the rich diversity of culinary expression and identity that exists in northern Nevada. Support provided by Nevada Humanities, Respiralogics and Gregory Nelson.









Patchwork with Discarded Materials
with Ana Perez-McKay

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2025

producer, videographer & editor




A combination of discarded textiles and fibers, Ana Perez-McKay displays a series of parallel patchwork designs in their solo exhibition “Uncharted” at the Depot Gallery in Sparks, Nevada.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Channeling Kelela

Beginner’s Spirit, 2024

producer & editor




Beginner’s Spirit is a passion project, combining a love for textiles, video and community together.










Nevada’s First Meadery

FoodNotes* on PBS, 2024

videographer




Enter the world of mead at Black Rabbit Mead Company, made with Sierra Nevada Honey from Al's Bees.

FoodNotes* is a multiplatform food series highlighting the rich diversity of culinary expression and identity that exists in northern Nevada. Support provided by Nevada Humanities,Respiralogics and Gregory Nelson.









Paper Silhouettes
with Turburam Sandagdorj

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2023

videographer




Turburam Sandagdorj uses black paper, sharp scissors, patience and technique to create highly-detailed silhouettes. Through his process, which he has perfected over 30 years, he celebrates his Mongolian heritage, his love for nature, and an appreciation for a simple lifestyle.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Kamayan Feast

FoodNotes* on PBS, 2024

videographer




The FoodNotes* crew enjoys a Kamayan feast provided by Wok & Roll at Reno Public Market. Explore what a Kamayan feast means and learn more about Filipino cooking.

FoodNotes* is a multiplatform food series highlighting the rich diversity of culinary expression and identity that exists in northern Nevada. Support provided by Nevada Humanities and Respiralogics.









The Last Unicorn
with Peter Beagle & Sierra Nevada Ballet

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2023

videographer




The fantasy novel "The Last Unicorn" inspired Sierra Nevada Ballet to create an original ballet that first debuted in 1989. Decades later, it has returned to the stage in Reno, Nevada. We sit down with Rosine Bena of Sierra Nevada Ballet and author Peter Beagle to learn what it means to bring this novel to life.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Art Battle

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2024

editor & videographer




Artists in Reno, Nevada battle it out to win over a crowd with their paintings. It's a battle not only in creativity, but theatrics and fun. But the question is: Can they succeed in only twenty minutes?

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Connor Fogal Never Gives Up

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2025

videographer




Every year, the Artown team selects a local artist to capture the spirit of the festival. Meet Connor Fogal, an artist who has been painting portraits and murals in Reno for more than 20 years – and who refuses to let cerebral palsy get in the way of his passion for creating.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Sarah Renee

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2024

videographer




Sarah Renee of Reno, Nevada creates fantastical art of creatures big and small.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Upside Down Land

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2024

videographer




Release your imagination in "Upside Down Land”, an 11,000-square-foot immersive art installationat the Potentialist Workshop in Reno, Nevada.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.









Braighlee Rainey

ARTEFFECTS on PBS, 2024

videographer




Artist Braighlee Rainey creates abstract-realism portraits to embrace self-love, divine femininity and the power of the female voice.

ARTEFFECTS delves into the local arts scene while encompassing art features from across the nation. A play on the word "artifact" that emphasizes, not only the positive intended and unintended "effects" the arts have in our daily environments, region, and world - but also the long-term and lasting impact the arts have in helping define and describe our culture, community, nation, and world.