Visual Artist Alice Marie Perreault was born in Rochester, New York. She moved to Southern California in 2011.
She taught at West Minster College, Weber State University and University of Utah, among other institutions. When working with young children, she was honored with a teaching award from Robert Rauschenberg through the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
Following the birth of her son in 2000, who lives with severe disabilities due to asphyxiation, Perreault founded and ran the Kindred Spirits non-profit arts organization in Salt Lake City. While simultaneously caring for her son and sister with Downs Syndrome, Perreault developed programs that offered a bridge between families living with disabilities with non-disabled families. Artists of various backgrounds working in a multitude of genres were invited to lead art classes that included the histories of their art from. Within this art education, both teacher and participants of different abilities learned from one another. Their work was shared with the greater community through public events and they were invited to perform a Hawaiian dance on the floor of the Utah State Legislature during session. Perreault received a Governor's Award in the Arts for the positive community impact she made.
In addition to teaching, Perreault worked with the Utah Arts Council in the Visual Arts Program, writing curriculum and coordinating the Traveling Exhibition Program. She was Curator of Education for the Salt Lake Art Center, now the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, training Docents, overseeing the children’s art exploration space, and giving tours of the contemporary exhibitions.
Today, Perreault resides in Los Angeles County with her two living children. Each summer, she opens her property to host Artcrib @ Bonehouse Bridge, a platform that empowers artists to support one another and establish alternative, non-commercial ways for showing and sharing their work.
Perreault’s art and caregiving roles overlap through non-traditional materials that include the medical supplies she uses to sustain her son’s life and improve its quality. By transferring the dignity of people she has cared for into her work she brings attention to those living with medical frailties, disabilities, and physical dependencies so their value is not over-looked. Navigating this complicated medical, social, and economic arena impacts the intimate artwork she makes. Through that work and her discussions, she continues to advocate for greater understanding of the challenges she and her son face on a daily basis.
Perreault holds degrees and awards from Rochester Institute of Technology, California College of Art, University of Utah and Claremont Graduate University.