Anat Ronen

Anat Ronen

I describe myself as a self-taught, autodidact, late bloomer, accidental artist. Never in my wildest dreams I allowed myself to fantasize I would be a professional artist. I was always on the artistic side, but I thought it was just a tendency, an inclination, like others are better in sports, or music; surely, I am more inclined to do art, but not remotely a good enough artist to make a living out of it.
Then life happened, and in 2006 we decided to emigrate to the US – more as a “hail Mary” move “before it gets too late”. At 35, my husband and I felt we wanted to try something else, something far away, create a new life, reinvent ourselves. Born and raised in the state of Israel, we wanted a life that is not defined by our nation’s problems. I started as an administrative assistant (that was what I did in Israel until then), and after two years, I applied for a different visa (“extraordinary abilities”, O1) as more of a gamble and a last resort than anything else. My professional art career started in late 2008 when the authorities saw something in me and granted me that visa. I had no idea where that road would take me, and looking back, the journey was and is unbelievable even to me. Every project takes me to new territories, testing my abilities and challenges me with new perspectives.